A Selection Process for Nomcom Chairs
draft-sullivan-nomcom-chair-select-00

Network                                                      A. Sullivan
Internet-Draft                                          Internet Society
Intended status: Informational                          14 February 2022
Expires: 18 August 2022

                 A Selection Process for Nomcom Chairs
                 draft-sullivan-nomcom-chair-select-00

Abstract

   The Internet Engineering Task Force Nominating Committee has a Chair.
   The Chair is selected by the President of the Internet Society.  This
   memo outlines a procedure for Chair selection.

Status of This Memo

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Table of Contents

   1.  Introduction  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   2
     1.1.  Terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   2
   2.  Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
     2.1.  Consult with Past Chair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
     2.2.  Prepare and post a Call for Candidates  . . . . . . . . .   3
     2.3.  First consideration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
     2.4.  Long (public) list  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
     2.5.  Short (private) list  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
     2.6.  Negotiation/Interview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
     2.7.  List Exhaustion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
   3.  Process Change Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
   4.  Comments/Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
   5.  Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
   6.  IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7
   7.  Normative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7
   Author's Address  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7

1.  Introduction

   Various positions in the Internet Architecture Board, Internet
   Engineering Steering Group, IETF Trust, and IETF Administration LLC
   are selected by the IETF Nominating Committee (NomCom).  The
   procedures in [RFC8713] lay out the way the NomCom operates; section
   4.3 says that the NomCom must have a Chair, and section 4.5 says that
   the Chair is selected by the President of the Internet Society
   (Internet Society President).  There is no guidance for how the
   Internet Society President should perform the task.  There is
   guidance that the selection must be complete in time for the second
   IETF meeting in any year.

   In order to ensure that the Internet Society President considers all
   the factors relevant for the community in making the appointment, to
   ensure that there are candidates willing and able to serve in any
   given year, and to decrease the potential for familiarity bias in the
   selection, the present memo outlines a procedure by which the
   Internet Society President might seek both candidates and feedback
   about such a candidate.  The sitting Internet Society President
   intends to use this method for selection of the Chair for the 2022-23
   NomCom.

1.1.  Terminology

   In this memo, the key words described in BCP 14, [RFC2119] are not
   used as there defined; if those words occur, it is with their
   ordinary English meaning.  This memo defines no protocol.

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   Terms with unusual title-case capitalization (such as "Internet
   Society President", and "NomCom Chair") are used here consistently
   with their use in [RFC8713].

2.  Procedure

2.1.  Consult with Past Chair

   The Internet Society President shall consult with the Past Chair (see
   [RFC8713] section 4.10) for advice on issues that are likely to be of
   particular concern to the incoming NomCom.

2.2.  Prepare and post a Call for Candidates

   The Internet Society President prepares a call for candidates to be
   Chair.  The call must include at least a reference to the
   qualifications mandated by [RFC8713] and any additional
   qualifications that seem important given the consultation mentioned
   in Section 2.1.  The Internet Society President is strongly advised
   to require prior experience in a NomCom: experience indicates that
   there can be challenges for Chairs who have never participated in a
   NomCom in any capacity.  That likely should not extend to requiring
   that a Chair nominee must have been a voting member of a previous
   NomCom.  (For instance, prior liason experience counts.)

   The Call for Candidates is to be posted at least to the IETF general
   mailing list and the announcement list.  Self-nomination will be
   encouraged.  The Call should be open for no more than four (4) weeks,
   and nominees are not expected to provide anything more than a name
   and the indication of a willingness to serve.  At this stage it is
   explicitly not expected that a nominee expresses availability of time
   or employer support to serve in the position, though affirmations of
   those conditions would be of course welcome.

   Nominees also must explicitly consent to a public request for
   confidential feedback about the potential that they are under
   consideration as NomCom Chair (see Section 2.4).  Nominations are to
   be sent to an email address under the sole control of the Internet
   Society President.  Note that this represents a change to the
   existing process, because at present there is no expectation that any
   candidate under consideration might be mooted publicly.  See more
   below in Section 3.

   The Internet Society President is expected to spend a certain amount
   of time trying to convince especially-qualified and (including
   widely-nominated) people to consider taking on this task.

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2.3.  First consideration

   The Internet Society President must examine the nominations received
   and ensure that they meet the necessary qualifications outlined in
   the Call for Candidates.  The Internet Society President ought to
   consult at least with the Past Chair on those nominations that meet
   the necessary qualifications, and may consult with anyone else in
   respect of any or all of the nominees.

2.4.  Long (public) list

   The Internet Society President will construct a long list of
   candidates who qualify after first consideration.  The Internet
   Society President will post that long list to the IETF general
   mailing list and the announcement list, and will request any feedback
   about the candidates be sent to the same address as was used to
   collect nominations.  This feedback is to be treated as confidential
   in the way that nomcom feedback would be considered confidential,
   though during the initial implementation there is no expectation of
   tool integration with the datatracker or anything of that sort (so
   this is exactly as confidential as any email exchange).  According to
   the Internet Society President's discretion and availability,
   feedback may be collected in person, via telephone calls, or any
   other way the Internet Society President thinks is useful.  The
   period for collection of feedback should not be overly long, but it
   should not complete before the ending of the first IETF meeting of
   the year.  Note that this represents a change to the existing
   process; see more below in Section 3.

