Attached is the first response of the Business Constituency (BC) to the SO/AC accountability questions circulated on 4-Nov. After the SO/AC group begins to analyze responses, we may offer additional responses in areas where more information is needed.

Note that the response describes BC charter and procedures, so we are not taking any positions or making any normative comment with this submission.

Vice Chair for Policy Coordination

ICANN Business Constituency

Questions to address:

1. What is your interpretation of the designated community defined in the Bylaws? For example, do you view your designated community more broadly or narrowly than the Bylaws definition?

2. What are the published policies and procedures by which your AC/SO is accountable to the designated community that you serve?

2a. Your policies and efforts in outreach to individuals and organizations in your designated community who do not yet participate in your AC/SO.

2b. Your policies and procedures to determine whether individuals or organizations are eligible to participate in your meetings, discussions, working groups, elections, and approval of policies and positions.

2c. Transparency mechanisms for your AC/SO deliberations, decisions and elections

2d. Were these policies and procedures updated over the past decade? If so, could you clarify if they were updated to respond to specific community requests/concerns?

3. Mechanisms for challenging or appealing elections. Does your AC/SO have mechanisms by which your members can challenge or appeal decisions and elections? Please include link where they can be consulted.

4. Any unwritten policies related to accountability. Does your AC/SO maintain unwritten policies that are relevant to this exercise? If so, please describe as specifically as you are able.

From: <accountability-cross-community-bounces@icann.org> on behalf of Hillary Jett <hillary.jett@icann.org>
Date: Friday, November 4, 2016 at 9:35 AM
To: CCWG-Accountability <accountability-cross-community@icann.org>
Subject: [CCWG-ACCT] FW: CCWG-Acct SO/AC Questions

Dear SO/AC Chairs,

As you are aware, the newly-adopted ICANN bylaws tasked our Cross Community Working Group to investigate several issues as part of our Work Stream 2 effort. SO/AC Accountability is one of these items. As part of this effort, we have set up a subgroup, responsible for reviewing how each SO and AC is accountable to its designated community, and potentially to global Internet stakeholders as well. The background and progress for this group are described here[docs.google.com].

As part of this effort, the group intends to start by an assessment of the current situation. That’s why we are turning to you to point us to resources and documents used to maintain accountability to your respective designated community, taking into account the particular or specific working modalities of each SO/AC (and any subgroups).

We would appreciate if you could provide responses to the attached questions within the next 30 days, so that work on this important item of WS2 can proceed in due course. Responses can be provided to acct-staff@icann.org. Along with the rapporteurs of the SO/AC accountability subgroup, Cheryl Langdon-Orr, Farzaneh Badii and Steve Del Bianco, we thank you in advance and remain available for any clarification that you may need.

Best regards,

Leon, Thomas & Mathieu