[council] [Ext] Re: Strategic Planning Session 2019

Ayden Férdeline icann at ferdeline.com
Thu May 31 23:51:32 UTC 2018


Did the Council set this budget, or did staff? I do not remember being consulted on whether $60,000 would be adequate. Anyway, I appreciate that your remark about scrapping the per diem was simply a provocative one, and yes I took the bait. I think it shows tremendous disrespect to the community that you would even suggest it.

Ayden

‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Original Message ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐
On 1 June 2018 1:48 AM, Marika Konings <marika.konings at icann.org> wrote:

> Ayden, the budget envelope for this meeting is set, so moving towards reimbursing actual costs, especially if that is expected to be higher than the per diem provided, does not sound like a solution for saving costs. It is however up to the Council to decide how cost savings can be made in order to stay within the budget envelope allocated for this meeting which may mean that certain things need to give, but this is hopefully outweighed by the importance given to this meeting by everyone.
>
> Best regards,
>
> Marika
>
> From: Ayden Férdeline <icann at ferdeline.com>
> Reply-To: Ayden Férdeline <icann at ferdeline.com>
> Date: Thursday, May 31, 2018 at 17:37
> To: Marika Konings <marika.konings at icann.org>
> Cc: Heather Forrest <haforrestesq at gmail.com>, GNSO Council List <council at gnso.icann.org>
> Subject: Re: [Ext] Re: [council] Strategic Planning Session 2019
>
> Thank you, Marika; I would personally prefer that the travel report for the Council's Strategic Planning Session and the NCPH Intersessional be separated into two, with appropriate costings divided, so that we have a fuller understanding of the cost of each forum. They are, after all, different forums with different delegates (albeit some overlap).
>
> As for the suggestion of removing the per diem, we could instead have a discussion around reimbursing actual costs incurred by delegates -- for those meals not covered during the day, for ground transport between the hotel and airport, for currency conversion fees, for dry cleaning, and for travel insurance. But this might be harder for ICANN to budget for, an administrative burden to process, and may even end up exceeding the cost of the per diem that is currently paid.
>
> Best wishes,
>
> Ayden Férdeline
>
> ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Original Message ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐
>
> On 1 June 2018 1:25 AM, Marika Konings <marika.konings at icann.org> wrote:
>
>> Actual expenses incurred – I am not a 100% sure how the allocation for delegates that attended both meetings was done, but I can find out.
>>
>> Best regards,
>>
>> Marika
>>
>> From: Ayden Férdeline <icann at ferdeline.com>
>> Reply-To: Ayden Férdeline <icann at ferdeline.com>
>> Date: Thursday, May 31, 2018 at 17:23
>> To: Marika Konings <marika.konings at icann.org>
>> Cc: Heather Forrest <haforrestesq at gmail.com>, GNSO Council List <council at gnso.icann.org>
>> Subject: Re: [Ext] Re: [council] Strategic Planning Session 2019
>>
>> Thanks for the swift reply, Marika. Are these actual expenses incurred, or was this simply the budget allocation for FY18? And do the travel costs here encompass 100% of the airfare for delegates who also participated in the NCPH intersessional, or only 50% of that cost, for said delegates?
>>
>> Best wishes, Ayden
>>
>> ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Original Message ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐
>>
>> On 1 June 2018 1:15 AM, Marika Konings <marika.konings at icann.org> wrote:
>>
>>> Ayden, the breakdown of expenses was roughly as follows:
>>>
>>> 55,000 USD travel and hotel costs
>>>
>>> 8,000 USD Per diem
>>>
>>> 3,500 USD food and drinks
>>>
>>> 2,000 USD miscellaneous expenses (e.g. materials for the meeting, drinks / snacks for the office reception, taxis)
>>>
>>> Note that there was no air fare associated with staff attendance as that was covered as part of the policy team strategic planning session the week before. As that meeting is no longer planned in next year’s budget due to savings, those expenses may need to be added, assuming you expect staff support for the meeting.
>>>
>>> As food, drinks and transport where provided for most of the meeting, one potential area for savings could be not providing per diems?
>>>
>>> Best regards,
>>>
>>> Marika
>>>
>>> From: Ayden Férdeline <icann at ferdeline.com>
>>> Reply-To: Ayden Férdeline <icann at ferdeline.com>
