[council] Regarding working group membership

["Bruce Tonkin" <Bruce.Tonkin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hello All,

Following the GNSO Public Forum in Sao Paulo I have heard of instances
where interested parties that wish to join the IDN working group have
been unable to join a constituency in order to participate.

The ICANN bylaws do provide the ability for a group of interested
stakeholders to form a new constituency:

"4. Any group of individuals or entities may petition the Board for
recognition as a new or separate Constituency. Any such petition shall
contain a detailed explanation of:

a. Why the addition of such a Constituency will improve the ability of
the GNSO to carry out its policy-development responsibilities; and 

b. Why the proposed new Constituency would adequately represent, on a
global basis, the stakeholders it seeks to represent.

Any petition for the recognition of a new Constituency shall be posted
for public comment. 

5. The Board may create new Constituencies in response to such a
petition, or on its own motion, if it determines that such action would
serve the purposes of ICANN. In the event the Board is considering
acting on its own motion it shall post a detailed explanation of why
such action is necessary or desirable, set a reasonable time for public
comment, and not make a final decision on whether to create such new
Constituency until after reviewing all comments received. Whenever the
Board posts a petition or recommendation for a new Constituency for
public comment, it shall notify the GNSO Council and shall consider any
response to that notification prior to taking action."

I am not aware of a group that has chosen to try to form a new
constituency.

To get the best policy outcomes however I feel with should be as
inclusive as possible, whilst ensuring that members of working groups
are contributing in a positive way.

It seems to me that we need a process to handle requests for
participation:

(1) Determine if the participant would be eligible to join a GNSO
constituency.  If they are eligible - require them first to join and
then allow participation.

(2) If a participant is ineligible to join a constituency, then direct
the participant to a process to determine if they are suitable as an
"expert".  The applicant would need to provide a detailed statement of
(i) qualifications and relevant experience; and (ii) potential conflicts
of interest.   The ICANN staff would need to verify the statement of
qualifications and experience, and perhaps we have a process where the
experts are appointed by majority vote of the GNSO Council.   The
experts would be non-voting members of the working group.

I would be interested in hearing from other Council members on an
appropriate process that could apply to all working groups.

Regards,
Bruce Tonkin