SURVEY OF PERCEIVED COMMUNITY VALUE/BENEFITS OF ICANN GEOGRAPHIC REGIONS FRAMEWORK

ICANN GEOGRAPHIC REGIONS REVIEW WORKING GROUP

April 2010

Estimated Completion Time – 5 minutes

Introduction and Background: (PLEASE READ)

Last November the ICANN Board formed a community-wide working group to study and review the issues related to the definition of the ICANN Geographic Regions, to consult with community stakeholders and to develop and submit proposals to the Board to resolve any problematic issues relating to the current definition of the ICANN Geographic Regions.

The ICANN Geographical Regions were originally created as a means of obtaining geographical diversity in the composition of the ICANN Board. By an ICANN Board resolution in 2000[1], the ICANN Staff was instructed to assign countries to geographic regions on the basis of the United Nations Statistics Division's current classifications[2].  It also introduced the concept of "citizenship" in relation to the use of ICANN Geographic Regions.

Subsequently, ICANN Geographic Regions were applied in various ways when defining the organisational structures for the ALAC, GNSO, and ccNSO.

Currently the ICANN Bylaws define five geographic regions[3]:

·       Africa;

·       Asia/Australia/Pacific; 

·       Europe

·       Latin America/Caribbean; and

·       North America

The working group formed by the Board produced an “Initial Report” in July of this year (see - http://www.icann.org/en/topics/geographic-regions/initial-report-geo-regions-review-wg-31jul09-en.pdf.  The Initial Report identified the various applications and functions to which “ICANN Geographic Regions” are currently applied by existing ICANN structures (e.g., geographic diversity among volunteer leaders).  It briefly documented other regional structures used within ICANN but not defined in the Bylaws and documented a number of potential “issues” that members thought should be covered during the Working Group’s subsequent investigations.

Why a Survey?

The Working Group is now developing a second “Interim Report” which will begin to focus on specific issue areas in which it may develop recommendations to the Board.  Working Group members are interested in soliciting specific community input on the impact, if any, the geographic region framework has on the specific work of the various communities in ICANN. Working Group members have developed this brief survey to share with members of their communities to help the Working Group develop a more robust picture of the current and potential future impact that the ICANN Geographic Regions Framework may have on those communities going forward.

The Survey:

This survey is organized in three sections.  The first section asks a few questions about you, the responder.  Your responses in this section will help the Working Group analyze and categorize your answers when they are combined with other completed surveys. The second section asks several questions about your understanding of the current geographic regions framework and how it affects your work in your specific ICANN community. Finally, the third section assesses your willingness to engage in future discussions about this topic if the Working Group wants to follow-up with you with more detailed questions or to learn more about your answers to certain questions.