<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:#000000">Thanks Jacqueline,</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:#000000"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:#000000">I totally agree with you. What problem are we solving, is a merger the best answer, how does the merger benefit the members. The question is how can we work more cooperatively while retaining the respective Constituencies obligations to its members and ICANN. </div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:#000000"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:#000000">As I mentioned in the NPOC EC meeting today, we can define some of the administrative tasks that have the same goals and work together on those-Member engagement, education, comments, mentorship etc. </div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:#000000"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:#000000">We are now with a solution in search of the problem. Which problem.</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:#000000">Regards,</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:#000000"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:#000000"><br></div></div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Tue, Jul 21, 2020 at 11:33 AM Jacqueline Morris <<a href="mailto:jam@jacquelinemorris.com" target="_blank">jam@jacquelinemorris.com</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr">Hi everyone<div>It's an interesting discussion. </div><div>I think that we've jumped into discussing one particular solution (merger) without first really examining the problems that need to be solved. I think that it would help us to take a step back, look carefully at the issues, which seem to me to include</div><div>1) Current members low engagement in policy work </div><div>2) Administrative overload for Maryam and the members of the various ECs</div><div>3) Need to grow the membership base (new members)</div><div>4) To develop and maintain a strong voice in ICANN for our stakeholders</div><div>etc</div><div>And see where there are simple, easy, cooperative solutions.</div><div><br></div><div>At first glance I can see that there are several areas in which there can be cooperative solutions, where each member of the troika can work together. For example, education for members on policy and other issues, joint outreach to attract new members, maybe merging some administrative tasks. With regard to some of what Benjamin referred to:<i style="font-family:Tahoma;color:rgb(0,0,255)">such as social media or website workgroup, welfare committee, diversity committee, outreach committee, education or e-learning committee, social affairs committee, conflicts resolutions " </i>- these could be joint committees.</div><div>This can happen without erasing the particular focused voice of each constituency via a merger. </div><div><br></div><div>If a working group is created, I think that the mandate should be directed towards defining and analysing the problems and finding solutions, but not towards figuring out a way to merge at this time. It's far too early to determine that a merger is the solution, and personally, I think that the work involved in merging would probably be worse for member engagement and policy work. It would be a long slog of administrative stuff, and that doesn't excite anyone or motivate them to participate, and merging would also focus the admittedly few resources on that, and even less on the already heavy policy workload.</div><div><br></div><div>Regards</div><div><div><div dir="ltr"><div>Jacqueline A. Morris</div><div>Technology should be like oxygen: Ubiquitous, Necessary, Invisible and Free. (after <span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12px;line-height:16px;word-spacing:2px"><a href="http://twitter.com/chrislehmann" target="_blank">Chris Lehmann</a> )</span></div><div></div></div></div><br></div></div></div></div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Mon, Jul 13, 2020 at 4:14 PM Remmy Nweke <<a href="mailto:remmyn@gmail.com" target="_blank">remmyn@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr"><font size="4"> Thanks Sam for this proposal and those who have commented so far.</font><div><font size="4"><br>Noteworthy is that the journey has been dramatic both in transparency and accountability which needed to be addressed if any attempt to reverse the stage will take place and eventually make sense, let alone becoming successful.</font><div><font size="4"><br>Maybe we should explore other templates like what ALAC is using to further streamline the engagement and ensure that those in the continental wings play by the rules.</font><div><font size="4"><br>With regards to having NPOC charter on going for three years+ is about the game of leadership because of that period, if not 1/3 used should have taken care of that.<br><br>As for the harmonisation under NCSG; it must be embedded with transparency and accountability and well defined as well as leadership willingliness (political will) of the troika plus the pro and cons coming with timelines.