Suggested Comment - ICANN Reserve Fund

[caleb olumuyiwa]

I have made some additional comments and corrections on the documentation.

Caleb

On Fri, Dec 22, 2017 at 2:20 AM, Salanieta Tamanikaiwaimaro <
sala at pasifikanexus.nu> wrote:

> Dear All,
>
> I have not had time to run the analysis on the numbers as was suggested by
> Milton. Been busy with clients, and the IGF which just finished. Will work
> on it at some point and get back to you all for future references too.
>
> Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!
>
> Sala
>
> On Thu, Dec 21, 2017 at 4:16 PM, Ayden Férdeline <icann at ferdeline.com>
> wrote:
>
>> Just to follow up on the below comment from Sala last month -
>>
>> In the comment that the NCSG submitted in relation to the Reserve Fund,
>> we expressed our concern that income had stopped growing and we thought it
>> was trending downwards.
>>
>> We now have confirmation from ICANN org that this is true and that our
>> analysis was correct. ICANN has now published a blog post
>> <https://www.icann.org/news/blog/president-s-corner-finances-planning-for-the-next-two-years>
>> in which the President and CEO says the following:
>>
>> *"... we saw slower funding in the first quarter of FY18 by $1m versus
>> our approved budget, with lower domain name registrations than planned. So,
>> we believe the FY18 funding could remain flat compared to FY17's funding,
>> instead of the growth budgeted in FY18. We need to make some changes to
>> address that. And, at the same time, we are currently planning for the next
>> two years out – FY19 and FY20. We are also forecasting lower funding for
>> FY19 compared to the approved FY18 budget... As a non-profit it is
>> important that we stay within our budget. ... The reality is, ICANN has a
>> significant budget but not an infinite budget. We need to make some
>> changes, and can't do everything we are asked. You as the ICANN community
>> will feel the impact of some of those changes."*
>>
>> Clearly, the organisation does need to reconsider unnecessary
>> expenditure, but it is not acceptable that we in the community feel the
>> brunt of this impact.
>>
>> Community support is not a sizeable part of the ICANN budget; the bulk of
>> which is consumed by personnel costs, particularly staff travel,
>> performance bonuses, and consultant costs.
>>
>> —Ayden
>>
>>
>>
>> -------- Original Message --------
>> Subject: Re: Suggested Comment - ICANN Reserve Fund
>> Local Time: 14 November 2017 9:54 PM
>> UTC Time: 14 November 2017 21:54
>> From: sala at PASIFIKANEXUS.NU
>> To: NCSG-DISCUSS at LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
>>
>> Dear All,
>>
>> Warm Greetings!
>>
>>    1. Not take away from Ayden's work and this is not a criticism
>>    against Ayden but just merely on the draft document on google.
>>    2. I personally do not agree with the recommendations and would like
>>    to see at least a table breaking down the relevant rations to allow for
>>    proper trend analysis.
>>    3. Secondly, previous financial audits would be available to assess
>>    whether constituency goals within the broader strategic development plans
>>    and budgets should be assessed on clear deliverables on sanctioned
>>    initiatives within the broader ICANN Framework.
>>    4. I have yet to see a paper on this from within the NCSG and if it
>>    was done and I missed it, grateful if somebody could send this to me so I
>>    can catch up on reading it. This might already have been done by the
>>    Finance Team so we just need to ask for it if we don't have it already.
>>    5. Once we see the last 4 years ratios and also assess the growth of
>>    external actions against ICANN, we can easily project and forecast
>>    percentage of risks to ICANN;
>>    6. I caution against making recommendations without the presence of
>>    financial analysis (trend analysis) and that this should be put to the
>>    community before we offer an input into specific recommendations.
>>    7. At the moment, the Statement is an opinion (which might very well
>>    be shared amongst others) but one that is void of financial analysis and
>>    risk management (aside from the comment on to increase the "suggested 17
>>    months target level" to the 24 months.
>>    8. My apologies if the financial analysis was done along with the
>>    ratios and is on some wiki page that I have not accessed yet, just please
>>    point me to the right place and I will read and send comments in.
