Approved Resolutions | Regular Meeting of the ICANN Board | 26 October 2023

Rationale for Resolutions 2023.10.26.02 – 2023.10.26.03

The Board is addressing this matter to ensure committee charters are up-to-date and reflect the most current governance requirements, the actual practices of each committee, and best practices.

As part of its responsibilities, the Board Governance Committee (BGC) is tasked with "periodically review[ing] the charters of the Board Committees, including its own charter and work with the members of the Board Committees to develop recommendations to the Board for any charter adjustments deemed advisable." (BGC Charter, Sec. II.C.2.) In this role, the BGC asked each committee to review its charter for the BGC's consideration, which has been done by most committees, not all of which have recommended specific changes. Accordingly, the BGC has recommended, and the Board has approved revisions to the charters to update the relevant sections of the charters to current practices.

Specifically, as it relates to the substantive amendments to Sections I (Purpose) and II (Scope of Responsibilities), the changes include: (i) incorporating into the Board Accountability Mechanisms Committee charter a reference to receiving reports on the status of outstanding accountability mechanisms and litigation that involves ICANN or is of interest to ICANN; (ii) incorporating into the BGC charter a reference to other Board groups; and (iii) adding a reference in the Organizational Effectiveness Committee charter to the oversight of the Generic Names Supporting Organization Stakeholder Groups/Constituencies Charter amendment processes. With respect to the standard provisions across all Committee charters, the amendments include: (i) adding language to Section V (Voting and Quorum) on the value that non-voting Board Liaisons bring to Committees on which they serve; (ii) in Section VI (Records of Proceedings), updating the timing for creation and distribution of preliminary reports to reflect current practices and targets; (iii) changing Section VII to reflect the need for a Committee Chair to select an alternate if the Chair is unavailable; and (iv) updating the process for Committee self-evaluation in Section VIII (Review).

This action is consistent with ICANN's Mission and is in the public interest as it is important to ensure that the Board Committees are properly tasked with responsibilities, and to ensure oversight over the ICANN organization, as the Board deems appropriate.

This action is not expected to have a direct fiscal impact on ICANN or on the security, stability or resiliency of the domain name system.

This decision is an Organizational Administrative Function that does not require public comment.

Rationale for Resolution 2023.10.26.04

As part of ICANN's Investment Policy, the Operating Fund should be at a level of funds to cover a minimum of three months of ICANN organization's operating expenses.

The SFICR establishes segregated resources in support of increasing the capacity of ICANN to address activities and projects that are multi-year and focus on community recommendations that are approved by the Board but do not fit within the annual budget. If the Operating Fund contains excess after an allocation to the Reserve Fund has been considered or decided, an allocation to the SFICR will be determined based on the project needs identified.

As of 30 June 2023, there was excess in the Operating Fund of at least US$24,000,000, and both ICANN org and the Board Finance Committee recommended that US$20,000,000 should be transferred to the SFICR.

This action is consistent with ICANN's Mission and is in the public interest that ICANN uses the SFICR to fund projects, as approved by the Board, when the size, complexity, and length of the projects create a challenge to be solely funded by recurring funding.

This action will not have a direct financial impact on ICANN, and will not have an impact on the security, stability, or resiliency of the domain name system.

This is an Organizational Administrative function that does not require public comment.

Rationale for Resolutions 2023.10.26.05 – 2023.10.26.06

ICANN's ERP provides an integrated solution under a single system of record improving systems capacity, global reporting and analysis capability, leading to improved productivity and cross-functional efficiencies, and enhanced internal controls. On average, the minimum time to get optimal value out of an ERP is considered to be 10 years. Currently, ICANN is at the seven year mark with its current ERP provider. At this point, a new ERP implementation would require significant cost and effort, and would be premature. Renewal with the current ERP provider will continue to provide a stable solution for the organization. Further, ICANN's current ERP Provider is a Gartner Magic Quadrant Leader in Cloud ERP.

After thorough analysis, negotiations, and an adjustment to the number of licenses with the supplier, the organization has negotiated a new, [Redacted – Confidential Negotiation Information] with the current ERP provider with a total cost of [Redacted – Confidential Negotiation Information].

The Board reviewed the organization's and the Board Finance Committee's recommendations for contracting and disbursement authority for the contract renewal with the current ERP provider.

