"The IANA stewardship transition process is taking place alongside a 
parallel and related process on enhancing ICANN accountability.


Stepping back from both the IANA transition proposal process and the ICANN accountability exercise and looking through the eyes of the rest of the world, or at least the rest of the world that is watching, it should be (should be!) clear that the two accountability exercises are linked, and intertwined with the multistakeholder model. The core accountability value is the same. Each accountability proposal will be seen as a prototype and testing ground for the other. 

As the world watches, being successful is also a test of the multistakeholder model. Earlier suggestions for tying deadlines to progress, rather than specific calendar dates, were criticised as efforts to scuttle the process. It is now clear that deadlines are interlinked and need to be sensitive
to the pace of progress. 

As we the stakeholders, the CG, and the ccWG shape the details of the proposals, we need to keep in mind that this is more than internal housekeeping and that the world is watching both the processes and the outcomes, in particular to assess the viability of the multistakeholder approach.


Sam L.