Minutes | Meeting of the Organizational Effectiveness Committee of the Board (OEC) | 23 May 2024

OEC Attendees: Katrina Sataki – Chair, Alan Barrett, Chris Buckridge, Chris Chapman. Edmon Chung and James Galvin

Executive and Staff Attendees: Franco Carrasco (Board Operations Manager), Samantha Eisner (Deputy General Counsel), Evin Erdogdu (Project Manager, Review Support & Accountability), Alice Jansen (Implementation Operations Director – Reviews), Jason Kean (Project Manager, Review Support & Accountability), Laena Rahim (Associate General Counsel, APAC), Giovanni Seppia (VP, Implementation Operations), Theresa Swinehart (SVP, Global Domains and Strategy) and Mary Wong (VP, Strategic Policy Management).

The following is a summary of discussions, decisions, and actions identified:

The Meeting was called to order at 12:00 UTC.

1. Agenda – The Chair established the agenda for the meeting and gave an overview of items to be discussed.
2. Review of Open Action Items and the OEC Work Plan – The OEC reviewed the "Open Action Items" and the updated OEC work plan with ICANN organization. ICANN org provided a brief summary of the status of activities under the OEC's action items list. Several action items will be followed up in time for the next OEC meeting, and there are also other action items which will require more time to complete.

3. Update on Competition, Consumer Trust and Consumer Choice (CCT) Review Pending Recommendations 2, 3, 4 and 5 – ICANN org briefed the OEC on the four recommendations that were in "pending" status. Prior to the meeting, ICANN org circulated a scorecard that addresses the pending CCT Recommendations 2-5:

   Recommendation 2: Collect wholesale pricing for legacy gTLDs.
   Recommendation 3: Collect transactional pricing for the gTLD marketplace.
   Recommendation 4: Collect retail pricing for the domain marketplace.
   Recommendation 5: Collect secondary market data.

   On 1 March 2019, the Board addressed the CCT Recommendations 2-5 collectively, due to the questions raised about the value of the data. The Board directed ICANN org, through the engagement of a third party, to conduct an analysis to identify what types of data would be relevant in examining the potential impacts on competition and, whether that data is available, and how it could be collected in order to benefit the work of future CCT Review Teams, noting that it would inform its decision on next steps and whether this recommendation can be adopted to move into costing discussion phase of implementation.

   At the time of the decision to place the recommendations in a pending status, the Board noted that during the public comment period of the CCT Final Report, the Registry Stakeholder Group expressed the following concerns: (1) "price information is generally business sensitive"; (2) it is not clear who will have access to such data once collected, who will "arbitrate access to the data, and to what extent", and (3) "not only should ICANN not involve itself with pricing studies, using parties' contracts with ICANN as a mechanism to force its production is terribly inappropriate".
   As directed, ICANN commissioned a study to identify what types of information are probative to assess the competition within the DNS market. The study explains that evaluation of competition within a market entails assessing whether consumer welfare and other efficiencies have increased. Price alone, including the different types of pricing data as requested by the CCT, does not demonstrate these benefits. While lower prices could be one measure of benefit, offering innovation or a better product (while not necessary at a lower price) is another key element of measuring consumer benefit and competitive impact.

   The study evaluates what other factors in addition to price could be measures of consumer benefits in the DNS market, including measurements of quantity of registrations, date on switching between TLDs, data on profitability of registry operators, and documentation of TLD innovation. Notably, the study does not take into account whether ICANN already has access to the data, or, if not, how ICANN might obtain access to the data to collect for the benefit of the future CCT Review Team.

   Some observations from the OEC:

   • The OEC expressed its concern about the continued request for additional data and the impact of such requests; and as such, there has to be some feasibility assessment of the value of collection of data, and the associated costs.
   • ICANN org recapped the ATRT3's Recommendation 3.2, which identified "a framework of data must be in place prior to the next round of gTLDs and the availability of all data sets should be confirmed prior to the selection of the review members and must be provided within 30 days of the review being launched."
   • The OEC observed that many of the review recommendations have a tendency to add on supplementary work. However, there exists certain dependencies around the recommendations, which provides an opportunity for the OEC to make reviews more succinct and streamlined, to achieve some of the intended results, instead of creating additional work.
   • In relation to CCT Recommendation 1 ("formalize and promote ongoing data collection"), this work is currently ongoing; which would help data collection in the future.

