The IETF Administrative Oversight Committee (IAOC) Member Selection Guidelines and Process
RFC 4333

Network Working Group                                     G. Huston, Ed.
Request for Comments: 4333                                         APNIC
BCP: 113                                                  B. Wijnen, Ed.
Category: Best Current Practice                      Lucent Technologies
                                                           December 2005

          The IETF Administrative Oversight Committee (IAOC)
                Member Selection Guidelines and Process

Status of This Memo

   This document specifies an Internet Best Current Practices for the
   Internet Community, and requests discussion and suggestions for
   improvements.  Distribution of this memo is unlimited.

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2005).

Abstract

   This memo outlines the guidelines for selection of members of the
   IETF Administrative Oversight Committee, and describes the selection
   process used by the IAB and the IESG.

1.  Introduction

   The IETF Administrative Support Activity (IASA) provides the
   administrative structure required to support the IETF standards
   process and to support the IETF's technical activities.  Within this
   activity is the office of the IETF Administrative Director (IAD) and
   the IETF Administrative Oversight Committee (IAOC).  In addition to
   the ex-officio roles of the IETF Chair and IAB Chair on this
   committee, the IAB and IESG are each responsible for the appointment
   of one voting member of this committee.

   This memo outlines the process by which the IAB and IESG make their
   selections.  This process will also be used in the event of mid-term
   vacancies that may arise with these positions.

   The document also provides guidance to the IETF Nominations Committee
   regarding desirable qualifications and selection criteria for IAOC
   candidates.

   The same guidance may be used by the Internet Society (ISOC) Board of
   Trustees within its process of IAOC member appointment.

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1.1.  Overview of IAOC

   The IASA is described in [RFC4071].  It is headed by a full-time ISOC
   employee, the IETF Administrative Director (IAD), an officer
   empowered to act on behalf of the IASA at the direction of the IAOC.

   The IAOC's role is to provide appropriate direction to the IAD, to
   review the IAD's regular reports, and to oversee the IASA functions
   to ensure that the administrative needs of the IETF community are
   being properly met.  The IAOC's mission is not to be engaged in the
   day-to-day administrative work of IASA, but rather to provide
   appropriate direction, oversight, and approval.

   As described in [RFC4071], the IAOC's responsibilities are as
   follows:

   o  To select the IAD and provide high-level review and direction for
      his or her work.  This task should be handled by a sub-committee,
      as described in [RFC4071].

   o  To review the IAD's plans and contracts to ensure that they will
      meet the administrative needs of the IETF.

   o  To track whether the IASA functions are meeting the IETF
      community's administrative needs, and to work with the IAD to
      determine a plan for corrective action if they are not.

   o  To review the IAD's budget proposals to ensure that they will meet
      the IETF's needs, and review the IAD's regular financial reports.

   o  To ensure that the IASA is run in a transparent and accountable
      manner.  While the day-to-day work should be delegated to the IAD
      and others, the IAOC is responsible for ensuring that IASA
      finances and operational status are tracked appropriately and that
      monthly, quarterly, and annual financial and operational reports
      are published to the IETF community.

   o  To designate, in consultation with the IAB and the IESG, the
      person or people who carry out the tasks that other IETF process
      documents say are to be carried out by the IETF Executive
      Director.

   The IAOC's role is to direct and review, not perform, the work of the
   IAD and IASA.  The IAOC holds periodic teleconferences and
   face-to-face meetings as needed to carry out the IAOC's duties
   efficiently and effectively.

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1.2.  Overview of Selection Process

   In brief, this document describes the time frame and procedures for
   the IAB and IESG to solicit public input and make a selection for the
   position.

2.  Desirable Qualifications and Selection Criteria for IETF-Nominated
    IAOC Members

   The qualifications and selection criteria described in this section
   shall be used by the IAB and IESG in selecting a suitably qualified
   candidate for the IAOC position.  As described in [RFC4071], the IETF
   Nominations Committee also has the responsibility to select IAOC
   members, and the Nominations Committee shall also use these desirable
   qualifications and selection criteria to guide its selection process.
   The same guidance may be used by the ISOC Board of Trustees within
   its process of IAOC member appointment.

   Candidates for these IAOC positions should have knowledge of the
   IETF, knowledge of contracts and financial procedures, and
   familiarity with the administrative support needs of the IAB, the
   IESG, and the IETF standards process.

   The candidates are also expected to be able to understand the
   respective roles and responsibilities of the IETF and ISOC in this
   activity, and be able to articulate these roles within the IETF
   community.

   The candidates will also be expected to exercise all the duties of an
   IAOC member, including being prepared to undertake any associated
   responsibilities.  These include, but are not limited to, the setting
   of administrative support policies, oversight of the administrative
   operations of the IETF, and representing the interests of the IETF to
   the IAOC.  The candidates must be able to undertake full
   participation in all committee meetings and committee activities.

   In the case of the IAB-selected member of the IAOC, this individual
   does not directly represent the IAB.  Similarly for the IESG-selected
   member of the IAOC, this individual does not directly represent the
   IESG.  The IAB- and IESG-selected members are accountable directly to
   the IETF community.

