[NCSG-PC] Fwd: Re: [council] Reminder - topics for meeting with ICANN Board at ICANN61
Sam Lanfranco
lanfran at yorku.ca
Fri Feb 16 17:12:06 EET 2018
Ayden,
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.
Sam
On 2/16/2018 9:24 AM, Ayden Férdeline wrote:
> Excellent ideas, Sam. Thanks for sharing these.
>
> 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.
>
> Best wishes,
>
> Ayden
>
>
> -------- Original Message --------
> On 16 February 2018 3:04 PM, Sam Lanfranco <lanfran at yorku.ca> wrote:
>
>> Ayden,
>>
>> 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.
>>
>> Sam
>>
>>
>> On 2/16/2018 4:05 AM, Ayden Férdeline wrote:
>>> Thanks, Sam, I found this very useful.
>>>
>>> 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.
>>>
>>> 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...
>>>
>>> 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...
>>>
>>> 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...
>>>
>>> Ayden
>>>
>>>
>>> -------- Original Message --------
>>> On 16 February 2018 1:37 AM, Sam Lanfranco <lanfran at yorku.ca> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Ayden, et. al.,
>>>>
>>>> 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.
>>>>
>>>> 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).
>>>>
>>>> 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.
>>>>
>>>> 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.
>>>>
>>>> Sam L
>>>>
>>>> /[*Skype posting*] 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.
>>>>
>>>> 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.
>>>>
>>>> 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./
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On 2/15/2018 7:03 PM, Ayden Férdeline wrote:
>>>>> 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
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> ------------------------------------------------
>>>> "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:Lanfran at Yorku.ca Skype: slanfranco
>>>> blog:https://samlanfranco.blogspot.com
>>>> Phone: +1 613-476-0429 cell: +1 416-816-2852
>>>>
>>>
>>
>> --
>> ------------------------------------------------
>> "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:Lanfran at Yorku.ca Skype: slanfranco
>> blog:https://samlanfranco.blogspot.com
>> Phone: +1 613-476-0429 cell: +1 416-816-2852
>
--
------------------------------------------------
"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: Lanfran at Yorku.ca Skype: slanfranco
blog: https://samlanfranco.blogspot.com
Phone: +1 613-476-0429 cell: +1 416-816-2852
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