All,

The last piece of update with regards to the ongoing consultations
with regards to the SSR2-RT. A letter from the SO/AC Chairs asking for
more MSSI support for the SSR2-RT work.

I personally believe this is a good move from SO/AC Chairs and we hope
to see this RT resume its work soon as this seems to be the will of
the ICANN community.

Regards,
Arsene

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Alan Greenberg <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Fri, Feb 16, 2018 at 2:48 PM
Subject: [soac-chairs] MSSI Support for SSR2-RT
To: Theresa Swinehart <[log in to unmask]>
Cc: Board SSR2 Caucus <[log in to unmask]>, SOAC Chairs <
[log in to unmask]>, Khaled Koubaa <[log in to unmask]>


Dear Theresa,

This letter is being sent on behalf of the SO/AC Chairs.

Based on discussions with the SSR2 Review Team (RT) at ICANN60, a
confidential survey conducted by the SO/AC Chairs of RT members, and
one-on-one discussions between RT members and their respective SO/AC
leaders, our understanding is that there are two areas where the RT
believes that they could benefit from enhanced MSSI support.

1.       *Better records of RT meetings, both face-to-face and
teleconferences*. Currently MSSI support provides a record of decisions
made by the RT and Action Items (for both RT members and MSSI staff). In
addition to these current efforts, the Review Team requests that high-level
notes of discussions be captured during the meetings, similar to the notes
that are taken by staff for many CCWG meeting discussions as well as for
GNSO PDPs, and comparable to the records of Board discussions that often
form a part of Board minutes. The SO/AC Chairs consider that this request
is reasonable.

2.       *Improved response to RT requests*. RT members have expressed a
concern that ICANN (via MSSI staff) has been slow in providing answers to
questions and further information. Clearly this is a subjective issue, both
in regard to how quickly responses should be provided and to what extent
requests are reasonable and able to be addressed within the expected
response time. Nevertheless, as it has been identified as a concern of RT
members and is potentially hindering the RT’s effectiveness, we believe
that this should be addressed. The SO/AC Chairs suggest the following:

a)      For all requests for information (which are already logged as MSSI
Action Items), MSSI to the extent practical should estimate expected
response time and track response time.

b)      When a response cannot meet expectations, the RT should be notified
with an amended expectation and explanation for the extended time needed.

c)       If the RT or RT leadership believes that the response or response
time in any given instance is unsatisfactory, this should be raised with
MSSI staff.

d)      If the question cannot be responded to or requires clarification,
or if ICANN org for some other reasons does not feel the request is
appropriate, MSSI must flag this as a “critical issue” to be addressed.
Such “critical issues” may also be raised by RT leadership, RT members,
MSSI or other ICANN staff in the event of a disagreement on resources or
information availability. To the extent possible, a rationale should be
clearly expressed to enable the RT to understand the situation.

e)      Any such “critical issue” should be explicitly noted as an Action
Item. A small group consisting of the Board Liaison to the RT, one member
of MSSI staff and one from the RT leadership (or one that the RT leadership
appoints) will work to either ensure that adequate resources are made
available or RT expectations are reset at a more appropriate level or
whatever other action is appropriate to allow the issue be resolved.
Immediately when a “critical issue” is raised, the OEC and SO/AC Chairs
should be notified, and both OEC and SO/AC Chairs should, if at least one
of the three persons in the subgroup so requests, help by having a
representative participate in the discussions.

f)       the process above should be considered for inclusion in the
Operating Standards.

We would appreciate your thoughts on these proposals.


Sent on behalf of:

Alan Greenberg, Chair, ALAC
Paul Wilson, Chair, ASO
Katrina Sataki, Chair, ccNSO
Manal Ismail, Chair, GAC
Heather Forrest, Chair, GNSO
Tripti Sinha, Co-Chair, RSSAC
Brad Verd, Co-Chair, RSSAC
Rod Rasmussen, Chair, SSAC