Minutes | Meeting of the Strategic Planning Committee of the Board (SPC) | 9 December 2024

SPC Attendees: Maarten Botterman – Co-Chair, Chris Chapman – Co-Chair, Alan Barrett, James Galvin, Wes Hardaker and Amitabh Singhal

SPC Apologies: Becky Burr

Executive and Staff Attendees: Xavier Calvez (SVP, Planning and Chief Financial Officer), Franco Carrasco (Board Operations Specialist), Samantha Eisner (Deputy General Counsel), Breda Lund (Editorial Supervisor, Global Communications), Becky Nash (VP, Planning), Laena Rahim (Associate General Counsel, APAC), Ergys Ramaj (VP, Public Responsibility Support), Giovanni Seppia (VP, Implementation Operations) and Victoria Yang (Senior Manager, Planning)

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

The meeting was called to order at 19:00 UTC.

1. Agenda – Maarten Botterman and Chris Chapman (Co-Chairs) established the agenda for the meeting and gave an overview of items to be discussed.

2. Annual Review of SPC Charter – Prior to the meeting, the SPC members were requested to review the SPC charter to evaluate whether the current version requires modification (e.g., to make the Charter more reflective of the SPC's roles and responsibilities). ICANN organization circulated via email the current version of the Charter (dated 26 October 2023). Further, under the SPC Charter, the SPC is required to appoint a Chair Alternate.

   Some observations from the SPC relating to the SPC Charter include:

   • Scope of responsibilities of the SPC: In terms of the SPC's "coordination with the Board and the committees thereof…" the SPC discussed whether the SPC Charter should be modified to state more explicitly the exact nature of the coordination between the SPC and the other Board committees, as well as the purpose and desired outcomes of such coordination.
   • The SPC also discussed the need to align the SPC Charter with the other Board Committees' charters to ensure that there is alignment with the Strategic Plan and the priorities that have been identified as part of the Board's workplan.
     • Action Item:
       • ICANN org to lead work on how to confirm that other committees of the Board are considering their work within the framework of the Strategic Plan and coordinating with the SPC, to evaluate whether updates are needed to the SPC Charter or the workplan.

3. Review of SPC Action Items and SPC Workplan – ICANN org provided a brief summary of the status of the activities under the SPC's action items. Several action items will be followed up in time for the next SPC meeting, and there are also other action items which will require more time to complete.

   The SPC workplan was reviewed, which sets out the SPC's scope of responsibilities and relevant timelines for performance of its work. ICANN org and the Co-Chairs will monitor the workplan on a regular basis, to ascertain whether it requires any further modifications to encapsulate the SPC's additional responsibilities. ICANN org noted that the main focus of the SPC's work is on the oversight of the Strategic Planning Process and its evolution. The SPC engaged in a discussion on whether there is a need to incorporate into the workplan the SPC's broader responsibility and involvement towards ensuring that ICANN's Operating Plan reflects the proper work being carried out to achieve the Strategic Plan.

   The SPC considered and agreed that further clarity is required in the SPC workplan to reflect the alignment of the SPC's work with the other Board Committees. The SPC noted that its workplan should be enhanced to include coordination with other committees of the Board to make sure that work is progressing to achieve the Strategic Plan. The SPC also requested that the workplan be for a full calendar year.

   The SPC agreed to continue its discussion on this topic.

   • Action Item:
     • As part of ICANN org's work on evaluating SPC coordination with other committees of the Board, ICANN org to recommend updates to the workplan to achieve better alignment.

4. Discussion on the ICANN Strategic Plan for FY26-30 – ICANN org provided a brief overview of the status of the draft ICANN FY26-30 Strategic Plan. The SPC initiated and led the development of the draft Strategic Plan for FY26-30. ICANN org developed the draft Operating Plan Framework, which complements the draft Strategic Plan. Both draft plans were published for public comment on 23 July 2024, with the public comment period closing on 17 September 2024. The SPC had several working sessions in October 2024, where it reviewed, reflected upon and discussed all the comments received. On 9 November 2024, the Board reviewed the feedback received from the community, and discussed modifications to the draft Strategic Plan based on the comments and SPC discussion. The public comment summary report was published on 27 November 2024.

   ICANN org presented the next steps and timeline for the FY26-30 Strategic Plan:

   December 2024	ICANN org updated the draft Strategic Plan based on public comments
   9 January 2025	SPC reviews the draft Strategic Plan
   24-27 January 2025	Board Workshop session – Board reviews the revised draft Strategic Plan
   Early February 2025	Board publishes the redlined draft Strategic Plan
   February 2025	ICANN produces the final Strategic Plan
   February 2025	ICANN82 Prep Week Engagement
   Early March 2025	Board Workshop session – Review final Strategic Plan
   March 2025	Board consideration and adoption of the Strategic Plan at ICANN82
   March/April 2025	Empowered Community Period

   ICANN org continued its presentation with a brief summary of the evolution from the Operating Plan framework that was provided as a complementary document to the draft Strategic Plan and outlined key activities to the drafting of both the Draft five-year and one-year FY26 Operating Plan and Budget.