>>
>> Sincerely,
>> Sala
>>
>> On Wed, Nov 15, 2017 at 4:45 AM, Mueller, Milton L <milton at gatech.edu>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Arsene
>>>
>>> Anyone can see the comments that were “resolved” by clicking on the
>>> “Comments” button in the upper right corner of the page. If you want to
>>> “re-open” a comment thread, you can do so by clicking the blue “re-open”
>>> link.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --MM
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> *From:* NCSG-Discuss [mailto:NCSG-DISCUSS at LISTSERV.SYR.EDU] *On Behalf
>>> Of *Arsène Tungali
>>> *Sent:* Tuesday, November 14, 2017 9:07 AM
>>> *To:* NCSG-DISCUSS at LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
>>>
>>> *Subject:* Re: Suggested Comment - ICANN Reserve Fund
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Hi Ayden,
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Thanks for working on the doc and thanks to those who were able to chim
>>> in to provide more substance or clarification.
>>>
>>> I hate Google docs because they allow the author to decide to "Resolve"
>>> comments even when they haven't reached consensus. Now for anyone who would
>>> like to go back to check the document, they won't be able to see the
>>> comments and the way they were adressed. This is unfortunate and I would
>>> request next time, the author of the document to leave the comments and
>>> only when the author feels they have been adressed, then to consider them
>>> as "Resolved".
>>>
>>> I would like to call on everyone here to check my concerns in this
>>> thread and then check the Google doc to agree with me whether they have
>>> been adressed or not. Also, please do share your thoughts by editing the
>>> document directly as a way to improve it (if appropriate).
>>>
>>> Thank you very much,
>>>
>>> Arsene
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> ------------------------
>>> **Arsène Tungali* <http://about.me/ArseneTungali>*
>>>
>>> Co-Founder & Executive Director, *Rudi international
>>> <http://www.rudiinternational.org>*,
>>> CEO,* Smart Services Sarl <http://www.smart-serv.info>*, *Mabingwa
>>> Forum <http://www.mabingwa-forum.com>*
>>> Tel: +243 993810967 <+243%20993%20810%20967>
>>>
>>> GPG: 523644A0
>>>
>>> *Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo*
>>>
>>> 2015 Mandela Washington Felllow
>>> <http://tungali.blogspot.com/2015/06/selected-for-2015-mandela-washington.html>
>>> (YALI) - ISOC Ambassador (IGF Brazil
>>> <http://www.internetsociety.org/what-we-do/education-and-leadership-programmes/next-generation-leaders/igf-ambassadors-programme/Past-Ambassadors>
>>> & Mexico
>>> <http://www.internetsociety.org/what-we-do/education-and-leadership-programmes/next-generation-leaders/Current-Ambassadors>)
>>> - AFRISIG 2016 <http://afrisig.org/afrisig-2016/class-of-2016/> -
>>> Blogger <http://tungali.blogspot.com> - ICANN Fellow (Los Angeles
>>> <https://www.icann.org/news/announcement-2014-07-18-en> & Marrakech
>>> <https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/marrakech55-attendees-2016-03-14-en>
>>> ). AFRINIC Fellow (Mauritius
>>> <http://www.afrinic.net/en/library/news/1907-afrinic-25-fellowship-winners>
>>> )* - *IGFSA Member <http://www.igfsa.org/> - Internet Governance -
>>> Internet Freedom.
>>>
>>> Check the *2016 State of Internet Freedom in DRC* report (English
>>> <http://cipesa.org/?wpfb_dl=234>) and (French
>>> <http://cipesa.org/?wpfb_dl=242>)
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> 2017-11-13 16:39 GMT+02:00 Ayden Férdeline <icann at ferdeline.com>:
>>>
>>> Hi Arsene,
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> I have now responded to all of your comments in the Google Doc. I
>>> encourage you to propose edits to the text directly if you think that the
>>> statement can be improved. It is a collaborative process, with the document
>>> open for all to edit and shape. In my experience it can be easy to
>>> criticise or object to something, but a lot more challenging to come up
>>> with evidence-informed, alternative recommendations.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Best wishes, Ayden
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> -------- Original Message --------
>>>
>>> Subject: Re: Suggested Comment - ICANN Reserve Fund
>>>
>>> Local Time: 13 November 2017 11:15 AM
>>>
>>> UTC Time: 13 November 2017 11:15
>>>
>>> From: arsenebaguma at gmail.com
>>>
>>> To: Ayden Férdeline <icann at ferdeline.com>
>>>
>>> NCSG-DISCUSS at LISTSERV.SYR.EDU <NCSG-DISCUSS at listserv.syr.edu>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Thanks Ayden,
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> I will try and input most of these comments into the doc directly and
>>>
>>> hope they will be adressed.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Regards,
>>>
>>> Arsene
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> 2017-11-13 12:48 UTC+02:00, Ayden Férdeline icann at ferdeline.com:
>>>
>>> Hi Arsene,
>>>
>>> You are welcome to propose edits to the text directly. The Google Doc is
>>>
>>> open for all to edit and shape, and I note that you managed to comment on
>>>
>>> another one roughly 30 minutes ago. As a reminder, this is just proposed
>>>
>>> text and of course not yet endorsed by the NCSG, so nothing is final and
>>>
>>> edits are still possible. That being said, if I may politely suggest you
>>>
>>> first read the supporting material which I linked to in my initial
>>> email, it
>>>
>>> might be helpful to see what it is that ICANN is requesting that we
>>> comment
>>>
>>> on.
