The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) functions contract (SA1301-12-CN-0035) between ICANN and the United States Department of Commerce, National Telecommunications Information Administration (NTIA) to maintain the continuity and stability of services related to certain interdependent Internet technical management functions, known collectively as the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority calls for a public consultation from all interested and affected parties to help satisfy the following objective:

C.2.6 Transparency and Accountability — [No later than 1 October 2013], the Contractor shall develop performance standards, in collaboration with all interested and affected parties as enumerated in Section C.1.3, develop user instructions including technical requirements for each corresponding IANA function and post via a website.

C.2.7 Responsibility and Respect for Stakeholders – [No later than 1 October 2013], the contractor shall, in collaboration with all interested and affected parties as enumerated in Section C.1.C, develop for each of the IANA functions a process for documenting the source of the policies and procedures and how it will apply the relevant policies and procedures for the corresponding IANA function and post via a website.

This consultation involves the operation of the Delegations and Redelegations of Generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs) described in the IANA functions contract as the following:

C.2.9.2.d Delegation and Redelegation of a Generic Top Level Domain (gTLD) ‑ The Contractor shall verify that all requests related to the delegation and redelegation of gTLDs are consistent with the procedures developed by ICANN. In making a delegation or redelegation recommendation, the Contractor must provide documentation verifying that ICANN followed its own policy framework including specific documentation demonstrating how the process provided the opportunity for input from relevant stakeholders and was supportive of the global public interest. The Contractor shall submit its recommendations to the COR via a Delegation and Redelegation Report.

This is one of a series of consultations to establish user instructions and source of policy for the delivery of the IANA functions, as described in contract SA1301-12-CN-0035.

• Consultation on Delegation and Redelegation of a Generic Top Level Domain (gTLD) User Instructions and Source of Policy [PDF, 167 KB]
• User Documentation on Delegating and Redelegating Generic Top-Level Domain (gTLD) [PDF, 295 KB]
• Contract SA1301-12-CN-0035 and related documents