Taking this action fits squarely within ICANN's Mission and the public interest in that it ensures that payments of large amounts for one invoice to one entity are reviewed and evaluated by the Board if they exceed a certain amount of delegated authority through ICANN's Contracting and Disbursement Policy. This ensures that the Board is overseeing large disbursements and acting as proper stewards of the funding ICANN receives from the public.

There will be a financial impact on ICANN to renew the Oracle Cloud ERP contract. This impact is currently included in the FY24 Operating Plan and Budget.

This action will not have a direct impact on the security, stability and resiliency of the domain name system.

This is an Organizational Administrative Function that does not require public comment.

Rationale for Resolutions 2023.10.26.07 – 2023.10.26.08

The SSAC is a diverse group of individuals whose expertise in specific subject matters enables the SSAC to fulfill its role and execute its mission. Since its inception, the SSAC has invited to its membership individuals with deep knowledge and experience in technical and security areas that are critical to the security and stability of the Internet's naming and address allocation systems.

The SSAC's continued operation as a competent body is dependent on the accumulation of talented subject matter experts who have consented to volunteer their time and energies to the execution of the SSAC mission.

This resolution is an Organizational Administrative Function for which no public comment is required. The appointment of the SSAC Chair and SSAC members is in the public interest and in furtherance of ICANN's Mission as it contributes to the commitment of the ICANN to strengthen the security, stability, and resiliency of the DNS. The appointment of SSAC members is not anticipated to have any fiscal impact on ICANN org that has not already been accounted for in the budgeted resources necessary for ongoing support of the SSAC.

Rationale for Resolution 2023.10.26.09

Developing the internal audit function is consistent with ICANN's Mission and is in the public interest because it helps to enhance risk management, while assessing the effectiveness of many different aspects of the organization. Benefits of internal audit include:

• Strengthens compliance - internal audits are designed to check and ensure an organization is compliant with relevant laws, regulations, and industry standards.
• Strengthens internal controls - internal audits are focused on reviewing internal controls in place to ensure they are well-designed, effective, and efficient.
• Enhances efficiency - an internal audit can help identify process improvements.
• Verifies the accuracy and integrity of financial statements - this can help reduce or streamline the external audit work.
• Minimizes risk – this helps assess whether risk mitigation strategies are working as intended.

This action will have a financial impact on ICANN as there will be a cost that can be included in the Draft FY25 ICANN budget. Costs to be potentially incurred during FY24 would be unbudgeted, and subject to funding ability.

This action will not have an impact on the security, stability, or resiliency of the domain name system.

This is an Organizational Administrative Function that does not require public comment.

Rationale for Resolution 2023.10.26.10

On 23 June 2019, the Board adopted the ICANN Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 2021 to 2025 and directed that as part of the ongoing annual planning cycle with the community, new trends or shifts in existing trends be factored into the annual iteration of ICANN's plans as appropriate. These efforts are conducted through the ICANN Strategic Outlook Program

The ICANN Strategic Outlook Program is conducted annually to ensure ICANN has a consistent way to: identify and track trends; prepare for opportunities; mitigate or avoid challenges; and inform strategic and operational planning.

It is a joint effort between the ICANN organization, the community, and the ICANN Board to engage on emerging or evolving trends that affect ICANN. Trends indicate general directions in which things are developing or changing, that have or could have an impact on ICANN, its Mission, its operations, or its ecosystem. Trends can be internal or external, organization-specific, community-related, or go beyond ICANN's ecosystem.

Between March and April 2023, ICANN org convened 12 strategic outlook trends identification sessions with 207 participants from the community, Board, and the organization, resulting in 1,048 data points collected. Community sessions outputs have been published on the Strategic Planning page of the icann.org website.

The Board Strategic Planning Committee (SPC), as supported by ICANN org, conducted a thorough analysis of the trend session data inputs received, including assessing the trends, risks, opportunities, and potential impacts on ICANN. The details of this analysis and associated recommendations have been documented in the ICANN Strategic Outlook FY25 Trends Report.

On the basis of the analysis of the data collected in these trends identification sessions, the SPC recommends keeping the ICANN Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 2021 to 2025 unchanged, with no restatement of the Strategic Plan needed at this time. Through this action, the Board accepts the SPC's recommendation.

Though the recommendation is for the Strategic Plan to remain unchanged, the items highlighted and reflected in the ICANN Strategic Outlook FY25 Trends Report are still of urgency within ICANN, and both the Board and the org are working diligently to address them from both strategic and operational lenses. Where appropriate, the ongoing efforts to address the trends are highlighted within the ICANN Strategic Outlook FY25 Trends Report.

