[npoc-voice] Westlake Governance Appointed to Conduct Independent Review of the GNSO

[Rudi Vansnick <rudi.vansnick@xxxxxxx>]

For your information : 
Westlake Governance Appointed to Conduct Independent Review of the GNSO

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers ("ICANN") has appointed 
Westlake Governance Limited ("Westlake Governance") to conduct an independent 
review of the Generic Names Supporting Organization ("GNSO"). This review is 
part of ICANN's commitment to continuous improvement, accountability and 
transparency.

The GNSO serves an important function – it is responsible for developing and 
recommending to the ICANN Board substantive policies relating to generic 
top-level domains.

The purpose of the review is to evaluate organizational effectiveness of the 
GNSO, acknowledge areas that are working well, identify areas that need 
improvement and propose needed changes. This review, like reviews of other 
structures within ICANN, is mandated by ICANN's Bylaws.

The GNSO Review addresses the new, improved approach to conducting reviews. The 
GNSO will be a protagonist in this inclusive process: in keeping with ICANN's 
bottom-up, multistakeholder approach, this review process will incorporate a 
"self-review" by the GNSO community and its direct involvement. An online 
survey will collect feedback from other ICANN structures and community members, 
the Board and staff. Westlake will collect both quantitative and qualitative 
data through various work methods to develop a sufficient basis for formulating 
findings and recommendations. The review will begin immediately and is expected 
to conclude in January 2015.

The selection of an independent examiner is done in accordance with the process 
defined in SIC Systematization of Organizational Reviews Processes [PDF, 671 
KB] and involves Organizational Review staff and the Structural Improvements 
Committee of the Board ("SIC"). Seven proposals were carefully evaluated and 
the evaluation results and scores were presented for consideration and action 
by the ICANN Board Structural Improvements Committee. The selection criteria 
included: Knowledge and Expertise (including knowledge of ICANN), 
Qualifications of the Professional Team Assigned (including ability to act 
independently, without conflict of interest); Proposed Methodology; Ability to 
Deliver High Quality, Useful Report and Recommendations; and Costs.

Westlake Governance is a globally-focused, New Zealand-based consulting firm, 
serving clients from a wide cross-section of not-for-profit, commercial and 
government-owned sectors. The firm has performed reviews of ICANN's At-Large 
Advisory Committee ("ALAC") and the Root Server System Advisory Committee 
("RSSAC").

Additional information:

GNSO Review Frequently Asked Questions and Answers [PDF, 1.23 MB]
GNSO Review working space - wiki
GNSO web site
Organizational Reviews Information


Rudi Vansnick
NPOC chair Policy Committee
NPOC treasurer
rudi.vansnick@xxxxxxxx
Tel : +32 (0)9 329 39 16
Mobile : +32 (0)475 28 16 32
www.npoc.org