[gnso-dow123] Online Workshop Idea

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

 Hello All,

The GNSO Council has been discussing some ways to improve its processes.

The Committee for new gTLDs has made some progress by having some
concentrated periods of work in face-to-face meeting on specific items
in the terms of reference.

The ALAC Liaison to the GNSO Council, Bret Fausett, has suggested a new
approach of planning a series of tasks taking 3-4 hours per day over a
two week period.

This may of interest as the WHOIS task force works on the remaining
terms of reference.

Regards,
Bruce Tonkin


-----Original Message-----
From: owner-council@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:owner-council@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]
On Behalf Of Bret Fausett
Sent: Sunday, 30 April 2006 7:45 AM
To: 'GNSO Council'
Subject: [council] Online Workshop Ideas

The key to a successful online workshop is for people to give the same
time and attention to the work online as they would give to a
face-to-face meeting. We would also need the assistance of the GNSO's
Staff members to facilitate the workshop. 

Here's one conception of what an online work session might look like:

Pre-Workshop: Each Council member reads the public comments,
constituency reports and submitted papers on the Terms of Reference.
(Time estimate 4-6
hours)

Monday, Day 1: Each Council member drafts his or her own contribution in
response to the various items in the Terms of Reference. To the extent
they thought appropriate, councilors could work within their
constituencies, or divide work among multiple constituencies, to prepare
responses. (Time
estimate: 3-4 hours per Council member.) By the end of the first day,
council members could either submit their responses to Staff by e-mail
or place them directly on a wiki page. Staff would create a web or wiki
page for each submission, identifying the Council member or members who
worked on a submission. 

Tuesday, Day 2: Each Council member reads the responses submitted on the
previous day and posts questions, comments or responses. (Time estimate:
3-4 hours per Council member.) At the end of the second day, staff
updates the web or wiki page for each submission with the questions and
comments.  

Wednesday, Day 3: Council members read all of the questions, comments,
and responses, submitted with respect to both their own original
submission and all other submissions. Council members revise their
original submissions to clarify or modify their original responses.
Council members also answer any questions, either in a modification to
their original submission or in a separate Q&A section. (Time estimate:
3-4 hours per Council member.) 

Thursday and Friday, Days 4-5: Staff Work Days. Staff reviews all
submissions, questions, amendments, etc. posted over the first three
days.
Staff looks for common threads, shared values, etc. to prepare a report
of agreed items. Staff also identifies areas of disagreement. To the
extent that items are contested, Staff tries to identify majority and
minority positions. By the end of Day 5, Staff posts a paper summarizing
the submissions, identifying areas of consensus and majority and
minority positions on contested issues. Most importantly, in the posted
paper, Staff suggests possible compromises among various positions on
contested items in an attempt to narrow any areas of disagreement. 

Weekend, Days 6-7: Councilors read the Staff paper.

Monday, Day 8: Each Council member drafts responses to Staff paper. The
primary purpose of the response is to address any inaccuracies in the
Staff report and to respond to any proposals for compromise. (Time
estimate: 3-4 hours per Council member.)

Tuesday, Day 9: Real-time conference call to review status of work and
discuss areas of agreement. (Time estimate: 2 hours) Staff work day
following conference call.

Wednesday, Day 10: Staff posts final paper, revising it to include
corrections submited by Council members and responses to compromise
proposals. 

Thursday, Day 11: Council votes on whether the report accurately
summarizes the discussions. If approved, the report is posted on the
ICANN and GNSO web pages for public comment.

-----------

This sort of online work would take the same level of effort we would
give to a three-day work session, with travel, and distribute it over
approximately a two-week period. We would each work on our own time and
in our own locations, but we would agree to perform the day's designated
task within the set 24-hour period. 

        -- Bret