</font><div><font size="4">Regards<br></font><div></div><div><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr">____<div>REMMY NWEKE, <font size="1">mNGE</font>, </div><div>Lead Consulting Strategist/Group Executive Editor, <br><span style="background-color:rgb(255,0,0)">DigitalSENSE Africa Media</span> <span>[<i>Multiple-award winning medium</i>]<br></span>(<a href="http://www.digitalsenseafrica.com.ng/businessnews" target="_blank">DigitalSENSE Business News</a>; <a href="http://www.itrealms.com.ng" target="_blank">ITREALMS</a>, <a href="http://www.naijaagronet.com.ng" target="_blank">NaijaAgroNet</a>)</div><div>Block F1, Shop 133 Moyosore Aboderin Plaza, Bolade Junction, Oshodi-Lagos<br>M: 234-8033592762, 8023122558, 8051000475, T: <a href="http://www.twitter.com/ITRealms" target="_blank">@ITRealms<br></a><div>Author: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/adecadeofictreportageinnigeria%E2%80%8E" target="_blank">A Decade of ICT Reportage in Nigeria</a></div><div><br></div><div><b><font color="#ff0000">2020 <a href="http://www.digitalsenseafrica.com.ng" target="_blank">Nigeria DigitalSENSE Forum on IG4D & Nigeria IPv6 Roundtable</a></font></b> </div><div>JOIN us!!</div><div><br></div><div>*Vice President, <a href="http://www.acsis-scasi.org/en/" target="_blank">African Civil Society on the Information Society (ACSIS</a>)</div><div>_________________________________________________________________<br><font size="1">*Confidentiality Notice:* The information in this document and attachments are confidential and may also be privileged information. It is intended only for the use of the named recipient. Remmy Nweke does not accept legal responsibility for the contents of this e-mail. If you are not the intended recipient, please notify me immediately, then delete this document and do not disclose the contents of this document to any other person, nor make any copies. Violators may face court persecution.<br></font><br></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><br></div></div></div></div></div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Fri, Jul 10, 2020 at 5:16 PM Sam Lanfranco <<a href="mailto:lanfran@yorku.ca" target="_blank">lanfran@yorku.ca</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><div><font face="Tahoma" size="2"> <b>A Proposal to Merge
NCSG, NCUC and NPOC for More Efficiency in ICANN’s DNS Work</b>
<p> Sam Lanfranco
(NPOC/NCSG member) – July 2020</p>
<p style="text-align:center" align="center"></p>
<p>This suggestion has been a long time coming. It contains a
proposal that should be considered as a topic for both “in house” and broader
global stakeholder engaged dialogue. It will likely be received with some resistance
and consternation among our “in house” colleagues but resigning it to the dust
bin without consideration and reflection would be mistake.</p>
<p>The collective mission of <span> </span>the three entities, NCSG, NCUC and NPOC:
referred to here as “the troika”, within ICANN can be simply put as advocating for
and helping giving voice to the non-profit sector, the public interest, and marginalized
Internet users within the DNS community. Whether that is an adequate definition
of the collective mission within the ICANN DNS remit may be an issue for
further stakeholder discussion, but that issue is not germane to this proposal to merge the troika
into a single entity.</p>
<p> First a bit of simplistic history. NCUC was constituted as
the first stakeholder constituency within the troika. With the creation of NPOC
the NCSG was created as the “uber” member of the troika. The initial impetus
for NPOC was the DNS concerns of large global NGOs such as the Red Cross, Red
Crescent, Salvation Army, and other organizations with an affiliated global presence.
As their concerns progressed through ICANN those concerned organizations basically
bypassed the troika and reached higher up in dealing with ICANN. The troika role
was mainly reduced to offering stakeholder comments on the process.</p>
<p> At the same time, over the better part of a decade there has
been a blend of cooperation and competition between the structures of the
troika. There are “old timers” who still harbor some resentment toward its
creation, and “newcomers” who wonder why there are sore spots. </p>
<p> Leaving that history aside what is more important is that in
pursuit of its mission the troika faces several problems. The first, in terms
of the multistakeholder policy making process of ICANN, is that it is the
weakest leg of the process stool. The troika <i>represents the concerns and
interests</i> of its constituencies. The troika cannot <i>represent its
constituencies</i> the way the contracted parties, non-contracted parties, or
GAC (in its special relationship) can and do. It has no formal induction
process from its constituency, nor does it have formal accountability to its
constituency. </p>
<p> Think of the troika as a valiant and under resourced band of
public interest volunteers. Some of that band of have managed to wed career
advancement to troika service and sustain engagement. Most (particularly those
from marginalized communities) have not. One result is that the more
marginalized within the volunteer constituency face greater obstacles,
resulting in lower virtual and literal participation. The troika frequently
pleas for additional ICANN resource support to address this challenge.</p>
<p>The troika has difficulty providing adequate volunteer labor to
serve is role in terms of ICANN PDP working group and document comment demands.
