Just come across Kieren McCarthy's leaving report via http://www.stephanevangelder.com/archives/292-Rethinking-public-participation-in-ICANN.html. Had no idea that he had left and (as of 3 hours ago) I was drafting a proposal for him on how ICANN could improve public participation through the use of 'New Media' (now wondering if I was just seeking another 'technological solution'?) --- Executive Summary Kieren McCarthy served as ICANN’s General Manager of Public Participation (GMPP) from February 2007 to November 2009. This report aims to act as a forward‐ looking guide for future ICANN participation efforts. The reports contains a number of recommendations. Key among them are: • That the current GMPP role, as written into the ICANN’s bylaws, be split into two. First, a General Manager of Public Participation that works most closely with the Policy department but reports directly to the CEO. And, second, a Director of Online Services, who is given explicit authority over all ICANN’s websites and related online services, reports to the VP of Communications and is added to ICANN’s Executive Team. • That a community‐led review of ICANN’s public comment process be carried at the soonest opportunity, with a recent memorandum from the ALAC used as the foundation for discussions for how to improve and update the process. • That far greater attention is given as an organization to the cultural and societal factors that affect participation, rather than continue to seek technological solutions to low levels of participation. Key among these is an issue of online interaction, recently highlighted by an Ombudsman report into civility. With respect to the tools used for enabling participation from a broader range of global participants: • ICANN offers a higher level of public participation than comparable organizations, but falls down by not providing a consistent or intuitive interface. • ICANN staff continues to focus resources on those already heavily engaged in the organization’s processes, building an invisible wall to potential new participants • At this moment in time, the barriers to participation lie not in technology but in its effective use and the inclusion of existing tools into ongoing processes --- regards, Alex