About the ICANN Community
About the ICANN Community
The ICANN community is diverse with members from all over the world and many different backgrounds and experiences. They come together to develop policies about the technical coordination of the Internet’s unique identifiers. Through ICANN’s bottom-up, consensus-based multistakeholder process, participants discuss and debate policy needs in an open and sequential way at meetings, teleconferences, and Public Comment opportunities.
Policy Development
Policy Making in the ICANN Community
A fundamental part of ICANN’s mission is to coordinate policy development related to the Internet’s system of unique identifiers. ICANN employs open and transparent policy development mechanisms that promote well-informed decisions based on expert advice, and in collaboration with entities most affected by policy development.
While the ICANN Board of Directors has the ultimate authority to approve or reject policy recommendations, Supporting Organizations are responsible for developing and making policy recommendations to the Board. Advisory Committees advise the ICANN Board and, in certain cases, can raise issues for policy development. There are multiple kinds of policy within the ICANN world: formal policies related to the global Internet’s system of unique identifiers, operational policies, and general practices.
Multistakeholder Advice Development
Multistakeholderism is a form of governance that brings together people and organizations with a stake in an issue to address a specific policy challenge or goal. ICANN facilitates bottom-up, consensus-driven processes for policy recommendations and advice to the ICANN Board on generic top-level domain (gTLD), country code top-level domain (ccTLD), and Internet Protocol (IP) address policies.
In general, policy recommendations are formed and refined by the ICANN community through its Supporting Organizations and influenced by its Advisory Committees. All are composed of volunteers from around the world in a bottom-up, open, and transparent process.
Policy Implementation
ICANN achieves its mission through the implementation of policies approved by its Board of Directors. These policies start out as recommendations formed and refined by the ICANN community. Once a policy is finalized, it is forwarded to the ICANN Board for approval. Once approved, ICANN organization staff works with the Board and community to implement the policy in a way that is efficient, effective, and accountable. For example, ICANN’s Global Domains Division implements gTLD policies through guidelines established by its Consensus Policy Implementation Framework.
Community Recognition
Community-driven work is essential for developing policies that will benefit the Internet as a whole. Periodically, ICANN recognizes community leaders for their valuable contributions across the Supporting Organizations, Advisory Committees, stakeholder groups, constituencies, and more. Learn more about ICANN’s Community Recognition programs.
Community Groups
Supporting Organizations
Three Supporting Organizations (SOs) are primarily responsible for making policy recommendations on domain names and IP addresses to the ICANN Board. The SOs are the Generic Names Supporting Organization, the Country Code Names Supporting Organization, and the Address Supporting Organization.
Supporting Organizations |
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The Address Supporting Organization (ASO) is responsible for advising the Board with respect to policy issues relating to the operation, assignment, and management of Internet addresses. Membership in the ASO is available only to Regional Internet Registries, but you can learn more about their work on their website. Regional Internet Registries |
The Country Code Names Supporting Organization (ccNSO) is responsible for developing and recommending global policies relating to ccTLDs to the ICANN Board. Membership in the ccNSO is open to all ccTLD managers responsible for managing an ISO 3166 ccTLD. |
The Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO) is responsible for developing and recommending to the ICANN Board substantive policies relating to gTLDs. Learn more about how to get involved with the GNSO. Subgroups
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Advisory Committees
ICANN’s four Advisory Committees (ACs) are the At-Large Advisory Committee, the Governmental Advisory Committee, the Root Server System Advisory Committee, and the Security and Stability Advisory Committee. These ACs are composed of representatives from the Internet community who have expertise in specific areas.
Advisory Committees |
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The At-Large Advisory Committee (ALAC) is responsible for considering and providing advice on the activities of ICANN, insofar as they relate to the interests of individual Internet users. Join ALAC! Learn about their application process. Regional Groups |
The Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) provides advice on the public policy aspects of ICANN activities, especially in the areas of possible interactions between ICANN policies and national laws or international agreements. You need to be a formally acknowledged representative of a government or international organization to become a member. You can email GAC’s secretariat for more info. |
The Root Server System Advisory Committee (RSSAC) is responsible for advising the ICANN community and Board on matters relating to the operation, administration, security, and integrity of the Internet's Root Server System. The roles and responsibilities for SSAC and RSSAC are captured in a document here. |
The Security and Stability Advisory Committee (SSAC) is responsible for advising the ICANN community and Board on matters relating to the security and integrity of the Internet's naming and address allocation systems. The roles and responsibilities for SSAC and RSSAC are captured in a document here. |
Other Committees
ICANN’s other committees play a vital role in ensuring accountability and transparency. They help hold ICANN accountable to its stakeholders. Learn more about each committee’s distinct purpose below.