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<p>Ayden,</p>
<p>I might add that Nano-Mentoring needs no additional resources, no
organizational structures, and is a bit what a number of us have
done in any event. This just Brands it, and tracks it a bit to
record it as an NCSG deliverable from ICANN sponsored activities.
Past discussions around more formal mentoring programs got bogged
down in turf creep and budget issues. <br>
</p>
<p>Sam <br>
</p>
<br>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 2/16/2018 9:24 AM, Ayden Férdeline
wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid:KwKcjwtBufbSlBrNjsYTQ1y-tcay0EIJVUyNocYp-Eb9tEHdenVQLWJx0p4A4Ci4dA6nVeZuQn9X5ibXcyMvqx5VrpRGKjRTQEVgz-vLzsY=@ferdeline.com">
<div>Excellent ideas, Sam. Thanks for sharing these.<br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>I'm happy to 'pilot' the NCSG Nano-Mentoring Initiative at
the Internet Freedom Festival in Valencia next month, which I am
participating in with the support of CROP. Happy to touch base
with our members on the ground - Dina, Bonface, Olga, Rafael,
Joana, and there might be others - to see if we can make this
work. This would be a good outcome to highlight in the the CROP
post-trip report that I am required to submit to ICANN org.<br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Best wishes,<br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Ayden <br>
</div>
<div class="protonmail_signature_block">
<div class="protonmail_signature_block-proton
protonmail_signature_block-empty"><br>
</div>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>-------- Original Message --------<br>
</div>
<div> On 16 February 2018 3:04 PM, Sam Lanfranco
<a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:lanfran@yorku.ca"><lanfran@yorku.ca></a> wrote:<br>
</div>
<div> <br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite" class="protonmail_quote">
<p>Ayden,<br>
</p>
<p>Thanks for your comments. You have hit both points, (a) we
have to conduct a critical due diligence on the overall
pattern of ICANN spending, looking at effectiveness and
efficiency, and (b) we have to look at the (admittedly tiny)
slice of the ICANN budget going to NCSG similarly in terms of
effectiveness and efficiency. We should have no problems with
efficiency since the NCSG crowd engages with near zero perks
above basic expenses. We should do more in documenting
effectiveness. That needs to go beyond how many people showed
up for something, but what were the subsequent outcomes and
follow up. Even little things like an NCSG Nano-Mentoring
Initiative, where at a CROPP event one or two attendees are
identified for some one-on-one informal mentoring around ICANN
engagement, and followed up with for 3-4 months in ways that
may draw them, or others, into engagement with policy
processes. That would up the outcomes from CROPP.<br>
</p>
<p>Sam <br>
</p>
<div><br>
</div>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 2/16/2018 4:05 AM, Ayden
Férdeline wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite">
<div>Thanks, Sam, I found this very useful.<br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>I don't believe that community travel is a large expense
for ICANN; relative to staff travel, it is nothing. ICANN
flew 220+ staff to Abu Dhabi, and gave the NCSG and NCUC
three travel slots each. Yes, others have alternative
funding, be that through the Council, Review Teams,
Onboarding, or Fellowships, but this support is not
extensive. <br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>The real cost base at ICANN is not us - it's personnel
costs, consultants, external counsel, and other
"professional services", leasing office space, and staff
travel to an array of irrelevant events. So when we fight
for our five CROP slots to be retained, I hope we can make
it clear that we understand the need for fiscal prudence and
believe ICANN should only be funding activities related to
its core mission. CROP is; those expensive Boston Consulting
Group papers (which a former Board member described on
Facebook as being "recycled" over and over again, so why
does ICANN keep buying them?) and other spend are not...<br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>That said, I think you're right that cuts are going to
