Dear David and Council members,<div><br></div><div>With thanks to Marika for her precis of the policy v implementation paper on the GNSO Council call this evening, we should also look beyond<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica"> the critical decision-point of when something is policy versus implementation, to improving the quality and purity of decision-making on implementation issues. This would give reassurances that may take some of the heat out of the policy v implementation debate. </span></div>
<div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica"><br></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica">I would like to make a suggestion on fine-tuning implementation itself, so that there is less risk/perception of the possibility for it to be influenced in non-objective ways. </span></div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:Helvetica"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:Helvetica">Implementation is something
of a 'black box'. The staff does its best with the policy inputs and operational/legal/environmental constraints to produce a sensible result. We
assume the criteria they use are practicality and expedience. i.e. that it's basically
technocratic decision-making in the pure sense of the term. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:Helvetica"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:Helvetica">But when a policy-making executive (such as the ICANN staff but equally the European Commission or Dept. of Commerce) takes on authority for
decision-making, there still need to be checks and balances on that 'black
box'. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:Helvetica"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:Helvetica">Aside from the possibility of self-dealing by
the executive, there is a risk of outcomes being influenced by small numbers of
insiders who aren't part of the executive but have sufficient access to
influence decision-making in un-transparent ways. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Helvetica"><br></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica">I propose the post hoc reporting of a
rationale behind the implementation decisions ultimately taken and - crucially - <u>a register of
contacts received from named external actors regarding implementation of a
specific issue</u>. Contacts include outreach to or from those providing expert
input, operational insights or, as some fear, attempting to influence that process.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:Helvetica"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica">Reporting the fact of contacts is best practice in the UK, and increasingly in the EU, with
public registers of lobbyists being slowly introduced. It has the benefit of reassuring the public that decisions have been taken fairly, and it also protects staff members from undue contacts. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica">What do others think?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica"><br></span></p><div>Also, I'd be happy to take part in the organising committee for a session in Beijing, if that's helpful. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;font-size:14px"> </span></div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica">All the best, Maria</span></p>
</div><div><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On 8 January 2013 23:22, David Olive <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:david.olive@icann.org" target="_blank">david.olive@icann.org</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
<div style="font-size:14px;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;word-wrap:break-word"><div><div><div><div>Dear GNSO Council Members:</div><div><br></div><div>As mentioned previously, I would like to share with you a staff paper concerning the topic of policy vs. implementation which outlines a draft framework for community discussion. In addition, the paper aims to identify a number of principles, questions as well as possible improvements that will hopefully facilitate further consideration of this issue. </div>
<div><br></div><div>In addition to sharing this with you, we are also planning to circulate this to the other ICANN Supporting Organizations and Advisory Committees for their consideration. Further to any steps the GNSO may want to take in relation to this issue, our idea would be to solicit volunteers from the different SO/ACs to set up a small organizing committee to plan a session in Beijing on this topic so further consideration can be given to possible next steps and/or recommendations. </div>
<div><br></div><div>If you have any comments and/or questions, please feel free to share those with the list. This topic is also expected to be on the agenda for the next GNSO Council meeting.</div><div><br></div><div>Best regards,</div>
</div><div><br></div><div>David</div><div><div><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div><span style="font-family:Calibri,Verdana,Helvetica,Arial;font-size:15px">--</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Calibri,Verdana,Helvetica,Arial;font-size:15px">David A. Olive</span></div>
<div><div><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Calibri,Verdana,Helvetica,Arial">Vice President, Policy Development Support</span><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Calibri,Verdana,Helvetica,Arial"><br></span><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Calibri,Verdana,Helvetica,Arial">Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)</span><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Calibri,Verdana,Helvetica,Arial"><br>
</span><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Calibri,Verdana,Helvetica,Arial">1101 New York Avenue, NW - Suite 930 </span></div><div><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Calibri,Verdana,Helvetica,Arial">Washington, D.C. 20005</span><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Calibri,Verdana,Helvetica,Arial"><br>
</span><span style="font-size:15px;font-family:Calibri,Verdana,Helvetica,Arial">Office: <a href="tel:202.570.7126" value="+12025707126" target="_blank">202.570.7126</a> Mobile: <a href="tel:202.341.3611" value="+12023413611" target="_blank">202.341.3611</a></span></div>
</div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><img width="57" height="57" src="cid:589076E4-4024-42FB-920B-06671F451B74" type="image/png"><u></u><u></u></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br></p><p></p><br></div><br></div></div></div></div>
</blockquote></div><br></div></div>