[gnso-arr-dt] Some ideas for a process for GNSO endorsement of AoC Review Team Volunteers

["Gomes, Chuck" <cgomes@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I appreciate the good discussion going on today and just now found some
time to jump in.  Here are some ideas that may help us move forward in
both the near term and longer term regarding a GNSO endorsement process.
 
I think it would be helpful if we work on two separate endorsement
processes: 1) one for the first review team that has a very short
window; 2) one for the long term that could be applied for endorsement
of volunteers for future RTs.  I understand that the "Call for
Applicants for the Position of Volunteer Review Team Member"
(http://www.icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-13jan10-en.htm)
covers all four reviews but the only deadline set is for the first
review (Accountability and Transparency), 17 February.  To work within
this very short timeframe, I think it will be impossible to develop a
quality long-term process and do it using a bottom-up approach that
involves the broader GNSO community.  That is why I think we should
first narrow our focus on a one-time process to address the immediate
need and then spend more time in the next month or two on developing a
better process that we can more thoroughly vet.  Using the various ideas
that members of our DT proposed on this list and taking into
consideration the very tight time constraints, I propose the following
for the one-time process:

1.      ASAP: 1) send a request to the Board/Staff for a one week
extension of time beyond 17 February (i.e., 24 Feb) for Council
endorsement of GNSO volunteers; 2) send a request to Staff requesting
that applications received from volunteers for the Accountability and
Transparency RT be forwarded to the GNSO Secretariat as soon as possible
after receipt for distribution to the Council list and other GNSO
organization lists; 3) notify GNSO community members that the GNSO
endorsement process is under development and encourage volunteers from
the GNSO to submit applications via the ICANN process; 4) request that
SGs, Constituencies and other GNSO groups encourage volunteers from
their communities to submit applications via the ICANN process.
2.      10 Feb: 1) finalize a draft one-time process for the first
Accountability and Transparency RT and distribute to the Council with a
motion for Council approval; 2) publicly post and distribute draft
process GNSO groups; 3) send draft process to ICANN Staff and request
that it be sent as soon as possible to all GNSO volunteers with a
request that they complete the GNSO request for information and send it
to the GNSO Secretariat by 17 Feb or as soon thereafter as possible but
not later than 22 Feb
3.      18 Feb: 1) Council approval of the one-time process; 2) Council
review & discussion of nominees identified to date; 3) form an
evaluation team made up of one Councilor from each SG plus one NCA to
rate the responses and report to the Council list not later than 23 Feb;
request that the AoC Review DT continue its work to develop a
longer-term process for Council consideration in March or April.
4.      24 Feb: Hold a brief Council teleconference call to review
volunteers and finalize the list of volunteers endorsed by the GNSO for
the 2010 Accountability and Transparency RT.

Proposed Details for GNSO Endorsements
 
The GNSO Council will endorse up to six volunteers for the 2010 AoC
Accountability and Transparency RT as follows:

*       Endorsement requires a simple majority vote of each house.
*       Assuming their are volunteers who receive the necessary Council
votes, at least one volunteer should be endorsed from each house.
*       No more than two volunteers should come from the same
geographical region.
*       Volunteers must not all be of the same gender and at least 1/3
of each gender should be represented if possible.
*       In cases where more than six total or more than one from a SG
receive at least a simple majority from each house, ties will be broken
as follows, in the order presented: 1) geographical and/or gender
diversity; 2) the total votes received; 3) the Council non-voting NCA
will be asked to break the tie.  (We should check with Andrei to make he
is okay with this.)

Notes: a) Endorsement is not automatic just because there are less than
six volunteers or because a volunteer is from a SG for which there is no
other volunteer or for geographical or gender reasons; b) having
appropriate skill and knowledge sets is the most important qualification
and hopefully the requirement for at least a simple majority of each
house will facilitate that goal; c) it is possible to endorse less than
six volunteers, to endorse no one from a SG, to not endorse volunteers
from both genders and/or have less than three geographic regions
represented.  .