NCUC – NCSG Transition Plan Proposed to ICANN Board of Directors

Unanimously Approved by NCUC Executive Committee Representatives and all 6 NCSG GNSO Counselors on 29 October 2009.

A Proposal for creating and transitioning into the Non-Commercial Stakeholder Group (NCSG) 29-Oct-proposed-NCSG-transition-plan.pdf(.pdf)

On 27 October 2009 we went into the NCUC-NCSG meeting as a constituency, and we came out of the meeting a unified Non-Commercial Stakeholder Group (NCSG). Congratulations! Special thanks to Avri Doria and Mary Wong for taking the initiative to draft and shepherd the NCSG Transition Plan along!
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To: The ICANN Board
From: The Noncommercial Stakeholders Group (NCSG)
Date: 29 October 2009

PROPOSED TRANSITION FROM INTERIM SIC NCSG CHARTER TO A PERMANENT, INTEGRATED NCSG MODEL

BACKGROUND
At its October 24 meeting with NCUC the Board seemed to agree, that 1) NCSG membership will directly elect its councillors to the GNSO, and 2) that there is no linkage between interest groups/constituencies in the NCSG and seats on the GNSO Council.

(1) Terms of Interim Charter & Relevant Board Resolutions

The current proposal was developed in a 27 October 2009 meeting of the NCSG at the Seoul ICANN meeting. The meeting included both NCUC members and the three new Board NCSG appointees to the GNSO Council. In developing the following suggestions, the assumption was that the current NCUC was growing so large and diverse that it made sense to consider how it could spin off a number of interest groups that could eventually become constituencies if constituencies are determined to be fundamental building blocks of the SG.

The meeting decided that it was important to adhere to the SIC interim charter as initially adopted by the Board on 30 July and subsequently modified by the Board.s resolution of 30 September. The NCSG, therefore, decided to establish its Executive Committee, to be composed of:

. Two NCUC members to be designated by the NCUC executive committee which had recently been elected (per the interim charter adopted by the Board); and
. The three NCSG Council appointees if they were willing (per the Board resolution of 30 September). The indication during the meeting is that all three are willing.

(2) Board Approval of Constituencies

The NCSG acknowledged, as had the NCUC before it, that the approval of new constituencies is at the Board.s discretion. As such, the proposed plan for the NCSG transition is essentially the same whether the proposed Consumer constituency is approved by the Board or not. If any new constituency is recognized in the short term, however, the Board should make it clear to its organizers that the end state of the NCSG will be the integrated model proposed below.

RECOMMENDED NCSG TRANSITION PLAN

The NCSG, including all of its six Councilors, recommend that the following process be adopted for the transition of the NCSG from the current interim charter to a final charter:

(1) Membership

The NCSG is declared open for membership; the Executive Committee will maintain a current list of members with all contact information needed for voting and communications. All NCUC are members of NCSG and At Large community members are invited to join NCSG.

(2) Interest Groups

NCUC suggests the following interest groups be formed by the membership (names are approximate and provisional):

. Intellectual Property Rights and Access to Knowledge
. Privacy and Freedom of Expression
. Education and Research
. Development and Capacity Building
. Consumer Protection (Note: If a Consumer Protection constituency is not created by the Board then an interest group would be formed. It is assumed that if such a constituency is approved it would be open to all those who would otherwise be interested in forming an interest group. In either case, members must be individuals and organizations from the noncommercial sector.)
. Non-Profit/Philanthropic Organizations

During the transitional period, the interest groups formed within the NCSG would, for all practical purposes, be treated as if they were new NCSG constituencies.

Every member of the NCSG, regardless of formal constituency membership, will initially be invited to participate in any two interest groups or constituencies. No member of the NCSG, whatever his/her/its constituency, will be required to join an interest group or constituency. Additional interest groups may be formed and recognized by the NCSG upon request by a member of the NCSG who is able to demonstrate a significant non-commercial interest not represented among the existing interest groups or constituencies of the NCSG.

(3) Policy Committee

A Policy Committee (PC) is formed by including:

. one representative from each interest group and constituency, and
. the six NCSG GNSO Councilors

The PC will be responsible for developing policy positions and proposals to be reviewed by the entire membership of the NCSG, no matter what constituency or interest groups they might belong to. While the six GNSO Councilors would not be limited to these policy positions in their Council interactions, it is expected that they will give serious consideration to these positions and be able to explain to the collective membership of the NCSG any issues or differences with those positions. Any constituency/interest group shall have the right to include their own statement in any NCSG policy statement as a separate appendix.

(3) Executive Committee

The Executive Committee (EC) that will be formed by the two NCUC appointees and the three Board appointees will begin work on the following tasks:

(a) Election process for 2010 for:

. The 2 Council seats which will be open for election at that time
. NCSG officers who will take office under a final charter (TBD)

In developing an election process, the EC will first develop a set of requirements for review by the entire NCSG membership. These requirements will include:

. NCSG members will directly elect NCSG Councilors to the GNSO
. No linkage between interest groups/constituencies and Council seats

(b) Processes and criteria for interest group and/or pre-approval constituency formation; and

(c) All other administrative details necessary for a well-formed SG charter

The main goal of the EC during the transitional period will be to develop a final NCSG charter that is acceptable to the NCSG membership, the ICANN Board and SIC. In working with the Board and SIC to develop this charter, the EC will be responsible for implementing a bottom-up, consensual process as much as possible.

(4) Finance & Fundraising Committee

A Finance and Fundraising Committee will be formed to work with the EC to develop a budget for the NCSG and recommend methods of raising the necessary funds to ensure maximum participation of the membership in ICANN policy processes and effective outreach for recruiting. The Finance and Fundraising Committee will be expected to work closely with ICANN staff and the GNSO travel drafting team to coordinate funding and outreach activities.