Thanks for forwarding this, Bill. There is one significant improvement in this proposed travel policy from the staff: we can split the airfare and hotel between 2 different people if that works best (it was an all or nothing policy before). But there is also one difference that burdens recipients: now ICANN staff is saying the participant will have to front their own "per diem" expenses and only after the participant submits a report and attendance records are checked will the per diem be transfered. (Before the per diem was given a few days ahead of the meeting to ensure the participant can meet expenses on the ground at the time they are incurred.) This was not a change the GNSO recommended, but something ICANN staff is trying to impose on us. I hope the proposed change will be brought to the attention of Counsel and resisted. Thanks, Robin On Jan 10, 2009, at 8:57 AM, William Drake wrote: > Hi, > > Per Cheryl's request, below is the message on the travel policy. > Sorry I didn't send it before, busy and losing track of things. > The message arrived just before the council took up the matter > Thursday, so it was a bit of surprise to at least some of us who > were expecting something different, e.g the simpler and more bottom > up approach endorsed by the council in December. Several people > expressed opposition and asked Olga to convey their concerns to the > group working on it. In addition, there have subsequently been > requests on the GNSO list, including from us (Carlos), for staff > clarification as to what happened and why. So it's not entirely > clear to me what the status is now, whether we are awaiting a > revision or should act on the basis of the below. Nevertheless, we > are supposed to turn in the list of funding requests ASAP. > > Maybe someone here is closer to this process and can elaborate? > > Best, > > Bill > > Begin forwarded message: > >> From: "Denise Michel" <[log in to unmask]> >> Date: January 8, 2009 9:13:58 PM GMT+01:00 >> To: "[log in to unmask]" <[log in to unmask]>, liaison6c >> <[log in to unmask]> >> Subject: [council] Fwd: Community Travel support Procedure for >> Mexico City >> Reply-To: [log in to unmask] >> >> >> ---------- Forwarded message ---------- >> From: Kevin Wilson <[log in to unmask]> >> Date: Thu, Jan 8, 2009 at 12:06 PM >> Subject: Community Travel support Procedure for Mexico City >> >> >> Dear Supporting Organisation participants: >> >> The following information is provided to help you take advantage >> of the travel funding made available for the ICANN Mexico City >> meeting through the new Community Travel Support Procedure (CTSP). >> Since travel arrangements for the Mexico City meeting need to be >> completed this month, your organisation may want to use a >> "temporary" process for providing a list of ICANN-funded travelers >> for this meeting. By 22 January 2009, staff needs a list of >> supported travelers - 13 names from the GNSO and 12 names from the >> ccNSO including the chair and NomCom appointees. (Please note the >> additional important deadlines for Mexico City travel are included >> below.) >> >> We look forward to receiving the final, proposed travel allocation >> procedure for your SO. Please email it to me and ICANN's travel >> coordinator at the following addresses: [log in to unmask] and >> [log in to unmask] >> >> 1) Deadlines for ICANN-funded travel to the Mexico City meeting. >> >> To ensure all available travel funds can be used for the ICANN >> Mexico City meeting, which starts 2 November, the following >> schedule will apply: >> >> 22 January (14:00 PDT) – deadline for each Supporting Organisation >> Chair to provide ICANN Staff – [log in to unmask] – with the >> list of travelers who are to receive travel support under the >> CTSP. If your SO has named you as a recipient of support for >> Mexico City, you will be contacted by ICANN Travel Coordination >> Staff with complete information on how your arrangements will be >> made. >> 28 January (14:00 PDT) – deadline for room bookings. All >> travelers' arrival and departure dates need to be finalized by >> this date because this is the date by which all hotel room >> reservations must be contracted for or released. After this date, >> any additional cost for changes to travelers' arrival and >> departure details will be paid by the traveler, unless otherwise >> agreed to in advance, in writing, by ICANN Travel Staff. >> 28 January (14:00 PDT) – deadline for flight bookings. Any >> approved traveler who has not completed their flight on or before >> this time will no longer be eligible for sponsored air travel. >> 2) Important change >> >> In response to community requests for this meeting air fare and >> hotel support can now be split between two designated travelers (1 >> person would receive only hotel support and another person would >> receive only air fare support, and this would be counted as 1 >> funded traveler for the purposes of an SO's allocation. >> 3) Requirements for ICANN-funded travelers for the Mexico City >> include the following: >> >> The names of all ICANN-supported travelers will be publicly posted >> on the ICANN community travel webpage (http://www.icann.org/en/ >> topics/travel-support/), along with the class of travel supported, >> and the amount of travel funding received. >> For newly supported travelers (excluding Chair and NomCom- >> appointees) people who receive travel support will be asked to >> complete a meeting attendance form which will be publicly posted, >> and also will be required to attend all relevant, scheduled SO- >> related meetings in Mexico City (as identified by your SO). Each >> SO is encouraged to provide guidance on the general content >> requirements for travelers' reports. >> Per diem payments to funded travelers will be issued after their >> reports are received and attendance records verified. This is in >> response to the community requests to ensure transparency, >> accountability and efficacy for ICANN travel funding, and also is >> consistent with the approach used for ICANN's fellowship program >> participants. >> 4) Individuals who are not members of an SO Council can be >> selected to receive travel support. As stated, the goal of the >> CTSP is "to lower the barrier to participation, broaden the group >> of participants and, advance the work" of I CANN. SO's are >> asked to provide a list of individuals to receive travel funding >> "based on best meeting the policy-making needs of the entity." Any >> SO member is eligible to receive travel funding. >> >> The GNSO has been asked to provide ICANN Staff with the names of >> 13 individuals (including chair and NomCom appointees) to receive >> travel funding, and the ccNSO has been asked to provide ICANN >> Staff with the names of 12 individuals (including chair and NomCom >> appointees) to receive travel funding. Although these numbers were >> based on the total number of Council members from each SO, travel >> funding is not restricted to Council members. >> >> 5) SO's should consider factoring "need" into selection of >> travelers. This is one element which SOs may wish to consider when >> determining who should receive travel support. This supports >> ICANN's goal of lowering the barrier to participation. >> >> 6) If an SO does not use all of its available travel slots for a >> given meeting, they can be 'rolled over' to a subsequent meeting. >> This applies until the end of each ICANN fiscal year, after which >> point the unused support is 'lost' and the new fiscal year – and a >> potentially revised CTSP applies. >> Please don't hesitate to contact me if you need further information. >> >> Kevin Wilson >> >> > > *********************************************************** > William J. Drake > Senior Associate > Centre for International Governance > Graduate Institute of International and > Development Studies > Geneva, Switzerland > [log in to unmask] > New book: Governing Global Electronic Networks, > http://tinyurl.com/5mh9jj > *********************************************************** > IP JUSTICE Robin Gross, Executive Director 1192 Haight Street, San Francisco, CA 94117 USA p: +1-415-553-6261 f: +1-415-462-6451 w: http://www.ipjustice.org e: [log in to unmask]