I am please to report that the PIR Board has approved the 4-year funding
proposal submitted to the PIR Advisory Council.  As a condition of
granting the funding, PIR requires that the NCUC submit an annual report
describing how it spent the previous year's disbursement and
demonstrating that the NCUC meets the benchmarks of success outlined in
the proposal.  This report is in the nature of a "due dilligence" to
ensure that NCUC is properly spending the money, rather than in the
nature of a reapplication under which funding for the next year will be
decided.  The PIR Advisory Board made clear in its recommendation that
certainty of long-range funding was critical to the ability of the NCUC
to invest in the long-range planning and capcity building envisioned by
the proposal.  Details still need to be arranged between the NCUC and
PIR, and we expect to settle these after Memorial Day (May 31).

In addition, I will continue to serve on the Outreach and Web Resources
Subcommittee of the PIR Advisory Committee.  I hope to explore
opportunities by which NCUC and PIR can jointly reach out to the broader
noncommercial Internet community.  It is my continued hope that this is
only the beginning of collaborative efforts between PIR and the NCUC to
serve the public interest in DNS policy.

Harold Feld
NCUC Representative to PIR Advisory Committee