Policy Process Steering Committee

PPSC is the abbreviation for the Policy Process Steering Committee. It was basically established to review and recommend processes that were used within the framework of GNSO for the sake of developing policy and recommending any desired changes as and when required. The main goal of PPSC was to develop recommendations for all the process changes that were required to be as per the standards of the GNSO Improvements Report and acknowledged by the Board.[1] It consisted of two teams known as the Policy Development Process Work Team and the Working Group Work Team. The PPSC was terminated when the GNSO adopted the resolution 20110428-2 at its meeting held on 28 April 2011. Out of these two teams, the Policy Development Process Work Team is still active.

PPSC was also assigned with lots of other duties by the GNSO Council. The work PPSC was mostly related to the establishing guidelines for the sake of drafting teams, which were used in the GNSO Council as well as in the ad-hoc mechanisms, which the Council might use. It was also assigned with the task of providing guidelines that would help in the interaction amongst the volunteers of the GNSO and staff of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). [1]

Working method for the PPSC

The PPSC had two working teams, the first team known as the WG team was assigned with the job of developing a proposal for the sake of a new Working Group Model whereas the other team was known as the policy development process team or the PDP Team. The PPSC served as a coordinating body for these two teams.

The PPSC was also assigned with the task of combining the results into a proposal, consisting of suggested bylaws changes for PDP process and guidelines for the working groups. The PPSC also used to consider whether any of its activities that needed recommendations need to be addressed with the formation of a new special team. [1]

Work Teams of the PPSC

Policy Development Process Work Team: Also known as the PDP-WT, this team was responsible for recommending changes to the Council and the community on the basis of an open community WG approach. It was responsible of reviewing the PDP in the Bylaws.

Working Group Work Team: Also known as the WG-WT, it was responsible mostly to provide the necessary recommendations related to the methods and processes that were involved in the new WG model. The WG-WT also had to provide suggestion for transition to the new model.

Membership

The PPSC was initially comprised of the following members:

• 1 representative from each constituency (didn’t need to be a Council member)
• GNSO council chair or vice chair
• 1 Nominating Committee appointee to the GNSO

The PPSC also had other participants, which were Liaison or an appointed representative/observer from the GAC: Bertrand de la Chappelle and Liaison or an appointed from ALAC: Alan Greenberg, Cheryl Langdon-Orr (alternate).

Decision making of PPSC

The decision making process of PPSC if not determined by the PPSC members, were taken by using “full consensus of the members” process.

Important Decision making process points:

1. PPSC recognizes that determining a “Rough Consensus”; where all point of views are discussed till the chair decides all possible perspectives have been covered, is an important issue that must be handled by the working Group WT.
2. PPSC WT must strive to reach at a unanimous decision but it also realizes that this may not always be possible.
3. All the Work Team rules are subject to change by the PPSC that can be according to the PPSC’s evaluation of Working Group Work Team’s recommendations.

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).

Policy Development Process

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.