>>> Date: Thursday, May 31, 2018 at 16:56
>>> To: Marika Konings <marika.konings at icann.org>
>>> Cc: Heather Forrest <haforrestesq at gmail.com>, GNSO Council List <council at gnso.icann.org>
>>> Subject: [Ext] Re: [council] Strategic Planning Session 2019
>>>
>>> Can we get a breakdown on what the $75,000 was spent on please? Was that all spent on travel, or is there anything else bundled into this figure? With some more granularity we might be able to identify those areas where some efficiencies can be achieved. Thank you.
>>>
>>> Ayden Férdeline
>>>
>>> ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Original Message ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐
>>>
>>> On 1 June 2018 12:49 AM, Marika Konings <marika.konings at icann.org> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Ayden, please note that the reduction that the Council is asked to make compared to this year’s SPS is 15,000 USD. As you may see from the approval language, for this year’s edition, 75,000 USD was approved versus 60,000 USD for next year’s SPS. This may mean that in addition to reducing the meeting by one day other savings may need to be found.
>>>>
>>>> Best regards,
>>>>
>>>> Marika
>>>>
>>>> From: council <council-bounces at gnso.icann.org> on behalf of Ayden Férdeline <icann at ferdeline.com>
>>>> Reply-To: Ayden Férdeline <icann at ferdeline.com>
>>>> Date: Thursday, May 31, 2018 at 01:50
>>>> To: Heather Forrest <haforrestesq at gmail.com>
>>>> Cc: GNSO Council List <council at gnso.icann.org>
>>>> Subject: Re: [council] Strategic Planning Session 2019
>>>>
>>>> Thanks very much Heather, that sounds a sensible path forward.
>>>>
>>>> The travel report outlining the cost of our Strategic Planning Session in January is [here [community.icann.org]](https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__community.icann.org_display_trvlconstit_ICANN-2BFace-2Dto-2BFace-2BMeeting-3Fpreview-3D_71603563_84224328_2018-2D02-2D01-2520-2D-2520GNSO-2520NCPH-2520-2D-2520LAX.pdf&d=DwMGaQ&c=FmY1u3PJp6wrcrwll3mSVzgfkbPSS6sJms7xcl4I5cM&r=7_PQAir-9nJQ2uB2cWiTDDDo5Hfy5HL9rSTe65iXLVM&m=9c-0dLNYC11X37P0I5jZ2WPx85tZsCORcg3nESYj0Zw&s=ge5ePckMnAcfOXaDWMS2eXH5jM4sqhEfMEO82SWvNqk&e=). As we can see, the cost was largely down to flights; comparatively, hotel expenses were very minimal (and the per diem for each traveller even smaller than I had realised). Given this, it really is a pity that $5,000 could not be found to keep our session at three days long.
>>>>
>>>> I appreciate that most requests for community support were scaled back, but they were scaled back to meet an artificially small Additional Budgetary Request envelope (0.002% of the overall budget), an amount that was set and limited by ICANN staff (personnel costs are 59% of the overall budget). The community had developed these requests in a bottom-up manner based upon demonstrated need.
>>>>
>>>> Best wishes,
>>>>
>>>> Ayden
>>>>
>>>> ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Original Message ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐
>>>>
>>>> On 31 May 2018 8:30 AM, Heather Forrest <haforrestesq at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Dear Council colleagues,
>>>>>
>>>>> I write with some welcome good news, for the GNSO generally and next year's GNSO Council in particular.
>>>>>
>>>>> I have just received notice that our Additional Budget Request for holding a Strategic Planning Session in 2019 has been approved. You may recall that the request built in flexibility as to a 2 or 3 day schedule, in view of the FY19 budget and the 2018 SPS schedule (taking into account that the day we had on Bylaws review was a one-off). From our request, I understand that ICANN org has recommended that the Board approve a full 2-day face-to-face meeting of the Council, to be held separately from an ICANN Public Meeting. I also understand that the ABR process was highly competitive, with 55 applications received, and that most requests were scaled back to some degree. I personally believe we've done well here to get the 2 full days, and I'm confident that the next Council leadership team and Council can make good use of this to continue the professionalisation and learning process.
>>>>>
>>>>> We have too much on our collective plates right now to begin planning, but I would suggest that Rafik, Donna and I give some preliminary thought to the logistics as our term ends, to hand over to the 2018-19 Council when it is seated in Barcelona.
>>>>>
>>>>> Best wishes,
>>>>>
>>>>> Heather
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