   The Draft Operating Plan includes descriptions of all the activities that ICANN will undertake to achieve both its Strategic Plan and also operate the organization and implement its mission and mandate. The "strategic initiatives" set out in the Draft Operating Plan are the approaches for how ICANN org is going to achieve the Strategic Plan over five years, and represent the key activities to implement the strategic objectives, goals, and 28 strategies set out in the Draft FY26-30 Strategic Plan. The Draft Operating Plan also includes ongoing functional activities to implement ICANN's mission and mandate, such as Contractual Compliance and IANA; and activities which operate or support the organization as a whole, such as Human Resources or Finance. The SPC noted some potential confusion with the term "strategic initiatives" as used in the Operating Plan.

   Maarten commented that a potential way forward to present the Operating Plan and Budget is to make the alignment of the strategies initiatives clearer and easier to map back to the Strategic Plan, avoiding potential confusion between the Operating Plan and Budget and the Strategic Plan. The Operating Plan and Budget may be adjusted to introduce the strategic initiatives upfront and to make the necessary linkages.

   The SPC also discussed what its role is or should be in relation to making sure that ICANN's Operating Plans and Budgets (both the five year and the annual) remain aligned with the Strategic Plan. Currently, there is not a clearly defined committee role for this responsibility. The SPC agreed that further discussion on this topic may be required, as there is a need to ensure the SPC's oversight role in this area.

   The SPC will continue its discussion on this topic.

   • Action Item:
     • As a path forward, ICANN org to facilitate a discussion with the BGC to seek its advice on this issue – to seek clarification on the SPC's role on the five-year and annual Operating Plans, including exploring whether the SPC should have a defined role in making sure that the activities supporting the Strategic Plan are appropriately reflected within ICANN's Operating Plans.

5. Project Update: Enhancing the Effectiveness of ICANN's Multistakeholder Model (MSM) – ICANN org provided a brief background on this project, which was initiated in late 2018 and resulted in a final action paper in October 2020. During the public consultations, the community identified six topics as those hampering the more effective and efficient functioning of ICANN's MSM, three of which the community considered a priority.

   The assessment conducted by ICANN org has shown that many of the initiatives/projects under the three prioritized topics have either changed or are now run differently, also thanks to community input and/or participation. Moreover, the assessment found several new initiatives and projects that ICANN launched to support its MSM. The evolution of the Domain Name System and ICANN is showing that evaluating the effectiveness of ICANN's MSM and introducing possible enhancements should be an ongoing and continuous effort. Therefore, in terms of next steps, the original plan to assess each of the initiatives/projects will be concluded. ICANN org is in the midst of drafting a closing report to explain how these projects have evolved and contributed to enhance and strengthen the MSM.

   ICANN org informed the SPC that the closing report is anticipated to be published in the coming months. The health check of ICANN's MSM will be embedded in the yearly Strategic Plan Evaluation identification process to capture the strengths and weaknesses of ICANN's MSM, as well as the community needs and expectations, in a live manner.

   Maarten noted that the SPC recommends that Alan Barrett to be appointed as the shepherd for this project (replacing Katrina Sataki) and encouraged ICANN org to work closely with Alan on the closing report.

6. Project Update: Environmental Sustainability Project and Baseline Assessment Study – ICANN org previously provided a presentation on this topic to the SPC in October 2024.

   Global environmental concerns prompted discussions among the ICANN Board, community and ICANN org about ICANN's roles and responsibility in understanding and addressing its own ecological footprint. In FY24, ICANN org initiated the development of a comprehensive approach for implementing an environmental sustainability strategy for ICANN, which will integrate environmental strategy principles into ICANN's core operations, policies and practices, in collaboration with the ICANN community and other relevant stakeholders.

   In October 2024, the SPC agreed to recommend to the Board to initiate a baseline assessment study, while recognizing that future discussions on this topic at the full Board level may result in the Board not agreeing to promote this as a priority in FY25, as it involves prioritization with limited funding. In early December 2024, the funding was approved for the baseline assessment study. ICANN org is evaluating proposals from three potential vendors and once the contract is finalized, work can begin in January 2025.

   In terms of next steps, a workshop will be held for the Board and the executives to help disseminate information and address any questions. ICANN org clarified that the proposed workshop for the Board is to ensure that there is adequate understanding and information about the project.

The Chair called the meeting to a close.