   The OEC considered the assessment produced by ICANN org. The OEC will continue its discussion on this topic and make its recommendation to the Board before ICANN80.

   • Action Items:
     • ICANN org to circulate the economist's report to the OEC, to enable the OEC to make an informed decision as to whether to approve or reject the pending recommendations.
     • Thereafter, the OEC to forward its recommendation to the Board for its consideration.

4. Update on Implementation of Specific Reviews and Work Stream 2 Recommendations – ICANN org provided a brief overview of the ICANN Reviews Program. In relation to the Pilot Holistic Review (PHR), the Call for Volunteers was officially opened on 23 May 2024 and it will close on 19 June 2024. Thereafter, the SO/ACs will review the list of applicants and determine their respective nominations. ICANN org will post a list of all SO/AC nominated applications on the PHR wiki page and produce a skill and diversity analysis of nominated candidates. SO/AC Chairs will select review team members and identify review leadership from the list of nominated applicants. It is anticipated that the Review Team members will be announced on 13 April 2024, and the Review Team to be convened by 20 September 2024.

   Responding to a query from the OEC regarding the change in the cadence of the reviews, ICANN org clarified that ICANN org is tracking the different items that would require Bylaws amendments. The OEC will also have an opportunity to engage in thoughtful discussions and provide input into the different processes.

   ICANN org continued the presentation with an update on the progress and highlights of the implementation of the Specific Reviews and Workstream 2 (WS2) recommendations. As it relates to Specific Reviews recommendations, of the 71 Board-approved Specific Reviews recommendations, 39 (55%) are considered complete in Q1 2024, 30 (42%) in progress, and 2 (3%) not started. This translates to 97% of recommendations being either in progress or complete.

   For WS2, out of the 65 recommendations for ICANN org to implement, 51 (79%) recommendations are complete. In addition, 12 (18%) of the remaining recommendations are in progress, leading to a total of 97% of recommendations that are either currently listed as in progress or complete. Work also continues on the community implementation of WS2 recommendations. Out of the 37 recommendations for the community to implement, 12 (32%) recommendations are complete and the remaining 25 (68%) remaining recommendations are in progress.

   Responding to a query from the OEC, ICANN org noted that the community provides constructive feedback during prep week sessions, and the WS2 and Specific Reviews quarterly implementation reports are also well-received by the community. The OEC concurred that these quarterly reports can be improved further, by providing a more comprehensive comparison/ analysis on the progress of the implementation of the Specific Reviews and WS2 recommendations'.

   The OEC noted that for ICANN80 prep week session, there will be a session to provide updates on the implementation of Specific Reviews and WS2 recommendations on 30 May 2024.

5. Update on Continuous Improvement Program (CIP) – ICANN org provided an update on this topic. ATRT3 Recommendation 3.6 calls for Organizational Reviews to be evolved into a CIP. The ICANN community demonstrated great interest in contributing to the evolution of Organizational Reviews into a CIP Community Coordination Group (CIP-CCG), which convened in January 2024.

   The CIP-CCG is tasked with developing a framework for the CIP, which will be published for public comment (targeting November 2024) prior to adoption by each SO, AC, and the NomCom. The CIP will include an annual satisfaction survey of members/participants, and a regular assessment once the CIP Framework is developed. The Board will consider the progress made toward evolving Organizational Reviews into a CIP including the framework for adoption by June 2025. To date, the CIP-CCG volunteers have considered a range of methodologies for effective continuous improvement programs, utilizing a Principles-Criteria-Indicators framework fit for ICANN purpose. CIP-CCG volunteers are in the midst of drafting the CIP Framework, to be used by each SO, AC, and NomCom, while relaying information back to their groups to inform the process.

   ICANN org provided a brief overview of the proposed roadmap for the CIG-CCP work in 2024.

   The OEC will continue its discussion on this topic at its future meetings.

6. Decision reached via E-mail – The Chair noted the decision which the OEC has reached via e-mail. The OEC voted unanimously via e-mail to take the following action:
   • OEC approval to recommend to the Board to defer ATRT4 on 23 April 2024.
7. Review of New Action Items – ICANN org recapped the new action items arising from the OEC's present meeting.

The Chair called the meeting to a close.