[soac-newgtldapsup-wg] Part 5 Process/How are gTLD applications evaluated against the above criteria?

[Cintra Sooknanan <cintra.sooknanan@xxxxxxxxx>]

Dear JAS Members,

Please see the suggested text for Part 5 for your kind review and early
comment.

Thank you for your responses

Cintra


Part 5 - How are gTLD applications evaluated against the above criteria?

The Working Group has determined that a detailed description of the process
flow, metrics and procedures for determining whether an application meets
the criteria and how this application will be dealt with is required. The
following broad steps are suggested as a starting point to this process and
are meant to be to be in parallel with the DAG-

1. the Application is assessed in Part 3 and if successful proceeds to the
next step

2. the Application enters the DAG process (that is, it is registered in the
TAS and the Applicant pays the $5,000 deposit; the Application is checked
for completeness; and if the foregoing is okay and there is no anticipated
contention the Application then progresses to being posted, the Objection
period, Background Screening, IE results posted)

3. An Audit is done on the Application, Applicant and its partners to ensure
it is still  eligible/needy. During the Needy application process and at
certain points of the DAG we perform this Audit to ensure the Applicant is *
still*  eligible or needy. It is suggested that this occurs at three points:
upon initial evaluation of the Applicant, and if the Applicant is approved
Needy in the DAG process just after the IE results are posted, and repeated
just after there is no string contention.

4. If so, then the Application progresses in the DAG through Objections
phase to String Contention

5. Once there is no issue to this point and no string contention then an
Audit is done on the Applicant and its partners to ensure it is still
financially eligible/needy; [If there is a string contention then the
Application will go through normal ICANN channels with the Applicant funding
this additional process]

6. If so, then the Application progresses to Contract execution,
Pre-delegation check and Delegation.

7. Sunset Period (see S.2.10 Proposed constraints on Aid in the Milestone
Report) whereby an agreed cut off of 5 years after which no further support
will be offered

8. If the new gTLD is granted the applicant will fall under the safeguards
provided by ICANN for all gTLD operators but we should ensure that needy
applicants are aware of these requirements and are able to fulfil them.

NOTE the Applicant is only assessed for the duration of our support. If at
any stage during the Support Development Program Evaluation Process or the
new gTLD process, in particular during the Audit-

   - the Applicant does not give information of the Application, itself
   and/or its partners when requested;
   - the Application's, Applicant’s and/or its partners’ financial and other
   circumstances change so that they are no longer eligible/needy;
   - the Applicant withholds information about the Applicant, itself and/or
   its partners regarding its financial and other circumstances; or
   - it is discovered that the Application, Applicant and/or its partners
   are no longer eligible/needy

Then Support may stop in two ways
A. Discharged- Aid stops upon notification to the Applicant and the
Applicant and/or its partners may have to repay some or all of the funds
already spent on the application. The Applicant may proceed with the
Application at this point at its own cost.

B. Revoked or cancelled- used in cases where the Applicant was wrongly
granted support (for example granted support as a result of giving false
information about finances), the Applicant and/or its partners will have to
pay all the funds already spent on the application and the application will
be revoked/discarded at that point

The WG had full consensus that there should be repayment in success cases
and successful applicants would agree to repay/rebate application subsides
into a sustainable revolving fund to support the future applications. Repayment
is dependent on the gTLD Operator's financial success and takes the form of
either

   - a capital contribution or lump sum; or
   - an income contribution or annual instalment of until a lump sum is
   repaid; or
   - repayment of the full or a percentage of the reduced base cost fee
   expended by the Support Development Program.