NCSG

NCSG stands for Non-Commercial Stakeholders Group. It is proposed to become an integrated committee of ICANN’s Generic Name Supporting Organization (GNSO). NCSG is still under Charter process and discussions are under way for designing the organizational membership and the role of this committee. The main purpose of the NCSG is to represent the views and interests of those who engage in non-commercial activities on the internet. As they are the part of the domain name policy, it becomes necessary to provide such members representation in ICANN processes. ICANN found that there is no adequate representation of non-commercial and non-profit organizations such as education, community organizing, promoting arts, children’s welfare, religion, scientific research and human rights through GNSO in ICANN processes. So to provide this adequate representation NCSG is being chartered by ICANN.

Composition of NCSG:

NCSG will consist of three different groups: Membership, Constituencies and a Policy Committee.

Membership Committee:

The Membership Committee shall consist of all organizations and individuals who use the domain names for non-profit and non-commercial purposes, and for the interest and welfare of the public. These organizations or individuals shall also be concerned with domain name policies created or amended by ICANN over the period of time in the development of internet and related services for domain names.

Constituencies Committee:

The Constituencies Committee will be formed by the members within the NCSG to put forth propositions on certain policies or stakeholders from NCSG. The Constituencies Committee can only be formed when the Policy Committee affirms to create a constituencies committee. At least 3 Organizational members or at least 10 individual members are necessary to form a Constituencies Committee.

Policy Committee:

The main role of the Policy Committee is to develop policies and various other propositions issued in the name of the NCSG. It also should organize the necessary steps that need to be taken for the creation of certain policies and also should be able to provide guidance and recommendations to NCSG GNSO council members regarding various policies. The policy committee is responsible for viewing and supervising the executive functions of the Chair and can also recommend the removal of the Chair if it feels he or she is failing to meet expectations. It also plays the decisive role in the creation of any Constituencies Committee.

Principles of NCSG

1. Nondiscriminatory and impartial application of rules: NCSG represents the non-commercial stakeholders, as such no non-commercial organization or individual can be denied membership. All non-commercial organization and individual applicants for membership in the NCSG should be given equal opportunity if they suite the eligibility criteria. There should be no discrimination on the basis of religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, race, or ethnicity.
2. Transparency: Information on the proceedings of NCSG committee meetings should be available to all NCSG members through the appropriate mediums. The schedules of various meetings should be announced well in advance.
3. Service standards for elected officers: Every NCSG officer, including the Chair, should be impartial, accountable and avoid conflicts of interest. NCSG officers should be fair, trustworthy and responsible custodians of NCSG’s activities.
4. Standards of member behavior: All NCSG members should behave according to ICANN Bylaws/Policies, which supports the consensus model of treating everyone with dignity, respect and courtesy; listening and understanding others effectively; and acting with honesty and sincerity.
5. Encourage consensus: NCSG’s main principle will be to encourage consensus, communication, and cooperation among members on various issues of non-commercial interests by holding the GNSO Council Representative Elections open to all NCSG members. This will ensure that members will try to create a consensus among competing non-commercial views for support.