ICANN seeks volunteer reviewers on 4 key areas

Internet coordinating agency, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), has called for volunteer reviewer of its four key objectives.

Announcing this, weekend, ICANN said the reviewers would focus on the four key areas, namely, ensuring accountability, transparency and the interests of global Internet users; reserving security, stability and resiliency of the Domain Name System (DNS); promoting competition, consumer trust and consumer choice; and Whois policy.

ICANN also said that the reviews will be performed by review teams composed of volunteer community members representing the relevant supporting organizations and advisory committees.

A paper introducing draft proposals, ICANN noted, has been dedicated to the organization of the review processes, while it’s available for public comment until the end of January.

In parallel with this process, ICANN informed that it now invited interested individuals to express interest in serving as a volunteer review team member.

This is a permanent call for applications; however, candidatures for the first review ‘Accountability and Transparency’ will be accepted until February 17, 2010.

However, the executive summary of the draft proposal on affirmation reviews: requirements and implementation processes, stipulated that contains specific provisions for periodic review of four key ICANN objectives be made as aforementioned.

It presented a draft framework to address Affirmation review requirements, stressing that the purpose of the paper includes both to provide a vehicle for community comment on all aspects of the review process, and to serve as guidance for the review teams.

“This proposed methodology is based on a lightweight but rigorous and meaningful approach, integrating standard review cum participatory evaluation practices in order to achieve sound, implementable outcomes,” ICANN stated.

The concept behind the Affirmation reviews, ICANN noted, provide a mechanism to assess and report on ICANN’s progress toward fundamental organizational objectives.

“The reviews themselves should follow this principle of simplicity. The Affirmation document outlines many of the parameters of the reviews, establishing in advance the basis for each review’s terms of reference,” part of the executive summary read.

Further, the Affirmation document defines who selects the review teams, and defines the type of review team participants, just as it finally, outlined time frames for each review that dictate a streamlined approach to performing the reviews.



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