This resolution is not expected to have a fiscal impact on ICANN, though the changes anticipated to ICANN's Operating Plan might have an impact once approved. This action is expected to have a positive impact on the security, stability and resiliency of the domain name system as it continues to support ICANN's strategic work in this area.

This resolution serves ICANN's Mission in ensuring a secure and stable operation of the Internet's unique identifier systems. The ICANN Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 2021-2025 builds upon ICANN's Mission so that it may continue to effectively fulfill its aims and meet new and continuously evolving challenges and opportunities.

This resolution is in the public interest as the Strategic Plan guides ICANN's activities and informs ICANN's operating plans and budgets to fulfill its mission in fiscal years 2021 through 2025. The Strategic Plan serves the public interest by articulating the path towards a new vision to be a champion of the single, open, and globally interoperable Internet. The Strategic Plan complies with ICANN's Commitments and is guided by ICANN's Core Values.

This is an Organizational Administrative Function that has been subject to community consultation as noted above and is not requiring further public comment.

Rationale for Resolutions 2023.10.26.11 – 2023.10.26.12

Today's Board action is an important step in streamlining the implementation of the ICANN Grant Program while upholding ICANN's accountability and ensuring that the Auction Proceeds funds are used towards grants. The Board is directing ICANN org to:

• remove the dependency of the launch of the ICANN Grant Program on a Fundamental Bylaws Amendment Process that would restrict access to ICANN's accountability mechanisms;
• implement the Cross-Community Working Group on New gTLD Auction Proceeds' (CCWG-AP) recommendation limiting applicant access to ICANN's accountability mechanisms through the use of terms and conditions to which applicants will be required to agree when submitting their applications within the ICANN Grant Program;
• review and analyze the experience of the first cycle of the ICANN Grant Program to advise the Board on further ways to maintain ICANN's accountability for preserving the Auction Proceeds for grants while also remaining accountable to applicants, such as the use of meaningful opportunities for applicants to seek limited procedural review of certain decisions made when processing applications within the ICANN Grant Program.

The Board also notes below its intention to have a broader conversation with the ICANN community about whether and how the Bylaws could be updated to define how the community can limit access to ICANN's accountability mechanisms.

Today's action remains aligned with the purpose and intent of one of the recommendations of the CCWG-AP, removing a dependency on the Fundamental Bylaws Amendment Process. Notably, today's action does not change any other recommendation or characteristic of the ICANN Grant Program as envisioned by the CCWG-AP.

In June 2022, when the Board first approved of the recommendations within the CCWG-AP's Final Report, the Board acknowledged the balance that the CCWG-AP was trying to achieve between not allowing accountability mechanisms to be used to challenge decisions on individual applications, while still allowing for accountability challenges to the broader program. See, 12 June 2022 Scorecard, at https://www.icann.org/en/system/files/files/scorecard-ccwg-ap-final-recommendations-board-action-12jun22-en.pdf. This helped achieve a balance between two key aspects of accountability – accountability to applicants for broader challenges to ICANN's accountability, while maintaining accountability for ICANN using the auction proceeds for the public good and maximizing the funds available for grant making.

Today's action keeps the fundamental premise of the CCWG-AP's Recommendation 7 intact: that ICANN's accountability mechanisms remain unavailable for challenges of decisions on individual applications. What now changes is the manner in which this Recommendation will be implemented. The Board has concluded that it no longer concurs with the CCWG-AP's conclusion that the only mechanism for implementing Recommendation 7 is to modify ICANN's core accountability Bylaws. Rather, the Board identifies that the use of contractual terms and conditions with applicants can provide the appropriate limitations on access to the Independent Review Process (IRP) and the Reconsideration Process, and directs ICANN org to proceed in that manner. The Board's updated action and supporting rationale is reflected in the Revised Scorecard - CCWG on Auction Proceeds Final Report Recommendations – Board Action ("Revised Scorecard"). All other portions of the Board's June 2022 action remain untouched.

