EOI WG Charter

Introduction By the Staff of ICANN

The following text was initially drafted by the members of the Express of Interest (EoI) working group. It was published on 17 November 2009 and is currently open for comments from the At-Large community. Please click the "comment" button above to add your thought on the WG Charter.

(end of introduction)

Charter For Expressions of Interest Working Group

1.Purpose

The purpose of the working group (WG) is to act as a cross-community, first-contact group to report on and identify a feasible process which would allow ICANN to receive “Expressions of Interest” in new TLDs from potential applicants for the purposes of gaining practical empirical information on the number of applications, the types of applications, and other important information about the applications, in keeping with the resolution adopted by the ICANN Board of Directors at their October 30, 2009 meeting:

Resolved (2009.10.30), the ICANN Board directs staff to study the potential impact of a call for formal “expressions of interest,” and provide a plan for Board consideration at ICANN’s next Board meeting, in December 2009. The plan should include possible options and a risk analysis relating to the proposed action.

As “points of contact” to the WG as a whole, the members and observers of the WG are encouraged to consult with their communities to determine concerns and issues.

2. Scope

The ICANN Board has adopted the resolution set out above in order to undertake appropriate review of a proposal for the expedited acceptance of ‘Expressions of Interest’ from new gTLD applicants. The scope of the WG is to identify aspects of the current draft application process that can be decoupled and moved forward in an expedited manner to allow ICANN to receive TLD expressions of interest as quickly as possible. The WG will send its proposal for implementing the Board resolution to the staff for further review and dissemination.

The WG will identify and document areas of unanimous agreement, capture dissenting comment and/or alternative suggestions. It will also note any variable changes that are indterdependent and state that reasoning.

If issues outside this scope become apparent to the WG, the Chair of the WG will note these so that they can be taken into account and dealt with more appropriately.

3. WG Participants

The WG will be constituted of participants from a wide diversity of ICANN stakeholder groups and constituencies, who will act as “points of contact.” The participants are not expected to represent any particular constituency or stakeholder group, nor can they bind them in any way.

4. Staff Support

After the submission of EoI WG draft proposal, conduct a public comment period for an appropriate length of time.

5. Processes and Working Methodology

EoI WG Proposal Draft

The WG will present to the ICANN staff a Draft Proposal on the topics and issues, which in the view of the WG need to be taken into consideration by the Board for any ‘Expressions of Interest’ program.

EoI WG Final Proposal

At the end of the consultation on the Proposed Draft, the WG may send comments to the ICANN Staff to assist them in preparing a Final Proposal reflecting the comments received from the ICANN community.

WG Methodology

In developing its proposal, the WG shall seek to reach consensus among its members. If there is a minority view of the members on a particular issue, that minority position shall be articulated in the WG Proposal. The WG will consider stakeholder and public comments and other inputs as appropriate, in its reasonable discretion. The WG is not obliged to include such comments or other input, including comments submitted by or input from any one individual or organization.

Closure of the Working Group

The WG is expected to be closed following the submission of the Final Proposal.

Omission within or unreasonable impact of Charter

The WG shall exercise reasonable discretion with respect to questions as to whether this charter does not provide guidance and/or the impact of the charter is unworkable with respect to the conduct of the WG.

6. WG Time Line

7. References

• "EoI" Proposal introduced by Jothan Frakes at ICANN 36 Public Participatio ("Public Forum")
• Core Step-by-Step proposal
• IDN TLD Group charter
• Board Resolution, October 30, 2009 at ICANN 36 meeting, item 5
• "GAC Principles Regarding new gTLDs," March 28, 2007

8. Expressions of Interest Working Group Participants

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TLD EOI WORKING GROUP PARTICIPANTS (with identification of ICANN region)

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ICANN geographical region noted for informational purposed only. Participants are "points of contact" acting in a personal capacity only, and do not act in the capacity of a representative of their ICANN stakeholder group of constituency.

Liz Williams(AP)
Johannes Lenz-­Hawliczek (EU)
Jothan Frakes(NA)
Antony Van Couvering(NA)
Tony Harris (LC)
Bolei Zahn (AP)
James Seng (AP)
Paul McGrady (NA)
Nick Wood (EU)
Bertrand de la Chapelle (EU)
Alexander Schwertner (EU)
Tim Ruiz (NA)
Patrick Van De Walle (EU)
Roger Castillo (LC)
Stephane Van Gelder (EU)