   In the case of IAOC members selected by the IETF Nominations
   Committee, such members do not represent any particular sub-grouping
   of IETF participants.  IETF Nominations Committee-selected IAOC
   members are accountable directly to the entire IETF community.

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3.  IAB and IESG Selection Process of an IAOC Member

3.1.  Nominations and Eligibility

   The IAB and IESG will alternate year by year in making a public call
   for nominations on the [email protected] mailing list.  The
   public call will specify the manner by which nominations will be
   accepted and the means by which the list of nominees will be
   published.

   Self-nominations are permitted.  Along with the name and contact
   information for each candidate, details about the candidate's
   background and qualifications for the position should be attached to
   the nomination.  All IETF participants, including working group
   chairs, IETF Nominating Committee members, and IAB and IESG members
   are eligible for nomination.

   IAB members who accept a nomination for an IAB-selected position will
   recuse themselves from IAB selection discussions.  Similarly, IESG
   members who accept a nomination for an IESG-selected position will
   recuse themselves from IESG selection discussions.

3.2.  Selection

   The selecting body will publish the list of nominated persons prior
   to making a decision, allowing time for the community to pass any
   relevant comments to that body.

   The selecting body will review the nomination material and any
   submitted comments, and make its selection.

3.3.  Care of Personal Information

   The following procedures will be used by the IAB and IESG in managing
   candidates' personal information:

   o  The candidate's name will be published, with all other candidate
      names, at the close of the nominations period.

   o  Except as noted above, all information provided to the IAB or IESG
      during this process will be kept as confidential to that body.

3.4.  Term of Office and Selection Time Frame

   The IAB and IESG expect to seat their selected committee member at
   the first IETF meeting of every second year, for a two-year term of
   office.  The IAB and IESG will alternate each year in undertaking a
   selection, except for the initial selection.  For the first year, the

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   IAB and IESG will operate their selection process concurrently.  Also
   for the first year, the IESG-selected candidate will serve on the
   committee for an initial term ending with the first IETF meeting of
   the following year, and the IAB-selected candidate will serve for a
   term one year longer than the IESG-selected candidate.  Thereafter,
   the candidates will be seated for two-year terms.

   Basic time frame requirements for the selection process are as
   follows:

   o  3-4 weeks for solicitation of nominations.

   o  3-4 weeks for review of nominees, deliberation, and selection.

   In November of every year, the selecting body of that year will
   announce the specific dates for the selection process for that year,
   following the guidelines above.

3.5.  Mid-term Vacancies

   This document describes the process for the general appointment of
   IAB-selected and IESG-selected IAOC members.  However, if the
   appointed member is unable to serve the full two-year term, the
   selecting body may, at its discretion, immediately select a
   replacement to serve the remainder of the term using the interim
   process defined in Section 3.5.1.  If the selecting body does not
   invoke the interim process, the next regularly scheduled two-year
   selection process will fill the vacancy.

3.5.1.  Interim Appointment Process

   If the selecting body elects to fill the mid-term vacancy before the
   next regularly scheduled two-year selection process, a separate time
   line will be announced and the remainder of the process described in
   this document will be followed.

4.  Security Considerations

   This document does not describe any technical protocols and has no
   implications for network security.

5.  Acknowledgements

   This document is based extensively on RFC 3677 [RFC3677].  It has
   benefited from helpful review comments from Harald Alvestrand, Brian
   Carpenter, Leslie Daigle, Rob Evans, Michael Patton, Mark Townsley,
   and Margaret Wasserman.

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6.  Informative References

   [RFC3677]  Daigle, L. and Internet Architecture Board , "IETF ISOC
              Board of Trustee Appointment Procedures", BCP 77, RFC
              3677, December 2003.

   [RFC4071]  Austein, R. and B. Wijnen, "Structure of the IETF
              Administrative Support Activity (IASA)", BCP 101, RFC
              4071, April 2005.

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Appendix A.  IAB Members

   Internet Architecture Board members at the time this document was
   written were the following:

      Bernard Aboba
      Loa Andersson
      Brian Carpenter
      Leslie Daigle
      Patrik Faltstrom
      Bob Hinden
      Kurtis Lindqvist
      David Meyer
      Pekka Nikander
      Eric Rescorla
      Pete Resnick
      Janathan Rosenberg
      Lixia Zhang

Appendix B.  IESG Members

   Internet Engineering Steering Group members at the time this document
   was written were the following:

      Brian Carpenter
      Bill Fenner
      Ted Hardie
      Sam Hartman
      Scott Hollenbeck
      Russell Housley
      David Kessens
      Allison Mankin
      Mark Townsley
      Jon Peterson
      Margaret Wasserman
      Bert Wijnen
      Alex Zinin

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Authors' Addresses

   Geoff Huston (editor)
   APNIC

   EMail: [email protected]

   Bert Wijnen (editor)
   Lucent Technologies

   EMail: [email protected]

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Full Copyright Statement

   Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2005).

   This document is subject to the rights, licenses and restrictions
   contained in BCP 78, and except as set forth therein, the authors
   retain all their rights.

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Acknowledgement

   Funding for the RFC Editor function is currently provided by the
   Internet Society.

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