Today's decision supports the CCWG-AP's fundamental recommendation to protect against the use of potentially protracted accountability processes and the corresponding depletion of the funds available for award within the Grant Program. In order to account for the design work that has progressed since the Board's June 2022 action which defines different stages of assessment of individual applications, from admissibility to eligibility to substantive evaluation by an Independent Application Assessment Panel, the Board expects the limitation to restrict access to ICANN's accountability mechanisms for all decisions on those individual applications, not limited only to those made by the Independent Application Assessment Panel (as stated within the CCWG-AP recommendation). Anything short of this comprehensive view makes it possible that some applicants could have access to ICANN's accountability mechanisms for decisions on their individual applications as long as that action wasn't taken by the Independent Application Assessment Panel. If allowed, this uneven access to the accountability mechanisms still risks the use of auction proceeds to defend against accountability challenges on individual application decisions in a manner the CCWG-AP wished to protect against.

The limitation to "Independent Application Assessment Panel" decisions is not the only loophole that could be created through a strict adherence to the CCWG-AP's proposed Bylaws carve out. The "individual application decision" limitation, if built into the Bylaws, is also likely to create a significant loophole through which applicants or third parties could still maintain access to ICANN's accountability mechanisms for decisions within the ICANN Grant Program. If an IRP or Reconsideration Process were initiated on the premise that a decision that affected a singular application was actually a programmatic error, this would force protracted consideration within the IRP or Reconsideration Process of whether or not those claims were precluded by the "individual application decision" carve-out. This outcome could result in a more costly, longer accountability process than if the carve out were not in place. With today's action, the Board is fully effectuating the CCWG-AP's recommendation as it relates to applicants within the Grant Program and removing some loopholes that could have been in place for applicants under the Fundamental Bylaws amendment path.

The Board recognizes that if the scope of the accountability mechanisms themselves were narrowed through the Fundamental Bylaws change contemplated by the CCWG-AP, such an amendment would restrict not only applicants from use of accountability mechanisms, but also any third party that that might disagree with a decision made on an individual application by the Independent Application Assessment Panel. While it is impossible to foresee to what extent third parties may challenge the Grant Program processes and procedures, those challenges are not limited by today's Board decision and (if or when brought by persons or entities with proper standing to do so) are anticipated to be more straightforward than if a carve-out as discussed above was in force.

The direction to ICANN org to use terms and conditions as a means to restrict applicant usage of ICANN's accountability mechanisms does not signal a broader intention by the Board or the org to limit access to ICANN's accountability mechanism through contracts. This is a specific situation where the community clearly recommended, with the support of each Chartering Organization, that the ICANN's accountability mechanisms should not be available for application-specific decisions. The Board agreed with this recommendation in June 2022 and continues to agree that community position remains in the public interest. The Board would not be taking today's action absent the community's clear recommendation.

The Board's direction to use terms and conditions now also does not foreclose future exploration of an appropriately tailored Bylaws change. First, the Board is interested in discussing with the community how the Bylaws might be changed to support future community recommendations by clarifying within the Bylaws the potential for the community to recommend limitations of access to ICANN's accountability mechanisms and for the Board to accept and direct implementation of those recommendations. Therefore, the Board will simultaneously pursue a fundamental Bylaws change that will provide as follows: Where (1) the Final Report of a CCWG, approved by all chartering organizations, recommends that one or more Bylaws-defined accountability mechanisms should not be available to resolve disputes in specified circumstances; and (2) the Board agrees that the community recommendation is in the global interest, the Board shall then be authorized to direct ICANN Org to implement the CCWG recommendation that limits access to the Bylaws-defined accountability mechanism(s).

Second, the Board expects ICANN org to evaluate the effectiveness of the use of terms and conditions within the first cycle of the Grant Program, and whether that remains a sufficient way to uphold ICANN's accountability for the use of the funds. Based on experience and information gathered during this first cycle, the Board, in consultation with the ICANN org and community, could then revisit whether a Bylaws change should be pursued to clarify that if (i) the community recommended that the Reconsideration and IRP mechanisms should not be available in particular situations and (ii) the Board agreed that the community's recommendation was in the global interest.

