RE: [council] Joint Meeting Topics for Brussels

[Adrian Kinderis <adrian@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Thanks Bruce. This is helpful.

I like to see a way that we can move away from anecdotal opinions towards firm 
requests from the Board members as to their want/ need to meet with the GNSO. 
Is there a way that we could actually survey them with a list of options and 
ensure we get the right mix of engagement?

There is a danger that we are catering for the vocal majority.

Thanks.


Adrian Kinderis

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-council@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:owner-council@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On 
Behalf Of Bruce Tonkin
Sent: Friday, 21 May 2010 11:12 PM
To: GNSO Council
Subject: RE: [council] Joint Meeting Topics for Brussels


Hello All,



>>  I think the approach you suggest for the Board dinner is excellent.
To me, these dinners are crucial for us and the opportunity for
interaction with Board members they bring. I would hate to see them
disappear, but would like to understand why some on the Board feel they
should go.


Well here are some issues that get raised:

- the dinners are at the end of a long day of workshops/meetings - so
some members are too tired to give important matters appropriate
attention

- it is not always clear what the objective is - a general discussion
about topics, a social event, discussion about a specific issues that
the Board will be making a decision on that week?

- if the process is working properly - the Board will simply be
endorsing the recommendations from the Council that have consensus
support and should not be getting into the detail of particular policy
matters.  If there is disagreement amongst the parties in the GNSO - the
GNSO should work it out together - not try to get the Board to take
sides.

There are some that would prefer a more formal meeting - not
aligned with a breakfast/lunch or dinner - where there are materials
provided in advance and the Board members can ask questions about the
particular issue.


Personally I think a mixture of formal and informal can work.  e.g A
period of time for a structured discussion with documents provided in
advance, and the ability for the Board to ask questions on the
documents.   An informal eating occasion can then follow that is perhaps
optional for the participants to attend to get a better understanding of
the issues.    This structure used to work quite well when we were doing
the new gTLD policy development - the days were spent on policy
discussions, and the dinners were an opportunity to break down some
barriers in the discussions with no formal agenda, that often led to
better results the following day.

Regards,
Bruce Tonkin