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<p class=MsoNormal>Dear all,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Following an attempt to discuss the matter during today’s
conference call of Working Group 1, I am circulating some comments on three
issues (already mentioned in Beijing) that I consider important and that are
not easy to fit into the structure of our existing four working
groups. Most of the issues also do not have easy answers.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b>1. Geographic
diversity of the (senior) staff of Icann.<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>We have all very often heard the remark that the staff of
Icann is/appears very "Anglo-Saxon". Most of the senior
employees are US citizens, with a sprinkling of Brits, Aussies and Canadians.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Why is that relevant? Icann serves the world
community of internet users. The embracing of the decisions taken
by its Board would be facilitated by the perception of the organization as a
truly international one. This is point is recognized in the Icann
by-laws which call for a geographic diversity of the membership of its
Board. The same should apply to the staff of Icann, at least for
the senior position. In the past Icann has made a few attempts to
recruit people of different backgrounds (I played a role in the recruitment of
a Dutch vice-president), but the present situation is the one I have described
above. This point is all the more important if there is a perception
that the senior staff has a strong influence on the decisions of the Board.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>However, any recommendation in this sense could not go
beyond generically recommending making a stronger effort to recruit senior
staff from different countries. It would be totally inappropriate
to suggest anything resembling quotas for an organization as small as Icann.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>I am also convinced that any future increase in Icann's
staff should take place outside the US. While the headquarters
could well remain the US, it is conceivable that certain functions might be
managed more and more from local offices headquartered in various parts of the
world. This would also help dilute the perception that ICANN is
basically still a US organization. But this is very likely outside the remit of
the ATRT.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b>2. Prohibition
to link incentives to policy outcomes.<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>We have received information suggesting that the
compensation of some senior members of the staff was possibly linked to the
adoption of certain policy decisions by a given date.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>We have no way of verifying this as we would have to request
information that would certainly be of a confidential nature. But
the information is disturbing. In some cases, what is controversial
is not just the type of decision that is taken, but the very adoption of a
given decision. Compensation incentives linked to the adoption of a
decision by a certain date create a perverse incentive whereby some member of
the staff may stand to gain by rejecting arguments or position that may delay
or block the adoption of the decision. It could also act as an
incentive for a staff member to be "economic with the truth" when
advising the Board on the degree of opposition that may exist to any particular
policy proposal they are being invited to endorse.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>There is also a reasonable expectation among stakeholders
that, as a non-profit organization, staff should be well remunerated but not
seen to be "profiting" directly from ICANN's revenue stream. The
articles of incorporation for example state that " No part of the net
earnings of the Corporation shall inure to the benefit of or be distributable
to its members, directors, trustees, officers, or other private persons, except
that the Corporation shall be authorized and empowered to pay reasonable
compensation for services rendered". Not surprisingly, paying
bonuses to staff for achieving policy adoption targets that result in increased
revenue for ICANN will seem to some stakeholders to be violating, at least in
spirit if not in law, this promise in the articles of incorporation. <span
lang=EN-GB><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>These practices might therefore be seen to be impacting the
"Policy Development Process" in general as well as "the
performance of the Board". Can we deal with this
issue? Where? What could we say? We could
certainly have somewhere language that generically suggests that pay incentives
should never be linked to the adoption of given policy decisions.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='page-break-after:avoid'><b>3. Revenue
maximization<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='page-break-after:avoid'><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Is there a risk that Icann's decisions might be influenced
by revenue maximization considerations? I think the risk is remote,
but not totally inexistent. Some people have mentioned the issue in
relation to the generic TLD saga. This could be seen as affecting
the recommendations of staff to the Board and subsequent Board decisions or the
way in which the decisions of Icann are accepted by the Internet community.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Would it not be in the interest of Icann to protect itself
from such an accusation/suspicion? This defense might take the
decision of the Board fixing the amount of reserves the organization deems
necessary to protect itself against unforeseen negative circumstances and
announcing that any surplus would be devoted to funding a given charitable
project (somewhere in the third world?) or to funding two or three
charities. After all, the articles of incorporation of Icann say
that the organization has been set up only for "charitable, educational
and scientific purposes". <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>N.B. The European Commission had a similar challenge for
EURID (the body running “.eu”) – as a non-profit
organization, what would happen if revenue exceeded operating costs? One
option (the ICANN situation) is to increase costs. The
other option is to transfer the surplus (the option we took for EURID). <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>All the best,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Fabio<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span lang=FR-BE>Fabio </span><span lang=FR-BE
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Colasanti<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span lang=FR-BE style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>36,
rue des Patriotes<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span lang=FR-BE style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>B-1000
Bruxelles<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span lang=FR-BE style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>tel.
+32 2 736 26 16<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span lang=FR-BE style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>mob.
+32 488 14 24 05<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span lang=FR-BE style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>fabio@colasanti.it<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
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