LOS ANGELES - ICANN announced in a press release that it will be holding community calls during which the comments submitted on the Draft FY17 Operating Plan and Budget will be presented by the submitters to ICANN staff. This is intended to enhance the understanding of the comments and so improve the quality of the response.

This process was implemented to improve the public comment process, consistently with ATRT2 recommendations (#12.1 and #12.5).

All calls will be public, focused on the organization that submitted comments, and attended by at least one Board Finance Committee member. Additional board members may attend based on availability.

The staff and Board members attending will primarily listen and ask clarifying questions. Responses to public comments will not be provided during these calls, unless the comments are factual with a very specific and simple answer.

All submitted comments can be found in the public comments forum.

The schedule for these calls, along with dial-in information, will be published on the Community Wiki Finance Workspace as dates and times are agreed with each stakeholder group.