Policy Development Process: Difference between revisions

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

==ICANN Policy Development Support Staff==

ICANN has always been focused on policy development by means of consensus to attract support and generate compliance throughout the entire global Internet community.<ref>[http://www.icann.org/en/committees/evol-reform/working-paper-process-07may02.htm ICANN policy development]</ref> Therefore, ICANN provides a 32-person [[Policy Development Support Team]] from around the world to assist and shepherd policy and advice development.<ref>[https://www.icann.org/policy#staff ICANN Policy Staff]</ref>  

[[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 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:

# It is further analyzed by the appropriate [[RIR]] via mailing lists. Anyone can join such discussions.

# After a period of 30 days, the PDP is brought to an open public meeting for further discussion and the possibility of consensus.

# 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. 

# 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.  

# The policy is ratified by the Board of Trustees and the policy is adopted for use.<ref>[http://www.afrinic.net/pdp.htm PDP process]</ref>

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.<ref>[http://www.med.govt.nz/templates/MultipageDocumentTOC____9285.aspx GPDP]</ref>