[council] Enhancing Predictability and Transparency: Policy Implementation Webpage and Calendar Now Live - ICANN

[Marika Konings <marika.konings@xxxxxxxxx>]

For your information:

https://www.icann.org/news/blog/icann-policy-implementation-calendar-announcement

Enhancing Predictability and Transparency: Policy Implementation Webpage and 
Calendar Now Live
<https://www.icann.org/news/blog/icann-policy-implementation-calendar-announcement#><https://www.icann.org/news/blog/icann-policy-implementation-calendar-announcement#><https://www.icann.org/news/blog/icann-policy-implementation-calendar-announcement#><https://www.icann.org/news/blog/icann-policy-implementation-calendar-announcement#><https://www.icann.org/news/blog/icann-policy-implementation-calendar-announcement#><https://www.icann.org/news/blog/icann-policy-implementation-calendar-announcement#>

The policies that apply to generic top-level domains (gTLDs) are developed 
through the Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO) policy development 
process, which often represents several months of work, consideration, and 
discussion in the stakeholder community. When a new policy completes that 
process and is approved by the ICANN Board of Directors, the ICANN staff then 
puts those policy recommendations into practice – what is referred to as 
"policy implementation."

After consulting with the community and the Policy/Implementation Non-PDP 
Working 
Group<https://community.icann.org/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=41899467>, ICANN 
developed a set of resources to help streamline and communicate how we 
implement Consensus Policies, including a standard policy implementation 
framework and policy change calendar system. These resources will be housed on 
the new policy implementation status and resources page, which is now 
live<https://www.icann.org/policy/implementation>. The processes and resources 
will likely evolve over time, but mark an exciting first step toward enhancing 
the transparency, accountability and predictability of ICANN's implementation 
of Consensus Policy recommendations.

Specifics about the new standard policy implementation framework and policy 
change calendar system are below. ICANN will review these resources in one year 
to determine if any updates are needed.

Implementation Framework

First, ICANN has standardized the process that Global Domains Division staff 
follow when implementing GNSO Consensus Policy recommendations that have been 
approved by the ICANN Board of Directors.

This new implementation 
framework<https://www.icann.org/en/system/files/files/gdd-consensus-policy-implementation-framework-31may15-en.pdf>
 
(https://www.icann.org/en/system/files/files/gdd-consensus-policy-implementation-framework-31may15-en.pdf)
 is intended to provide additional transparency surrounding the processes that 
staff use to implement a policy, and to enhance predictability surrounding the 
implementation process and timeline.

ICANN also launched a new implementation status 
page<https://www.icann.org/policy/implementation> that will allow the community 
to track the anticipated path of an implementation effort from the time a 
policy development process launches in the GNSO, until a consensus policy is 
fully implemented and, if applicable, reviewed down the road. The page provides 
projected timeframes for each project's anticipated effective date, which will 
become more accurate over time as a policy project nears the Board approval and 
implementation stage.

Policy Change Calendar System

Additionally, starting today, ICANN will bundle the effective dates for new 
Consensus Policies into groups. The groups' effective dates will be announced 
at least six months apart, to give contracted parties time to prepare for each 
group of changes before the next round of new requirements goes into effect.

For example, ICANN could announce on 1 February that a new group of policy 
implementations is scheduled to go into effect (announcements of new policy 
requirements are posted on ICANN.org and sent as notifications to the relevant 
contracted parties). Following the standard policy change calendar's six-month 
implementation window, each new policy in this group would go into effect on 1 
August. This would give contracted parties a full six months to prepare to 
comply with the new requirements of each policy in the group. After this period 
has passed, the official announcement for the next group will go out, with its 
effective date six months from the announcement.

These groupings will be assigned based on a variety of factors, including the 
time of the policies' completion and the total estimated level of effort that 
the new requirements will place on contracted parties.

If implementation details are ready before the planned announcement date, ICANN 
staff will share the details with the community beforehand to provide even more 
time to prepare. All details about the implementations and projections about 
upcoming change cycles will be posted on the new implementation status 
page<https://www.icann.org/policy/implementation> 
(https://www.icann.org/policy/implementation).

A full description of ICANN's Policy Change Calendar is available at: 
http://www.icann.org/en/system/files/files/gdd-policy-change-calendar-13may15-en.pdf<https://www.icann.org/en/system/files/files/gdd-policy-change-calendar-13may15-en.pdf>

Continual Improvement

We welcome your input on these processes at any time, and urge you to share 
your experiences and suggestions for improvement when these processes are 
reviewed in 2016. Share your ideas by emailing 
gdd-implementation@xxxxxxxxx<mailto:gdd-implementation@xxxxxxxxx>.