The Board notes that there could be alternative paths to enhancing accountability to applicants. The Board therefore directs ICANN org to review after the first grant cycle, the effectiveness of the limitation on access to ICANN's accountability mechanisms. At that time, ICANN org could consider whether it is necessary or appropriate to include other accountability opportunities for applicants, such as opportunities for applicants to seek appropriately limited procedural reviews of certain decisions on their applications outside of the accountability mechanisms. While the CCWG-AP noted that purpose-built mechanisms might introduce additional complexity into the Grant Program, the ICANN Board supports the balance achieved in exploring whether to provide such limited procedural reviews for certain decisions that remove applications from being selected as a funded project. The Board notes the caution advised by the CCWG-AP and expects ICANN org, if implemented in the future, to align any procedural reviews to those offered by other grant programs. Prior to taking this action, the Board and ICANN org conducted outreach to assure that those involved in the development of the recommendations understood the intended action. The ICANN Board Chair sent a note to the former members of the CCWG-AP informing them of the Board's intention. Given that some of the CCWG-AP membership is no longer active within ICANN, ICANN org also provided outreach to the heads of each of the entities within ICANN that were Chartering Organizations for the CCWG-AP. ICANN received varied feedback on the intended action, largely focusing on the question of whether ICANN was opening itself up to more challenges by taking this course of action, including a risk of challenges by third parties. As the Board explains above, taking this action today is expected to reduce the risk of complexity of challenges and actually make it less likely to impact the delivery of the Grant Program. The community also raised concerns on the precedential impact of the Board's use of contracts to restrict access to ICANN's accountability mechanisms. As discussed above, the Board carefully considered this issue and sees today's action as limited to situations where a cross-community group already recommended the restriction of access. Some former members also expressed support for moving forward with the Board's proposal, as the Grant Program's first cycle could be viewed as a pilot and future revisions to the implementation might be needed. The Board concurs with this view.

The Board's action upholds the ICANN Mission through the ability to fund more projects sooner through the ICANN Grant Program, and supports the public interest in balancing differing considerations of accountability.

This action is not anticipated to have any impact on the security, stability, or resiliency of the Internet's DNS.

Rationale for Resolutions 2023.10.26.13 – 2023.10.26.17

Why is the Board addressing the issue?

The actions taken by the Board are the final step in its deliberations and resolution on the policy recommendations in the Final Report on the New gTLD Subsequent Procedures Policy Development Process (SubPro Final Report). The Board took initial action on the SubPro Final Report during ICANN76 in Cancun by adopting the March 2023 Scorecard to document its actions. Since then, the Board adopted another iteration of the Scorecard in September 2023. Today, the Board is taking action to address the remaining pending recommendations in the SubPro Final Report. Resolving on the remaining recommendations now means that the ICANN Board can finalize its decision on the SubPro Final Report and provide clarity on these recommendations, ensuring the implementation process can proceed in a timely and effective manner, in accordance with the Implementation Plan and the IRT Work Plan.

Board action on these recommendations also provides the GNSO Council with a rationale for why the Board believes that some recommendations are not in the best interests of the ICANN community or ICANN, allowing the GNSO Council to decide whether it would like to draft supplemental recommendations, per Bylaws Annex A, Section 9.

What are the proposals being considered?

The Board is taking action to accept the October 2023 Scorecard, which includes: the adoption of ten (10) recommendations for which the second GNSO Council-approved Clarifying Statement addresses some of the concerns raised in the March 2023 Scorecard (Section A); and the determination that three (3) recommendations are not in the best interests of the ICANN community or ICANN, including a rationale for the Board's action (Section B).

Which stakeholders or others were consulted?

Please refer to the rationale of the 10 September 2023 Board Resolution for a summary of stakeholder engagement undertaken by the Board in regards to the SubPro Final Report Outputs, which is incorporated herein by reference.

Additionally, the Board has also undertaken consultation with the GNSO Council Small Team and has received and reviewed the GNSO Council-approved second Clarifying Statement.

What concerns or issues were raised by the community?

No additional or new concerns or issues were raised since the Board adopted the March 2023 and September 2023 scorecards.

What significant materials did the Board review?

The Board took into account conversations and materials as detailed in the March 2023 and September 2023 resolutions on the respective scorecards, including the SubPro Final Report and the Operational Design Assessment (ODA), as well as the second iteration of the GNSO Council-approved Clarifying Statement.

Are there positive or negative community impacts?

Please refer to the rationale of the 16 March 2023 Board Resolution for the anticipated impact of the New gTLD Program, which is incorporated herein by reference.

Are there fiscal impacts or ramifications on ICANN (strategic plan, operating plan, budget); the community; and/or the public?

A financial assessment of the costs relating to implementing the SubPro Final Report was provided to the Board as part of its resolution on the SubPro Final Report on 16 March 2023. A further assessment of implementation costs was also supplied to the Board as part of the New gTLD Program: Next Round Implementation Plan on 27 July 2023.

Are there any security, stability or resiliency issues relating to the DNS?

