[governance] Avri: 'Work Group Guidlines' summary

[Avri Doria]

Hi,

Not sure how much IGC will care about this issue, but since you asked on IGC, I will respond here.

Obviously I do not speak for ICANN or the GNSO, its council or anyone else.* But you directed the question to me and as I am participant in the process, I do have a viewpoint of my own.  That is what I express.

The working groups are one of the mandates of the GNSO reform - that instead of having a GNSO Council that followed a so-called legislative model, the new council (which took office in Seoul) would only  be the manager of the process with the policy development actually being done in WGs that were open to all ICANN participants as well as others (to some TBD degree).

As part of that change, the GNSO Council as part of the policy development process has been setting up working groups over the past year and has been evolving a set of ad-hoc guidelines for what it meant to be a WG in the GNSO/ICANN context.

The guidelines you reference are meant to reflect the experience of working with WGs for the past year plus the experience gained from other organizations that use such entities (BTw, I did not check the references you appended so am just assuming that they are reflections of the current level of work in the work team focusing on them,).  They are intended to set a recommended way in which WGs would be formed, organized and managed.  The guidelines are written the way they are by referring to Chartering Organizations instead of just GNSO Council, as one example of a chartering organization, in order to try and make the rules accessible to other ICANN groups that may wish to charter a WG.  I believe there is a general belief among those working on these guidelines that it is best if there is a general similarity in the way various WGs function without having absolute rules that assume one size fits all, hence the drafting of guidelines.

I believe these Guidelines wil be going out for public review at some point in the process.

So in direct response to the choices you gave, I believe it is none of the above.  In terms of 2ab specifically, these will not be independent of ICANN, but will be part of ICANN, assuming the chartering organization is part of ICANN, and one can imagine might be one of the things that are looked at in the AoC's review of the policy development process (pure guesswork as the working of the AoC reviews is still rather raw and opaque as far as I can tell)

I am willing to respond to other questions from the vantage point of someone participating in the process, but will ignore any message that uses this as yet  another opportunity to tell me how much they hate any of the I*s or how they find any of those who participate in the I* processes to be less then acceptable as human beings.

cheers,

a.

* In case people don't know, I am no longer part of the GNSO Council and am no longer under contract to the UN/IGF - no volunteer avocation and no job.  so i really really cannot be considered as speaking for anyone anywhere at anytime.  at least for now, until i find a new avocation based task or find a job.

On 29 Nov 2009, at 09:45, Yehuda Katz wrote:

> Avri,
> 
> I'm trying to sort-out the Jurisdictional Boundaries's here, as they are bring
> created for Work Groups.
> 
> Please summarize the intentions of the 'Work Group Guidelines'.
> Ref.: Operating Model Guidebook (Links Below)
> 
> What is the purposeful outcome of having such Work Group Guidelines.
> 
> Is it;
> 
> 1: A process of Applying (an application form) too Icann for WG status. (thus
> becoming an Icann governable appendage, of Icann)?
> 
> 2a: Is the WG independent of Icann, with an Affirmation of Commitments (AoC) of
> the WG to Icann?
> or
> 2b: Is the WG independent of Icann, with an Affirmation of Commitments (AoC)
> from Icann to the WG?
> 
> 3: Lets say that the CPSR.Org applies for WG Status and is accepted, In what
> manner is the WG's Work-Product
> subject to Icann's acceptance & rejection?
> 
> -
> Ref. Links: Operating Model Guidebook - Updated 26 November.doc
> https://st.icann.org/icann-ppsc/index.cgi?working_group_team
> 
> PDF:
> https://st.icann.org/data/workspaces/icann-ppsc/attachments/working_group_team:20091126101248-0-5062/original/Operating%20Model%20Guidebook%20-%20Updated%2026%20November.pdf
> 
> DOC:
> https://st.icann.org/data/workspaces/icann-ppsc/attachments/working_group_team:20091126101257-0-5832/original/Operating%20Model%20Guidebook%20-%20Updated%2026%20November.doc
> 
> ---
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