[NCSG-PC] Fwd: Re: [council] Reminder - topics for meeting with ICANN Board at ICANN61

Fri Feb 16 11:31:20 EET 2018

Hi Renata,

I'm going to rehash a conversation I had with you privately, because it's now on the list: ICANN does not care that you cancelled your trip to San Juan because of a family emergency. So please do not worry about this. I know you are, but please don't. This is not an example of resources being mishandled, and ICANN org does not see it this way either.

Now that has been said... it might be a useful exercise for us to table what resources ICANN gives us. I did ask Finance for one, but they are extremely reluctant to prepare such a table. I think they worry we will use it compare ourselves to other SO/ACs (which we might - and we might be upset if we saw another part of the community receiving more support than we do). But the reason why I think it would be useful is because we do receive a lot of 'soft' resources from ICANN, not just Maryam. We get Adobe Connect, we get the dial-outs (which are surprisingly expensive), we get the communications support (i.e. when I ordered NCUC stickers and Comms reimbursed me), if we ask enough times, we get translation/interpretation on a call. There might be other support too that we don't appreciate today, but would feel if it is disappeared..

So ICANN does give us a lot of support. The question is, is it the right support?

Ayden

-------- Original Message --------
On 16 February 2018 1:56 AM, Renata Aquino Ribeiro <raquino at gmail.com> wrote:

> [observer]
>
> Hi
>
> (1st message here so hope I'm not pulverized in beam of lava coming from my computer as I speak up about this)
>
> As a current Chair, thankfully with administrative support (1, yet there is), (limited) meeting attendance support for the group, I will just note that we do not take lightly our resources currently.
> There are several criteria put in place for use of resources, previously, during and after the meetings.
> It takes time for a member to do well on writing, contributing to WGs and many other activities. Participating in meetings accelerates that learning time and yes, CROP activities help immensely too.
>
> So I do not see this [hindering volunteer participation] as saving cost measure from any volunteer organization. It is rather a very shortsighted move which can concentrate even further an organization in the hands of those who can buy their ticket.
>
> The real reason I came to comment here as that, yes, I am one of those who could  probably be singled out as an example of travel which was allocated and not completed as I won't be with you in ICANN61. That decision was also not taken lightly and the after effects of it just keep coming.
>
> So I guess I would only hope that the tone that we debate travel allocation is not only about saving a few pennies but also seeing the organization from a broader perspective. Specific cases or not. CROP or meeting support. There is no other volunteer organization that I know of so narrow minded about discussing support more than ICANN currently
>
> And not only the deletion of CROP but its silent assassination after being labelled a success w/out any hint of prior investigation or consultation to the community or announcement is only a prelude of even worse practices to come.
>
> Discussing at least the arbitrary decision should be done, at least as preparedness for other arbitrary decisions to come.
>
> Best,
>
> Renata
>
> On Thu, Feb 15, 2018 at 9:22 PM, Rafik Dammak <rafik.dammak at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Hi Ayden,
>>
>> I just send my response to Stephanie at the same time. I am more cautious about this and won't really support bringing the topic for the reasons I explained.
>>
>> I think there is a conflation of 2 separate issues here: expectations from elected officers and members in term of behavior and accountability and the impact of the budget on our activities as SG.
>>
>> the former can be discussed, while I would like to understand what are the specific concerns. I know there were some issues and  I don't want to single out individuals. I am also worried if there are some general insinuations substantiated or not. there is enough misunderstanding and so we need to move here carefully. We raised previously the communication issues and we are trying to make an improvement here but still to be done. I am only speaking about the policy part and so PC and councilors, I cannot speak about other committees or constituencies activities.
>>
>> for the budget, I agree we can advise being more carefulness of how we are using the existing resources.  as I explained to many of you in private, I think we get too complacent and dependent on ICANN support e.g. expanded travel support and seeing that we are linking travel support to be active on PDPs (e.g. using it as an incentive) while the work is mostly done in working groups and intersessionally .
>> For councilors support, I am not worried since, in fact, that is at GNSO council level and not SG. I think we can suggest being cautious for now and acknowledge that we have now may not be available in few years and think how we can do better (and also defining priorities). there was the time that admin work was done by the chair (I was the last chair to do that before we get admin support :)). Crisis can lead to more creative and original thinking.
>>
>> Best,
>>
>> Rafik
>>
>> 2018-02-16 9:03 GMT+09:00 Ayden Férdeline <icann at ferdeline.com>:
>>
>>> 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. 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'd certainly like to hear more about the 'red flags' we should be looking out for over the coming 12 months...
>>>
>>> Ayden
>>>
>>> -------- Original Message --------
>>> On 15 February 2018 5:53 PM, Stephanie Perrin <stephanie.perrin at mail.utoronto.ca> wrote:
>>>
>>>> these are not bad questions.  I think we should ask the Board if they have suggestions for greater accountability in our stakeholder group.  Since they are proposing to cut CROP funding, how do they propose we inform our members of the complexity of ICANN policy issues, and ensure they are contributing effectively to the MS model on which ICANN depends?
>>>> I think our goals for next year should include greater accountability for our actions and expenditures.  $$$ may be going out the window with falling registrar revenues, and we may be coming back to a world where ICANN did not support us for travel and admin.  And nobody would wave goodbye.....
>>>> cheers SP
>>>> -------- Forwarded Message --------
>>>> Subject:	Re: [council] Reminder - topics for meeting with ICANN Board at ICANN61
>>>> Date:	Thu, 15 Feb 2018 22:33:19 +1100
>>>> From:	Heather Forrest [<haforrestesq at gmail.com>](mailto:haforrestesq at gmail.com)
>>>>
>>>> To:	Marika Konings [<marika.konings at icann.org>](mailto:marika.konings at icann.org)
>>>>
>>>> CC:	council at gnso.icann.org [<council at gnso.icann.org>](mailto:council at gnso.icann.org)
>>>>
>>>> Hello everyone,
>>>>
>>>> I hope you've returned home happy and healthy after our time in LA.
>>>>
>>>> We're behind in communicating our questions/topics to the Board for discussion in San Juan. As yet we've had no suggestions. Here are three possibilities to seed the discussion:
>>>>
>>>> - SSR2 - the Board has stated on various recent occasions that it has 'learned lessons' from its handling of the SSR2-RT pause. What specific lessons have been learned and how will these affect future Board action?
>>>> - Goals - The Board has asked the various community groups to identify their most relevant longer-term goals. What are the Board's longer-term goals, in view of budgetary and market trends?
>>>> - The GNSO Council devoted time in January to strategic planning for the year ahead. Taking into account a continuously high volume of work and the FY19 budgetary pressures, we see the need for and benefit of prioritisation. Considering the many activities currently underway in ICANN, which do the Board consider to be top priority? What milestones or achievements is the Board hoping to reach by the end of 2018?
>>>>
>>>> Best wishes,
>>>>
>>>> Heather
>>>>
>>>> On Wed, Feb 7, 2018 at 7:56 AM, Marika Konings <marika.konings at icann.org> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Reminder – the GNSO Council leadership team is expected to submit to the ICANN Board proposed topics for the joint meeting at ICANN61. If you have any proposed topics, please share these with the list as soon as possible. Topics are expected to be submitted by 12 February at the latest. The Board has suggested the following two topics for its meeting with the GNSO Council:
>>>>>
>>>>> - What are your key goals in 2018?  The Board is interested in this question to make sure that its own priorities are aligned with the community’s priorities.
>>>>>
>>>>> - What are your most relevant longer-term goals?  The Board is interested in this question because discussions about longer-term goals and strategic planning will commence soon between the community, the Board and ICANN org.
>>>>>
>>>>> Best regards,
>>>>>
>>>>> Marika
>>>>>
>>>>> Marika Konings
>>>>>
>>>>> Vice President, Policy Development Support – GNSO, Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)
>>>>>
>>>>> Email: marika.konings at icann.org
>>>>>
>>>>> Follow the GNSO via Twitter @ICANN_GNSO
>>>>>
>>>>> Find out more about the GNSO by taking our [interactive courses](http://learn.icann.org/courses/gnso) and visiting the [GNSO Newcomer pages](http://gnso.icann.org/sites/gnso.icann.org/files/gnso/presentations/policy-efforts.htm#newcomers).
>>>>>
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> council mailing list
>>>>> council at gnso.icann.org
>>>>> https://mm.icann.org/mailman/listinfo/council
>>>
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