Policy Development Process

The Policy Development Process (PDP) is the set of practices used in the creation or change of policies related to ICANN and its constituencies. PDP refers to the steps an organization takes to fulfill its objectives, generate its guidelines, and structure its actions.

All policy recommendations are formed and refined by ICANN's Supporting Organizations (SOs) and influenced by ICANN's Advisory Committees (ACs).

ICANN Body Policymaking

Every SO has its own PDP.

GNSO

Main Article: GNSO PDP

The PDP for the GNSO is outlined in Annex A of the ICANN Bylaws.

ccNSO

Main Article: ccNSO PDP

The PDP of the ccNSO is outlined in Annex B of the ICANN Bylaws.

ASO

Main Article: ASO PDP

The role of the Address Supporting Organization (ASO) in ICANN policymaking is outlined in the Memorandum of Understanding.

Every AC has its own policy advice development process (PADP).

GAC

Main Article: GAC PADP

ALAC

Main Article: ALAC PADP

The ALAC shares its advice through the Public Comment Proceedings.

SSAC

Main Article: SSAC PADP

The SSAC generates advisories.

RSSAC

Main Article: RSSAC PADP

The RSSAC generates advisories.

ICANN Policy Development Support Staff

ICANN strives to develop policy by means of consensus because the organization believes it offers the best way to attract support and generate compliance throughout the entire global Internet community. Toward this end, ICANN provides a 32-person Policy Development Support Team from around the world to assist and shepherd policy and advice development.

Work Products

PDP Updates are one-page documents prepared by ICANN staff to inform the Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) and other interested parties about potential opportunities to engage in and contribute to on-going GNSO PDP efforts. They are published on a regular basis and translations of these can be found on the GAC website.

The creation of PDP

The policy development process is proposed by a policy working group from various organizations and members of an RIR. Based on the PDP, various policies are discussed within a specific community and ratified by the RIR Board after consensus has been reached.

The specific stages involved in PDP ratification are:

1. The policy development process is proposed (by any member).
2. It is further analyzed by the appropriate RIR via mailing lists. Anyone can join such discussions.
3. After a period of 30 days, the PDP is brought to an open public meeting for further discussion and the possibility of consensus.
4. If consensus is achieved, then the next step will be applied. If consensus is not achieved, another period of 30 days will be allowed for more discussion and debate, until consensus is achieved. If consensus is still not achieved, the PDP may be abandoned.
5. If consensus is achieved, another period of 15 days will be given for anyone from the community to provide new observations and suggestions for final changes.
6. The policy is ratified by the Board of Trustees and the policy is adopted for use.

PDP working groups

The working groups that propose such policy development processes consist of volunteer members, who can be either individuals or representatives from an organization. In order to ratify the PDP there is a need for consensus. Due to the fact that working groups consist of volunteers, various problems can occur such as:

• If the number of members within a working group is too small, then the development process is slowed down and achievements are more difficult to be achieved;
• If the number of members within a working group is too large, then a consensus is more difficult to be reached due to different opinion and the development process can be delayed;
• The lack of experience and knowledge of some members can complicate the development process.

See PDP-WT.

The GPDP

The GPDP is an acronym used for "Generic Policy Development Process" and represents a tool used to improve the quality of regulatory interventions by providing explicit but generic processes for clear and effective regulatory development.

Policy Development Process

Generic Names Supporting Organization. Develops and recommends to the Board substantive policies relating to generic top-level domains and other responsibilities set forth in the Bylaws (ICANN Bylaws).

Country Code Names Supporting Organization. Develops and recommends to the Board global policies relating to country-code top-level domains (ICANN Bylaws).

Address Supporting Organization. Advises the Board with respect to policy issues relating to the operation, assignment, and management of Internet addresses (ICANN Bylaws).

Governmental Advisory Committee. Considers and provides advice on the activities of ICANN as they relate to concerns of governments, particularly matters where there may be an interaction between ICANN's policies and various laws and international agreements or where they may affect public policy issues (ICANN Bylaws).

At-Large Advisory Committee. Considers and provides advice on the activities of ICANN related to the interests of individual Internet users (ICANN Bylaws). Not to be confused with the Non-Commercial Stakeholder Group.

Security and Stability Advisory Committee. Advises the ICANN community and Board on matters relating to the security and integrity of the Internet's naming and address allocation systems (ICANN Bylaws).

Root Server System Advisory Committee. Advises the ICANN community and Board on matters relating to the operation, administration, security, and integrity of the Internet's Root Server System (ICANN Bylaws).