Why is Berkman doing the study, or working with ICANN at all?
The Berkman Center undertook the RCS study in the same spirit in which it has undertaken its other collaborations with ICANN: we are working constructively to improve an organization whose success may be important to the future of the Internet, and whose structure is fascinating to anyone interested in questions of cyberspace governance. The Berkman Center was not paid for this effort beyond reimbursement for the out-of-pocket expenses associated with our work. Our mission at the Berkman Center is to investigate the real and possible boundaries in cyberspace between open and closed systems of code, commerce, government and education. The ICANN membership study represents the mainstay of our research into open government, constitutionalism, and cyberspace, and Charles Nesson and I have given counsel to ICANN in these areas. Although we havent masterminded a grand experiment in which our collaborators are unwitting participants, we do feel that we are all participating in a grand experim