>>>
>>> Thanks,
>>>
>>> Ayden
>>>
>>> -------- Original Message --------
>>>
>>> Subject: Re: Suggested Comment - ICANN Reserve Fund
>>>
>>> Local Time: 13 November 2017 10:33 AM
>>>
>>> UTC Time: 13 November 2017 10:33
>>>
>>> From: arsenebaguma at GMAIL.COM
>>>
>>> To: NCSG-DISCUSS at LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
>>>
>>> Hi Ayden,
>>>
>>> Thanks for pulling together this comment.
>>>
>>> I am sending here few comments as my network doesn’t allow me to work
>>>
>>> on the Google doc now. I don’t have a very good background with
>>>
>>> finances or budgets, but I will try to share few comments bellow.
>>>
>>> First, I am in total agreement with you that ICANN should not consider
>>>
>>> taking away from the new gTLD Auction Proceeds funds as these should
>>>
>>> not seek to cover ICANN’s operating expenses but support external
>>>
>>> projects that align with ICANN’s mission. This discussion has been
>>>
>>> happening in the AP WG and that was my point as well.
>>>
>>> “However, given the organisation’s unusual risk profile, we would
>>>
>>> encourage the organisation to set a target level for the Reserve Fund
>>>
>>> of a minimum of 24 months of operating expenses.”
>>>
>>> Is there any reason why you are requesting this, Ayden?
>>>
>>> If the org is failing to keep the fund to a minimum of 12 months, I
>>>
>>> think it is asking too much for now (though it would be great if they
>>>
>>> are able to) to ask them to keep a minimum of 24 months. I would
>>>
>>> suggest this comment to focus on helping them to be able to stick and
>>>
>>> ensure they remain with a minimum of 12 months as they have been doing
>>>
>>> trying to do since 2007.
>>>
>>> “However, there are many ways in which ICANN could cut funding”
>>>
>>> Thanks for suggesting some ways ICANN can cut down some of its
>>>
>>> expenses and call them on being more responsible with the way they
>>>
>>> make expenses. Many of these suggestions are valid after a quick look
>>>
>>> but need to be looked at in deep in order to ensure we all have the
>>>
>>> same opinion as the NCSG.
>>>
>>> I do agree with a comment I read that these can be more relevant
>>>
>>> suggestions with regards to the Operating Funds not the Reserve Funds.
>>>
>>> Can we work on another comment in the future (not sure whether there
>>>
>>> is an open comment on Operating Funds) and present these arguments
>>>
>>> instead?
>>>
>>> I know you have personal reasons or strong opinions with regards to
>>>
>>> the Fellowship program but I don’t think this is the right place to
>>>
>>> present that because there is no general agreement within the NCSG on
>>>
>>> what needs to be our response with regards to the Fellowship program
>>>
>>> and its expenses. I am sure many of us agree that there is a need to
>>>
>>> review this program though. I think this can be the subject of a
>>>
>>> different discussion that needs to happen before we can present it as
>>>
>>> the NCSG opinion.
>>>
>>> With regards to GSE expenses, I would appreciate to have a reference
>>>
>>> that supports this claim or if you could expand more here on what you
>>>
>>> mean because this can be seen as a pure claim with no evidences. Are
>>>
>>> you saying that the GSE is making expenses for activities that are out
>>>
>>> of ICANN’s remit?
>>>
>>> I would not like to sound like commenting on all these suggested ways
>>>
>>> for ICANN to cut its expenses but I think for an NCSG comment, we may
>>>
>>> need to base our current and future comments on issues we have openly
>>>
>>> discussed on the list and where we seemed to have an agreement and
>>>
>>> only have been waiting for an opportunity to make them public as a
>>>
>>> stance.