There are no anticipated security, stability or resiliency issues relating to the DNS as a result of today's Board action to adopt the October 2023 Scorecard, but the Board refers to its rationale to its 16 March 2023 action to adopt the March 2023 Scorecard where such SSR issues are discussed more generally about the New gTLD Program: Next Round.

Is this decision in the public interest and within ICANN's mission?

This action is within ICANN's Mission and is in the public interest as it is important to ensure that, in carrying out its Mission, ICANN's decisions and actions are guided by the following Core Values: "where feasible and appropriate, depending on market mechanisms to promote and sustain a competitive environment in the DNS market" and "[i]ntroduc[e] and promot[e] competition in the registration of domain names where practicable and beneficial to the public interest as identified through the bottom-up, multistakeholder policy development process." (See ICANN Bylaws at 1.2 (b) (iv)).

Under the ICANN Bylaws, the Board is obligated to consider and adopt all policy recommendations formally approved by the GNSO Council "unless, by a vote of more than two-thirds (2/3) of the Board, the Board determines that such policy is not in the best interests of the ICANN community or ICANN". However, the Board's interest in the expansion of the gTLD namespace is also consistent with ICANN's role, as defined in the Bylaws, to coordinate the development and implementation of policies relating to "the allocation and assignment of names in the root zone of the Domain Name System ("DNS")" and promote competition in the DNS marketplace.

Is this either a defined policy process within ICANN's Supporting Organizations or ICANN's Organizational Administrative Function decision requiring public comment or not requiring public comment?

This action by the Board fits under its fiduciary duty and oversight role of the organization, and is a necessary step in carrying out the Board's previous commitment to opening subsequent rounds of the New gTLD Program. It should be noted that the Outputs were the subject of public comment, and that the SubPro Final Report was developed by the ICANN multistakeholder community, in accordance with the GNSO PDP Manual.

Rationale for Resolutions 2023.10.26.18 – 2023.10.26.19

On 27 July 2023, ICANN org delivered to the Board a comprehensive implementation plan (the Implementation Plan) containing a work plan that includes relevant information for infrastructure development, timelines, and anticipated resource requirements for implementation of the next round of the New gTLD Program. Execution of the Implementation Plan has and will continue to require significant resources to develop and construct the essential program infrastructure, including IT systems, operational processes, and applicant procedures required to ensure the successful launch of the New gTLD Program Next Round and its continued operability.

As of August 2023, US$6.5 million of the previously Board-approved US$9 million implementation funds have been spent and ICANN org estimates the remaining US$2.5 million of approved funds will be utilized by 31 October 2023. In order for ICANN org to continue implementation work as directed by the Board, ICANN org has requested, and the Board Finance Committee (BFC) has recommended that the Board approve an additional US$13 million of funding through 30 June 2024.

The table below shows a breakdown of the estimated implementation costs from 1 November 2023 through 30 June 2024.

The org and the BFC have recommended that this tranche of funding for the New gTLD Program: Next Round of US$13 million through 30 June 2024 be sourced through the Supplemental Fund for Implementation of Community Recommendations (SFICR). Utilization of the SFICR is appropriate, as approved by the Board, when the size, complexity, and length of the project create a challenge to be solely funded by annual budgeted funding.

The funding for this stage of implementation of the next round is being requested through the SFICR since it requires additional effort and resources above and beyond the annual plan and budget. Further, the org and the BFC are recommending the use of the SFICR rather than the remaining funds of the 2012 round of the New gTLD Program, since the SFICR has the available funds and this will preserve the remaining 2012 funds for ongoing 2012 round expenses. The Board agrees.

This action is within ICANN's Mission and is in the public interest as it is important to ensure that, in carrying out its Mission, ICANN utilizes available funding in the most effective and efficient manner so as to be in the best interests of ICANN and the global Internet community.

This action will not have a negative financial impact on ICANN, as funding has already been accounted for with the establishment of the SFICR. In addition, this action is intended to have a positive impact on the security, stability, or resiliency of the domain name system.

This is an Organizational Administrative Function that does not require public comment.

Rationale for Resolutions 2023.10.26.22 – 2023.10.26.34

Community-driven work is at the core of ICANN's mission. Countless hours are spent in working groups across the Supporting Organizations, Advisory Committees, and other groups, including the Customer Standing Committee, Empowered Community Administration, Nominating Committee, and the Public Technical Identifiers Board. Together, these community groups develop and refine policies that ensure the security, stability, and resiliency of the global Internet. The Board is grateful for the community's tireless efforts and cooperative spirit shown over the last year.