The troika has difficulty recruiting candidates for the necessary positions
dictated by the troika structure, by the demands of the GNSO, and for other
ICANN activities. </p>
<p> Despite the millions of constituent organizations and
individuals that fall within the troika's mission and remit, the troika has
difficulty recruiting adequate new members to each of its three components.
Lastly, while we hope we are voicing the concerns of the wider ngo and civil
society community, it is only our voice, translating what we perceive to be
their concerns into our words. Better engagement and empowerment would be to
give them more direct access to the microphone so they could express their
concerns and we could be more accountable.</p>
<p> Given this situation what can be done? There is a way forward
and it draws on organizational wisdom found in other areas of human endeavor. In
business it is the issue of too many managers and too few workers. In
government: too many bureaucrats and too few front-line workers. In the
military: too many generals and not enough soldiers. In the troika this is
further complicated by the fact that those in administrative positions also do
double duty as front-line workers in ICANN’s policy development and other
processes. </p>
<p> The troika as now constituted demands multiple chairs, with multiple
executive, policy, membership, finance, and other standing committee demands. All
of this from a mainly self-selected membership community of around 300 members,
where around ten to fifteen percent actively contribute volunteer labor to the
administration of the troika, to the obligations it faces to the GNSO, to the
all-important policy development process and to related working group and
organizational matters. This at the same time it hopes that it is adequately
and properly representing the ngo interests of tens of thousands of
organizations, and the public interest concerns of hundreds of millions of
global citizens. <span> </span></p>
<p> While it is easier to fill positions that come with benefits
such as attendance at ICANN meetings and strategic planning sessions, there is
still a two-part bias against constituency member engagement. First, personal
financial constraints and work requirements make it harder to accept elected
positions. In other ICANN constituencies participation is usually part of one’s
job description. Second, the organizational structure of the troika results in a
considerable portion of ICANN travel support going to those in executive
positions, offering less incentive for PDP/working group engagement. As well, for
some it is less rewarding to participate in ICANN tasks without the benefit of face-to-face
engagement at global ICANN meetings. This disincentive may grow as virtual
meetings replace global face-to-face meetings.</p>
<p> Of the 300 or so members within the troika about 50 sustain relative
activity about half of that number that are highly active. Some of the “highly
active” represent people with relative, if basic, financial positions and personal
work obligations that allow, and may benefit from, participation. Others face engagement
levels constrained by finances and work obligations. For those who hold
membership but are relatively inactive, we have little information. Many may
have expected more when they joined </p>
<p> What is the way forward? The troika should hold an internal
consultation to consider re-constituting the troika as a single structure. This
would reduce the number of “generals” and the make benefits of participation
more available to “foot soldier volunteers” engaged in the work of ICANN. There
were historical reasons for creating the NCUC+NCSG+NPOC troika. The overall
mission and remit remain but there is no reason for the troika to remain as
structured.</p>
<p> The troika should initiate a cross-the-troika discussion
looking at reorganizing the three administrative structures into a single administrative
structure. This would free up more volunteer labor, currently shackled with
administrative duties (replicated across the troika). More labor could do more
in the substantive work of stakeholder engagement in ICANN's core DNS business.
A single lean administrative structure also removes the unproductive occasional
competition and bickering between the constituencies within the troika.</p>
<p> This re-organization alone would not fully meet ICANN's and
the constituencies efforts to increase the participation from the global constituency,
and from marginalized DNS communities and individuals. This is an efficiency
proposal. Greater participation is a separate challenge.</p>
<p> In conclusion, the proposal here is for the troika to open an
internal discussion to consider re-structuring NCSG, NCUC and NPOC into a
single administrative structure. How to do this, and what it would be called
would be part of that discussion. A single structure would produce more scope
for volunteer non-profit and civil society engagement in the core work of ICANN
while at the same time presenting a more clearly defined single entity for expanding
engagement by the wider global non-profit and civil society constituency. </p>
<p> Sam Lanfranco, NPOC</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
</font></div>
</blockquote></div>
</blockquote></div>
</blockquote></div><br clear="all"><div><br></div>-- <br><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr">
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