>>>
>>> So, I would strongly suggest that we don’t make suggestions (unless
>>>
>>> someone has other suggestions) and stick to the fact that ICANN should
>>>
>>> carefully look at the way they make expenses in their operations and
>>>
>>> use some of the remainder to replenish the Reserve Funds. I wish I was
>>>
>>> able to provide more.
>>>
>>> I would like to thank you, Ayden for holding the pen here again
>>>
>>> (something many of us here are not yet able to do) but I would call
>>>
>>> for caution that we should not seek to use NCSG to channel personal
>>>
>>> opinions. I would instead encourage whenever we have a concern or an
>>>
>>> opinion over something, to raise it with the membership, discuss it
>>>
>>> and then when there is an opportunity to publicly address them, then
>>>
>>> we can use NCSG voice to raise them.
>>>
>>> Thank you very much,
>>>
>>> Arsene
>>>
>>> 2017-11-12 14:46 UTC+02:00, Carlos Raul Gutierrez crg at isoc-cr.org:
>>>
>>> Dear Ayden,
>>> thanks a lot for this excellent draft, which by the way updated me and
>>> gave
>>> me a very good picture of the whole discussion.
>>> Based on my own experience, ICANN high dependency on a stream of fees
>>> directly related to the size of the DNS market is a problem of capture in
>>> waiting. Most entities that deal with such dynamic markets (I'm no going
>>> to
>>> use the word) tend to prefer vaccinate themselves from the illusion of an
>>> endless source of income, by developing a cost based budget first, and
>>> justifying every year its budget to the providers of income, instead of
>>> defending a TAX or cut of their business.
>>> My humble suggestion is that within your suggestion that the Board would
>>> think a little bit harder about this issue, we include the general notion
>>> of a cost based budgeting system, as an important step to reduce the risk
>>> of inflated expectations about the growth potential of the DNS market of
>>> the present tax based system. Some new gTLDs are not sustainable under
>>> the
>>> present cost structure of the ICANN Corporation, and it would be a pity
>>> to
>>> limit the innovation and openness of the DNS just because its structure
>>> is
>>> so expensive to maintain.
>>> Thanks again for your work and considering my ideas.
>>> Carlos Raúl Gutiérrez
>>> ISOC Costa Rica Chapter
>>> skype carlos.raulg
>>> +506 8837 7176 <+506%208837%207176>
>>>
>>> Apartado 1571-1000
>>>
>>> COSTA RICA
>>>
>>> On Wed, Nov 8, 2017 at 2:28 PM, Ayden Férdeline icann at ferdeline.com
>>>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>> Hi,
>>>
>>> I have drafted a response on behalf of the NCSG regarding ICANN's
>>>
>>> Reserve
>>>
>>> Fund. The call for public comments and supporting documentation can be
>>>
>>> found
>>>
>>> here https://www.icann.org/public-comments/reserve-fund-2017-10-12-en.
>>>
>>> The proposed comment that I have drafted is on Google Docs here
>>>
>>> https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WJICv5BgHyBIo_o3twOkK0BZ
>>> DyALIvZYjKXiY5s3RgI/edit?usp=sharing.
>>>
>>> This is a rough draft; your comments will be instrumental in shaping the
>>>
>>> final version, if the NCSG choses to submit one. But for now I welcome
>>>
>>> your
>>>
>>> constructive edits to the text. Thank you.