continue coming our way, so the time is now for us to start
'boosting our defences' and get out there fundraising,
boosting our own Reserve Fund, and perhaps becoming enough
of a legal entity to be able to do all that...<br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Also - your note about the org's dissatisfaction with the
PDP model reminds me that we (NCSG) haven't sent any
feedback in on the staff whitepaper on this topic (the one
drafted by Emily and Marika that could spell an end to
bottom-up, end-user participation at ICANN). We should
probably add that to the long list of statements we need to
draft urgently...<br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div class="protonmail_signature_block">
<div class="protonmail_signature_block-user">
<div>Ayden <br>
</div>
</div>
<div class="protonmail_signature_block-proton
protonmail_signature_block-empty"><br>
</div>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>-------- Original Message --------<br>
</div>
<div>On 16 February 2018 1:37 AM, Sam Lanfranco <a
class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E"
href="mailto:lanfran@yorku.ca" moz-do-not-send="true"><lanfran@yorku.ca></a>
wrote:<br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<blockquote class="protonmail_quote" type="cite">
<p>Ayden, et. al.,<br>
</p>
<p>The gist of my comments on Skype (reproduced below) are
that ICANN is probably at an inflection point on its
revenue growth curve, and the budgets will get tighter
going forward. There are diminishing returns from new
gTLDs, when they come, there are social media options to
registering domain names, both for persons and entities,
and there are likely to be new technologies for Registrars
to do their work. The prospects for a Distributed Ledger
Technology (think blockchain 3.0 or Tangle 4.0 - i.e.,
down the road) will likely reduce the earned fees from
existing domain name registrations. READ: ICANN's budget
will shrink, hence my analogy of ICANN going from a Plum
to a Prune. <br>
</p>
<p>This means that NCSG (& NCUC/NPOC) have to seriously
look inward and assess the relative efficiency and
effectiveness of the ICANN expenditures they account for.
Xavier and crew have gone a considerable distance in
giving us the granularity of budget expenses we asked for,
to aid us in decision making. While we can mount arguments
for why CROPP needs to be retained, we are implicitly
(with silence) saying that everything else needs to be
retained (mainly with regard to travel and accommodations
- the big budget items). <br>
</p>
<p>It is my assessment that a "no shrinkage" strategy with
regard to the NCSG entitlement is a "no go", and that
budget cuts will come with or without consultation. This
may take a couple of years to roll out, but the NCSG &
Co future will be will less ICANN funding. We can either
think through how we adjust to that, we can start to look
for other funding, or we can do both. What we cannot do,
for much longer, is just insist on the status quo based
simply on the notion that we we do is a good idea and in
the Public Interest.<br>
</p>
<p>At the same time, we are hearing more and more about how
ICANN the org, and ICANN the board are not happy with the
dynamics and the progress of the ICANN pdp-wg model. We
should anticipate, and help shape, changes there. Those of
you meeting in Puerto Rico should be spending considerable
time on how NCSG deals with these issues (or show that I
have it wrong) and spend less time in a dance that makes
it look like we are trying to hold the Board and ICANN org
more accountable. <br>
</p>
<p>Sam L<br>
</p>
<p><span class="size" style="font-size:undefinedpx"><span
style="color:rgb(51, 0, 153)" class="colour"><i>[<b>Skype
posting</b>] By the last time I was able to attend
an ICANN meeting (ICANN58: Copenhagen) Xavier had
discussed greater budget granularity with NCSG and
pledged to improve access and transparency. We may
quibble on how much we now have, and how far ICANN
has gone in improved granularity, but it is
important to recognize that Xavier has gone a great
distance in honoring that pledge. <br>
<br>
That budget lines are under threat should come as no
surprise as ICANN faces tighter revenues, and as
ICANN goes forward both with a bit of belt
tightening, and (not surprisingly) some reflection
