[CCWG-ACCT] Larry's questions (was: A blog from NTIA)

Phil Corwin psc at vlaw-dc.com
Thu Jun 18 15:28:44 UTC 2015 

That is a very important point, Keith, the critical nature of f which is being raised at this very moment by GDD staff's decision to make the PDDRP and URS starting points for legacy gTLD renewal agreements, as reflected in the proposed .Travel, .Pro and .Cat renewal agreements.

As I understand it Board review of the final, post-comment RAs is optional. At the time these "implementation details" of the new gTLD program were created it was well understood that their application to legacy gTLDs could occur only after their performance and the issues they raised  had been extensively analyzed (which has yet to happen - the policy staff Issues Report won't be delivered until September) and then only through a PDP.

This staff action is, in my opinion, an attempt to create de facto Consensus Policy in violation of the Bylaws. Let's see what happens once the comment period ends and after this is raised in BA. But, whatever the outcome, it illustrates the need for "new mechanisms or triggers where the community could compel a review of Staff by the Board". Accountability mechanisms that focus solely on Board action or inaction would leave staff free to make ad hoc policy decisions via contract changes absent any consultation with, much less Bylaws-required deference to, the GNSO and broader ICANN community of stakeholders.

And Giovanni, in my oral testimony before the House Judiciary Committee last month I stated:
                While enhanced ICANN accountability measures are overdue they will operate best only if ICANN's Board and senior staff embrace a culture of accountability that assumes responsibility for the fallout of ICANN decisions and encompasses early consultation with the multistakeholder community that provides organizational legitimacy.

So I am in complete agreement with your view that "accountability is something that must be part of a company's attitude and working methodology, it must be in the DNA of those who are expected to serve any community". Unfortunately, we are some considerable distance from that within ICANN at the present time and the final accountability mechanisms must take that into account.

Best, Philip

Philip S. Corwin, Founding Principal
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"Luck is the residue of design" -- Branch Rickey

From: accountability-cross-community-bounces at icann.org [mailto:accountability-cross-community-bounces at icann.org] On Behalf Of Drazek, Keith
Sent: Thursday, June 18, 2015 10:54 AM
To: Giovanni Seppia; Jordan Carter
Cc: Accountability Cross Community
Subject: Re: [CCWG-ACCT] Larry's questions (was: A blog from NTIA)

Thanks Jordan and Giovanni,

On the question of staff/management accountability:

That role is and should remain the responsibility of the Board. We are not trying to replace the Board's very legitimate and appropriate role, to include holding the ICANN management and staff accountable. We are simply trying to ensure the Board is accountable to the community. We have no desire to create a new structure that interferes in the day-to-day operations of ICANN. However, there may be new mechanisms or triggers where the community could compel a review of Staff by the Board and we should consider those.

Regards,
Keith

From: accountability-cross-community-bounces at icann.org<mailto:accountability-cross-community-bounces at icann.org> [mailto:accountability-cross-community-bounces at icann.org] On Behalf Of Giovanni Seppia
Sent: Thursday, June 18, 2015 11:43 AM
To: Jordan Carter
Cc: Accountability Cross Community
Subject: Re: [CCWG-ACCT] Larry's questions (was: A blog from NTIA)

Hi Jordan, All,

My two cents on the last point of Larry  (The proposal is primarily focused on the accountability of the ICANN Board. Has the Working Group also considered if there need to be accountability improvements that would apply to ICANN management and staff or to the various ICANN Supporting Organizations and Advisory Committees?) . We, the community, can envisage million of sticks and procedures to "punish" - "react" - "remedy" to actions of people who are not doing their job well. However, accountability is something that must be part of a company's attitude and working methodology, it must be in the DNA of those who are expected to serve any community.

Best,

Giovanni



On 18 Jun 2015, at 11:25, Jordan Carter <jordan at internetnz.net.nz<mailto:jordan at internetnz.net.nz>> wrote:

Hi all, I know it's poor form to reply to emails you sent, but I thought I'd try answering some of Larry's questions, to start some conversation on list about them... answering is actually more like offering comments for conversation...