>>>
>>> —Ayden
>>>
>>> ------------------------------
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Arsène Tungali http://about.me/ArseneTungali
>>>
>>> Co-Founder & Executive Director, Rudi international
>>>
>>> http://www.rudiinternational.org,
>>>
>>> CEO,* Smart Services Sarl http://www.smart-serv.info*, Mabingwa Forum
>>>
>>> http://www.mabingwa-forum.com
>>>
>>> Tel: +243 993810967 <+243%20993%20810%20967>
>>>
>>> GPG: 523644A0
>>>
>>> Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo
>>>
>>> 2015 Mandela Washington Felllow
>>>
>>> http://tungali.blogspot.com/2015/06/selected-for-2015-mandel
>>> a-washington.html
>>>
>>> (YALI) - ISOC Ambassador (IGF Brazil
>>>
>>> http://www.internetsociety.org/what-we-do/education-and-lead
>>> ership-programmes/next-generation-leaders/igf-ambassadors-pr
>>> ogramme/Past-Ambassadors
>>>
>>> & Mexico
>>>
>>> http://www.internetsociety.org/what-we-do/education-and-lead
>>> ership-programmes/next-generation-leaders/Current-Ambassadors)
>>>
>>>    - AFRISIG 2016 http://afrisig.org/afrisig-2016/class-of-2016/ -
>>>    Blogger
>>>
>>> http://tungali.blogspot.com - ICANN Fellow (Los Angeles
>>>
>>> https://www.icann.org/news/announcement-2014-07-18-en & Marrakech
>>>
>>> https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/marrakech55-attendees-
>>> 2016-03-14-en
>>>
>>> ). AFRINIC Fellow (Mauritius
>>>
>>> http://www.afrinic.net/en/library/news/1907-afrinic-25-fello
>>> wship-winners)*
>>>
>>>    - *IGFSA Member http://www.igfsa.org/ - Internet Governance -
>>>    Internet
>>>
>>> Freedom.
>>>
>>> Check the 2016 State of Internet Freedom in DRC report (English
>>>
>>> http://cipesa.org/?wpfb_dl=234) and (French
>>>
>>> http://cipesa.org/?wpfb_dl=242)
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>>
>>> ------------------------------
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> *Arsène Tungali http://about.me/ArseneTungali
>>> <http://about.me/ArseneTungali>*
>>>
>>> Co-Founder & Executive Director,
>>> *Rudi international http://www.rudiinternational.org
>>> <http://www.rudiinternational.org>*,
>>>
>>> CEO,* Smart Services Sarl http://www.smart-serv.info*,
>>> *Mabingwa Forum http://www.mabingwa-forum.com
>>> <http://www.mabingwa-forum.com>*
>>>
>>> Tel: +243 993810967 <+243%20993%20810%20967>
>>>
>>> GPG: 523644A0
>>>
>>> *Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo*
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> 2015 Mandela Washington Felllow
>>>
>>> http://tungali.blogspot.com/2015/06/selected-for-2015-mandel
>>> a-washington.html
>>>
>>> (YALI) - ISOC Ambassador (IGF Brazil
>>>
>>> http://www.internetsociety.org/what-we-do/education-and-lead
>>> ership-programmes/next-generation-leaders/igf-ambassadors-pr
>>> ogramme/Past-Ambassadors
>>>
>>> & Mexico
>>>
>>> http://www.internetsociety.org/what-we-do/education-and-lead
>>> ership-programmes/next-generation-leaders/Current-Ambassadors)
>>>
>>>    - AFRISIG 2016 http://afrisig.org/afrisig-2016/class-of-2016/ -
>>>    Blogger
>>>
>>> http://tungali.blogspot.com - ICANN Fellow (Los Angeles
>>>
>>> https://www.icann.org/news/announcement-2014-07-18-en & Marrakech
>>>
>>> https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/marrakech55-attendees-
>>> 2016-03-14-en
>>>
>>> ). AFRINIC Fellow (Mauritius
>>>
>>> http://www.afrinic.net/en/library/news/1907-afrinic-25-fello
>>> wship-winners)*
>>>
>>>    - *IGFSA Member http://www.igfsa.org/ - Internet Governance -
>>>    Internet
>>>
>>> Freedom.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Check the *2016 State of Internet Freedom in DRC* report (English
>>>
>>> http://cipesa.org/?wpfb_dl=234) and (French
>>>
>>> http://cipesa.org/?wpfb_dl=242)
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Salanieta Tamanikaiwaimaro
>> Director
>> Pasifika Nexus
>> P.O Box 17862
>> Suva
>> *FIJI*
>>
>> Cell: +679 7656770
>> Tel: +679 3362003 <+679%20336%202003>
>> E: sala at pasifikanexus.nu
>> Website: www.pasifikanexus.nu
>>
>>
>>
>
>
> --
> Salanieta Tamanikaiwaimaro
> Director
> Pasifika Nexus
> P.O Box 17862
> Suva
> *FIJI*
>
> Cell: +679 7656770
> Tel: +679 3362003
> E: sala at pasifikanexus.nu
> Website: www.pasifikanexus.nu
>



-- 
*Ogundele Olumuyiwa Caleb*
*muyiwacaleb at gmail.com <muyiwacaleb at gmail.com>*
*234 - 8077377378*
*234 - 07030777969*
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