and reviews around how it carries out its work. <br>
<br>
I, as an outsider with no inside information,
suspect that ICANN will have to undergo a bit of
organizational restructuring in the service of its
remit and do so within tightening budget
constraints. While NCSG, and NCUC & NPOC,
concern themselves with the short run future of
CROPP, we should be thinking about structural
changes that may even impact on our respective
charters. At least that is my read from the outer
seats in the stadium.</i></span></span></p>
<div><br>
</div>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 2/15/2018 7:03 PM, Ayden
Férdeline wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite">
<div>This is an excellent suggestion, Stephanie. I would
like to hear what suggestions the Board has here for us,
too. This is something we really need to tackle. And
it's something I hope we might be able to table for
discussion in San Juan as well. We need to talk about
the expected standard of behaviour for our officers and
members, along with the trajectory ICANN is moving in
and what that could mean for us... We predicted ICANN
was broke last year, insinuated as much in our Reserve
Fund comment, and called for cuts to spending, but we
haven't insulated ourselves sufficiently from these
cuts... We are very, very vulnerable at the moment and
if we are not prudent with our allocation of resources I
worry we [non-commercial voices] could pay a heavy
price.<b><i> I think Sam made a very insightful comment
on this topic yesterday on Skype; I'm cc'ing him
into this discussion in case he'd like to paste his
message here for other list subscribers to see,
and/or expand upon his prediction.</i></b>.. I'd
certainly like to hear more about the 'red flags' we
should be looking out for over the coming 12 months...<br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Ayden <br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
</blockquote>
<div><br>
</div>
<pre cols="72" class="moz-signature">--
------------------------------------------------
"It is a disgrace to be rich and honoured
in an unjust state" -Confucius
邦有道，贫且贱焉，耻也。邦无道，富且贵焉，耻也
------------------------------------------------
Visiting Prof, Xi'an Jaiotong-Liverpool Univ, Suzhou, China
Dr Sam Lanfranco (Prof Emeritus & Senior Scholar)
Econ, York U., Toronto, Ontario, CANADA - M3J 1P3
email: <a href="mailto:Lanfran@Yorku.ca" class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" moz-do-not-send="true">Lanfran@Yorku.ca</a> Skype: slanfranco
blog: <a href="https://samlanfranco.blogspot.com" class="moz-txt-link-freetext" moz-do-not-send="true">https://samlanfranco.blogspot.com</a>
Phone: +1 613-476-0429 cell: +1 416-816-2852
</pre>
</blockquote>
<div><br>
</div>
</blockquote>
<div><br>
</div>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
------------------------------------------------
"It is a disgrace to be rich and honoured
in an unjust state" -Confucius
邦有道，贫且贱焉，耻也。邦无道，富且贵焉，耻也
------------------------------------------------
Visiting Prof, Xi'an Jaiotong-Liverpool Univ, Suzhou, China
Dr Sam Lanfranco (Prof Emeritus & Senior Scholar)
Econ, York U., Toronto, Ontario, CANADA - M3J 1P3
email: <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:Lanfran@Yorku.ca" moz-do-not-send="true">Lanfran@Yorku.ca</a> Skype: slanfranco
blog: <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://samlanfranco.blogspot.com" moz-do-not-send="true">https://samlanfranco.blogspot.com</a>
Phone: +1 613-476-0429 cell: +1 416-816-2852
</pre>
</blockquote>
<div><br>
</div>
</blockquote>
<br>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
------------------------------------------------
"It is a disgrace to be rich and honoured
in an unjust state" -Confucius
邦有道，贫且贱焉，耻也。邦无道，富且贵焉，耻也
------------------------------------------------
Visiting Prof, Xi'an Jaiotong-Liverpool Univ, Suzhou, China
Dr Sam Lanfranco (Prof Emeritus & Senior Scholar)
Econ, York U., Toronto, Ontario, CANADA - M3J 1P3
email: <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:Lanfran@Yorku.ca">Lanfran@Yorku.ca</a> Skype: slanfranco
blog: <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://samlanfranco.blogspot.com">https://samlanfranco.blogspot.com</a>
Phone: +1 613-476-0429 cell: +1 416-816-2852</pre>
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