Re: [bc-gnso] BC Secretariat

[George Kirikos <icann@xxxxxxxx>]

Hello,

On Mon, Sep 28, 2009 at 12:00 PM, Zahid Jamil <zahid@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> We have agreed with him a termination date of 31 12 2009.

I trust that the very large reserve held by the Secretariat will be
put into a separate bank account in the name of the BC, or
alternatively into the control of ICANN. With the BC having members
like HSBC and eBay (owners of PayPal), the expertise certainly exists
to manage the finances of the constituency in a proper manner, as
previously discussed at:

http://forum.icann.org/lists/bc-gnso/msg00345.html

The bizconst.org and bizconst.com domain names should also be
transferred to the control of BC members, as well as an archive of all
existing website content.

The reserve should probably be converted from Euros to US dollars,
which is the same currency as the majority of BC members and is the
dominant currency for international trade. The general ledger should
also be released to the constituency.

> The Officers will be looking for a replacement and ask members also if they
> have any suggestions.

Given that the new charter has not been finalized, it's unclear which
duties, if any, should be outsourced to a paid secretariat, versus
volunteers and an elected Secretary and/or Treasurer.

> To avoid conflicts of interest and to ensure accountability to the BC
> executive committee this position is not open to a BC member.

See above. Other constituencies have elected Secretary and/or
Treasurer positions, and those positions are obviously from
constituency members.

> Gary will be drafting a job description to help in the process of
> recruitment.
>
> That description will factor in optional services available from ICANN.

For simple administrative work, there are many freelancers available
at places like Odesk.com and Elance.com, for example, to outsource
mundane tasks.

Indeed, at places like GetFriday.com, one obtain the services of an
outsourced virtual assistant to do administrative tasks for $200 to
$360 per month:

https://getfriday.com/?module=plans&action=monthly

for the 20 to 40 hours per month of duties (which probably overstates
the amount of actual work required to perform the relevant duties).
This would save the constituency a considerable amount of money per
month with no reduction in the level of service.

Constituency voting can also be fully automated and be made
transparent using the BigPulse.com system for only $550/yr (Country =
USA, number of voters = 50)

http://www.bigpulse.com/fees

Sincerely,

George Kirikos
416-588-0269
http://www.leap.com/