2.5.  Short (private) list

   The Internet Society President will take the feedback received, and
   construct an ordered short list of candidates.  The Internet Society
   President is advised to discuss at least the first few entries in
   that list with the Past Chair and anyone else who seems likely to
   provide helpful input, according to the Internet Society President's
   thinking and discretion.  This consultation will result in a final,
   ordered short list.

   Note that the short list is not subject to comment or public
   discussion the way the long list is; that any candidate is on a short
   list should itself be treated as a private matter (though obviously,
   those providing input may be able to make some guesses).

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2.6.  Negotiation/Interview

   The Internet Society President will approach, in order, each
   candidate on the short list and inquire as to continued willingness.
   It is expected that this will entail a degree of persuasion.
   Assuming the candidate remains willing, the Internet Society
   President will discuss the candidate's views about the position, how
   the NomCom might function or face particular problems, and so on.
   Assuming those discussions remain positive, the Internet Society
   President will ask the candidate to confirm availability of time and
   where necessary employer support or other financial support.  If it
   is confirmed, the Internet Society President shall select that
   candidate as NomCom Chair.  If not, the Internet Society President
   shall move to the next candidate in the list.

2.7.  List Exhaustion

   There is no procedure defined in this memo for recovery from the case
   where no candidate on the short list is willing and able to be
   appointed Chair.  This is a gap in the existing processes that ought
   to be filled, but it is not filled yet.  It is important to note
   that, without a selected NomCom Chair, the procedures in [RFC8713]
   appear not to work, but that document seems to have no provision for
   a NomCom without a Chair.

3.  Process Change Considerations

   The model outlined in this memo represents a significant departure
   from past practice.  It is not clear whether that departure is a good
   thing, so it is worth considering what the consequences might be.
   There are advantages and disadvantages.  Some are listed below,
   though this is probably not an exhaustive list.

   The proposed process has a better chance of capturing a wider range
   of possible candidates for NomCom Chair than the process historically
   used.  It is not possible for the Internet Society's President to
   know everyone participating in the IETF; indeed, depending on the
   President's background, the selection could be made with little
   personal knowledge at all.  So, a mechanism to solicit suggestions
   seems like a way to improve both the size and diversity of the pool
   of potential NomCom Chair candidates.

   Historically, feedback about potential candidates necessarily had to
   come from informal information-gathering, because the list of people
   who might be up for consideration to be NomCom Chair was largely
   unknown (though it may have been a more or less widely-held secret).
   A consequence of that mode of operation is a reinforcement of the
   idea that selection of future leaders might be managed by an

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   "insider's club".  That the NomCom Chair does not have a vote might
   be irrelevant to that perception.  So, the effort to provide a
   mechanism for anyone to send feedback about a candidate might be
   regarded as more open than prior ways of making this selection.  On
   the other hand, the public request for feedback subjects this process
   to "campaigns" for some candidate or other.

   Previously, candidates who might be considered to be NomCom Chair did
   not have to expose their names (or initially, even know they were in
   consdideration), and there was little risk that someone would post on
   a public mailing list an attack on that candidate as somehow unworthy
   of the position.  In addition, in the past a candidacy was largely
   unknown (possibly even to the candidate!) until some private action
   or public announcement.  The process proposed in this memo makes the
   long list public at least among IETF participants.  That might make
   some otherwise excellent candidates reluctant to stand due to the
   potential negative perceptions from possible non-selection.  Worse,
   it is possible that some participant on IETF lists could mount a
   personal campaign against a nominee.  It is worth observing that such
   a campaign would be largely out of keeping with IETF norms around
   other nominees for positions; it is nevertheless a difference.

   This process has a feedback component that is larger than the
   informal methods historically used.  A larger number of messages may
   increase the absolute risk (though ideally not the proportional risk)
   that some message will be disclosed inappropriately.  In effect,
   then, this process might increase the risk that some feedback will
   become public when it should not have been.

   The NomCom Chair has historically been somewhat difficult to fill;
   compared some other positions within the IETF, it appears to be less
   desirable.  It is possible that this process will alter that
   situation, though it is hard to know how.

4.  Comments/Discussion

   Comments on this memo are welcome at the author's email address.
   There is no mailing list for discussion of this proposed process.

5.  Security Considerations

   This document defines no protocol, so there are no protocol
   considerations of any kind.  The procedure depends on people sending
   observations via email, which could be intercepted.

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6.  IANA Considerations

   This memo involves no actions by IANA.

7.  Normative References

   [RFC2119]  Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate
              Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC2119, March 1997,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2119>.

   [RFC8713]  Kucherawy, M., Ed., Hinden, R., Ed., and J. Livingood,
              Ed., "IAB, IESG, IETF Trust, and IETF LLC Selection,
              Confirmation, and Recall Process: Operation of the IETF
              Nominating and Recall Committees", BCP 10, RFC 8713,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC8713, February 2020,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8713>.

Author's Address

   Andrew Sullivan
   Internet Society

   Email: sullivan@isoc.org

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