PDF Presentation Outline

Mission/Statement of Purpose
Through the DNS Awards, we hope to forge a new reputation for the domain name industry by celebrating companies that are proactively fighting abusive conduct and supporting best practices.

The DNS Awards General Overview
Three awards will be presented annually during an hour-long ceremony. The ceremony will be part of the ICANN Gala at one of the three ICANN Meetings that take place every year. The first DNS Award ceremony is projected to take place at ICANN 53. The awards will be broad enough to encompass many different types of community members (Registries, Registrars, Internet Service Providers, and other companies and organizations).

Our first three awards will be:
 * Spam Prevention Award
 * Combating Malware Award
 * Internet Stewardship Award

In addition to an award statue and a digital seal for their websites, winners will also get to donate $5,000 to an industry-related non-profit.

Nomination Period

 * Nominations will begin one month before the previous ICANN meeting and will close at the end of that meeting.
 * They will consist of a brief submission form that will be accessible online. This form will solicit basic information about the company being nominated, including why they deserve a DNS Award.
 * Self-nominations will not be accepted.

Diagram

 * Shows the funnel from many submissions, to those invited to give more information, to the final 9, to the 3 winners

Judging Process

 * After the initial nominations have closed, a questionnaire specific to each award will be sent to the nominees. In conjunction with the original nomination(s), these answers will be used by a hired panel to select three finalists for each award.
 * Finalists will then be asked to submit additional information, including video and media content, and answer a limited number of interview-style questions. This material will be used to make a two-minute video for each candidate, which will be shown during the Gala. The videos will allow the Gala audience to learn about the company.
 * The judges that make the final determination of the winners for the DNS Awards must be highly respected within the industry. Ideally, our judges would represent diverse ICANN stakeholders, businesses, and industry groups.
 * Winners for each award will be announced at the Gala event.

Timeline
Nomination Period→Determination of Finalists→Additional Profiling and Information Collection→Determination of Winners→ Public Announcement at Gala Ceremony

Gala Ceremony

 * A personable and respected Master of Ceremonies will officiate the Award Ceremony.
 * The finalist videos will be shown after announcing each category.
 * The winners will be announced, and each winner will get a few minutes to speak in front of the Gala audience.
 * The winners will receive an award statue, a digital seal for their website, and a certificate in recognition of their charitable donation.