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A Selection Process for Nomcom Chairs
draft-sullivan-nomcom-chair-select-01

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This is an older version of an Internet-Draft whose latest revision state is "Expired".
Author Andrew Sullivan
Last updated 2022-02-27
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draft-sullivan-nomcom-chair-select-01
Network                                                      A. Sullivan
Internet-Draft                                          Internet Society
Intended status: Informational                          27 February 2022
Expires: 31 August 2022

                 A Selection Process for Nomcom Chairs
                 draft-sullivan-nomcom-chair-select-01

Abstract

   The Internet Engineering Task Force Nominating Committee is required
   to have 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

   This Internet-Draft is submitted in full conformance with the
   provisions of BCP 78 and BCP 79.

   Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering
   Task Force (IETF).  Note that other groups may also distribute
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   Drafts is at https://datatracker.ietf.org/drafts/current/.

   Internet-Drafts are draft documents valid for a maximum of six months
   and may be updated, replaced, or obsoleted by other documents at any
   time.  It is inappropriate to use Internet-Drafts as reference
   material or to cite them other than as "work in progress."

   This Internet-Draft will expire on 31 August 2022.

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (c) 2022 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the
   document authors.  All rights reserved.

   This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal
   Provisions Relating to IETF Documents (https://trustee.ietf.org/
   license-info) in effect on the date of publication of this document.
   Please review these documents carefully, as they describe your rights
   and restrictions with respect to this document.  Code Components
   extracted from this document must include Revised BSD License text as
   described in Section 4.e of the Trust Legal Provisions and are
   provided without warranty as described in the Revised BSD License.

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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.  Short list  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
     2.5.  Negotiation/Interview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
     2.6.  List Exhaustion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
   3.  Process Change Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
   4.  Precedent Considerations  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
   5.  Comments/Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
   6.  Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
   7.  IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
   8.  Normative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
   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
   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 candidates and feedback about
   those candidates.  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 advised to include
   prior experience in a NomCom as a desirable qualification: experience
   indicates that there can sometimes be challenges for Chairs who have
   never participated in a NomCom in any capacity.  That preference
   should not extend to requiring that a Chair nominee must have been a
   voting member of a previous NomCom.  (For instance, prior liaison
   experience counts.)

   The Call for Candidates is to be posted at least to the IETF general
   mailing list and the announcement list.  Nomination of anyone,
   including oneself, 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 email address and the indication of a
   willingness to serve.  The email address is a requirement to ensure
   NomCom eligibility.  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 requests for confidential
   feedback about the potential that they are under consideration as
   NomCom Chair (see Section 2.3).  Nominations are to be sent to an
   email address under the sole control of the Internet Society
   President, and will be treated as confidential.  Note that this
   represents a change to the existing process, because at present there
   is no open call for nominations.  See more below in Section 3.

   The Internet Society President is expected to spend a certain amount
   of time trying to convince especially-qualified 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.  Anyone who does not meet those
   qualifications will automatically be excluded from further
   consideration.

   The Internet Society President ought to consult at least with the
   Past Chair on those nominations that meet the necessary
   qualifications, is advised to seek the advice of past NomCom members,
   and may consult with anyone else in respect of any or all of the
   nominees.

   A previous iteration of this memo made the suggestion of posting to
   the whole IETF a list of names under consideration.  This produced
   considerable though not universal opposition.  Given the strongly-
   held opposition, the Internet Society President shall construct a
   short list on the basis of whatever feedback it is possible to gather
   from the sources the President knows.  All feedback is to be treated
   as confidential and is to be sent exclusively to an address under the
   sole control of the President, or collected directly by the President
   as circumstances allow.  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.

2.4.  Short 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 again 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; 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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2.5.  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.
   This is, in effect, an interview, and it is possible that the
   President will decide that the candidate is not as qualified as
   expected.  Assuming, however, the 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.

2.6.  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 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

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   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
   "insider's club".  That the NomCom Chair does not have a vote might
   be irrelevant to that perception.  The process outlined here does
   nothing to resolve that issue.

   This process has an initial nomination 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 someone's
   candidacy will become public when it should not have been.

4.  Precedent Considerations

   The approach outlined in this memo is the one selected at the time of
   writing by the then-sitting Internet Society President.  This does
   not represent a change to the processes of [RFC8713] or its
   successors, and does not reflect or purport to reflect IETF
   consensus.  Therefore, there is no reason to suppose that a future
   Internet Society President will or will not follow this procedure.

5.  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.
   Given the wide discretion afforded the Internet Society President in
   the text, the procedures in this memo will be used without further
   alteration for the 2022 selection round.

6.  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.

7.  IANA Considerations

   This memo involves no actions by IANA.

8.  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>.

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   [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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