GENEVA - the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, (ICANN) organization (org) announced in a press release that it has published the Operational Design Assessment (ODA), the final output of the System for Standardized Access/ Disclosure (SSAD) to Nonpublic generic Top-Level Domain Registration Data Operational Design Phase (ODP). This marks the closure of the SSAD ODP.

The ODP was requested by the ICANN Board on March 25, 2021, due to the resource investment that would be required to implement the SSAD-related recommendations set forth in the Final Report of the Generic Names Supporting Organization Council (GNSO) Expedited Policy Development Process (EPDP) on the Temporary Specification for gTLD Registration Data Phase 2. This ODA will serve as an input to the Board's deliberations concerning the recommendations, including whether its adoption of the recommendations would be in the best interest of the ICANN community and ICANN. Should the Board adopt these recommendations, ICANN org will work with the community via an Implementation Review Team, with the ODA as an input to that work, to design and build the final SSAD.

The ODP, the first to be performed by ICANN org, assessed the potential risks, anticipated costs, resource requirements, timelines, dependencies, interaction with the Global Public Interest Framework, and other matters related to the implementation of the SSAD-related recommendations. Over the course of the ODP, ICANN org engaged with the ICANN community concerning the findings and design proposals from each of the ODA's sections to gather input and ensure a transparent process.

This outreach included five community webinars, two webinars for the Governmental Advisory Committee, and one for the GNSO Council. The work itself entailed several months of data research, including conducting three surveys and a Request for Information. Nearly all functions of the org were represented in the ODP process in order to carefully curate the analysis and provide answers to scoping questions posed by the Board.

With the ODA now published and delivered to the ICANN Board, conversations between the Board and the GNSO Council around the SSAD-related recommendations will continue. The Board will then consider its next steps on the recommendations.