Also just a view that while it would have been helpful for NTIA to offer these as part of a public comment in time, I am sure that the U.S. congress and other public and political debates in the USA will need solid answers to all of these questions.

On 17 June 2015 at 01:22, Jordan Carter <jordan at internetnz.net.nz<mailto:jordan at internetnz.net.nz>> wrote:
I am sure Avri will post this to our group but I just wanted to share the very interesting questions Larry poses us:


In addition to the ICG transition proposal, the final submission to NTIA must include a plan to enhance ICANN's accountability. Given that the draft proposal of the Cross Community Working Group on Enhancing ICANN Accountability will be a major focus of the discussions next week in Argentina, I would like to offer the following questions for stakeholders to consider:
*         The draft proposes new or modified community empowerment tools. How can the Working Group on Accountability ensure that the creation of new organizations or tools will not interfere with the security and stability of the DNS during and after the transition? Do new committees and structures create a different set of accountability questions?

* would we look to SSAC to comment on the proposals?
* I have asked about the notion of stress-testing our proposed accountability changes (so far, the stress-testing has been focused on making sure the accountability solution can deal with ICANN's accountability to the community, and I do think we need to discuss how to apply the same methodology to our own proposed solutions.)
* new tools do raise new questions but that is necessary as part of the process of ending the NTIA contract.
* our proposal has to answer and resolve concerns of this sort and that's a high bar for v2 to meet


*         The draft proposal focuses on a membership model for community empowerment. Have other possible models been thoroughly examined, detailed, and documented?  Has the working group designed stress tests of the various models to address how the multistakeholder model is preserved if individual ICANN Supporting Organizations and Advisory Committees opt out?  Similarly, has the working group developed stress tests to address the potential risk of capture and barriers to entry for new participants of the various models? Further, have stress tests been considered to address potential unintended consequences of "operationalizing" groups that to date have been advisory in nature?

* lots of questions for the ST-WP to comment more on
* I feel like we've looked quite carefully and are continuing to look at membership, designator and "whatever it's now called" ("trust"? "Voluntary"? "bylaws"?) models, including with legal advice.

*         The draft proposal suggests improvements to the current Independent Review Panel (IRP). The IRP has been criticized for its own lack of accountability. How does the proposal analyze and remedy existing concerns with the IRP?

* Becky?

*         In designing a plan for improved accountability, should the working group consider what exactly is the role of the ICANN Board within the multistakeholder model?  Should the standard for Board action be to confirm that the community has reached consensus, and if so, what accountability mechanisms are needed to ensure the Board operates in accordance with that standard?

* this is a sort of bigger picture issue which feels almost like part of CWG-Stewardship's responsibility?

*         The proposal is primarily focused on the accountability of the ICANN Board. Has the Working Group also considered if there need to be accountability improvements that would apply to ICANN management and staff or to the various ICANN Supporting Organizations and Advisory Committees?

* personal view is that board is responsible for holding ICANN mgmt and staff to account
* we could consider cascading accountability obligations down to SOs and ACs...


Lots of food for thought here.


best
Jordan


All of these questions require thoughtful consideration prior to the community's completion of the transition plan. Similar to the ICG, the Working Group on Accountability will need to build a public record and thoroughly document how the NTIA criteria have been met and will be maintained in the future.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Avri Doria <avri at acm.org<mailto:avri at acm.org>>
Date: Wednesday, 17 June 2015
Subject: [ccwg-internet-governance] A blog from NTIA
To: "cwg-stewardship at icann.org<mailto:cwg-stewardship at icann.org>" <cwg-stewardship at icann.org<mailto:cwg-stewardship at icann.org>>


http://www.ntia.doc.gov/blog/2015/stakeholder-proposals-come-together-icann-meeting-argentina

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