Network Working Group L. Daigle
Internet-Draft Editor
Expires: August 15, 2004 Internet Architecture Board
IAB
February 15, 2004
IAB Processes for management of liaison relationships
draft-iab-liaison-mgt-00
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Copyright Notice
Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2004). All Rights Reserved.
Abstract
This document discusses the procedures the IAB uses to select
organizations to form and maintain liaison relationships with. It
further discusses the expectations that the IAB has of such
organizations and of the people assigned to manage those
relationships.
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Table of Contents
1. Liaison Relationships and Personnel . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2. Aspects of Liaisons and Liaison Management . . . . . . . . . . 4
2.1 Liaison Relationships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2.2 Liaison Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2.3 Liaison Communications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
3. Summary of IETF Liaison Manager Responsibilities . . . . . . . 6
4. Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
5. Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Authors' Addresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Full Copyright Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
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1. Liaison Relationships and Personnel
The IETF, as an organization, has the need to engage in direct
communication or joint endeavors with various other formal
organizations. For example, the IETF is one of several Standards
Development Organizations, or SDOs, and all SDOs including the IETF
find it increasingly necessary to communicate and coordinate their
activities involving Internet-related technologies. This is useful
in order to avoid overlap in work efforts and to manage interactions
between their groups. In cases where there is formalization of a
mutual effort to communicate and coordinate activities, these
relationships are generically referred to as "liaison relationships".
In such cases, a person from the IETF is designated to manage a given
liaison relationship; that person is generally called the "IETF
liaison" to the other organization. Often, the other organization
will similarly designate their own liaison to the IETF.
This document is chiefly concerned with:
o the establishment and maintenance of liaison relationships, and
o the appointment and responsibilities of IETF liaison managers.
The management of other organizations' liaisons to the IETF, whether
or not in the context of a liaison relationship, is outside the scope
of this document.
The IETF has chartered the Internet Architecture Board to manage
liaison relationships. In its charter [2], the IAB states that
The IAB acts as representative of the interests of the IETF and
the Internet Society in technical liaison relationships with other
organizations concerned with standards and other technical and
organizational issues relevant to the world-wide Internet.
Liaisons are kept as informal as possible and must be of
demonstrable value in improving the quality of IETF
specifications. Individual members of the IETF are appointed as
liaisons to other organizations by the IAB or IESG as appropriate.
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2. Aspects of Liaisons and Liaison Management
2.1 Liaison Relationships
A liaison relationship is set up when it is mutually agreeable and
needed for some specific purpose, in the view of the other
organization, the IAB, and the IETF participants conducting the work.
There is no set process or form for this; the IETF participants and
the peer organization approach the IAB, and after discussion come to
an agreement to form the relationship. In some cases, the intended
scope and guidelines for the collaboration are documented
specifically (e.g., see [3], [4], and [5]).
The IAB's expectation in setting up the relationship is that there
will be a mutual exchange of views and discussion of the best
approach to undertaking new standardization work items. Any work
items resulting for the IETF will be undertaken in the usual IETF
procedures, defined in [1]. The peer organization often has
different organizational structure and different procedures than the
IETF, which will require some flexibility on the part of both
organizations to accommodate. The IAB expects that the peer
organization will use the relationship carefully, allowing time for
the processes it requests to occur and not making unreasonable
demands.
2.2 Liaison Manager
As described above, most work on mutually interesting topics will be
carried out in the usual way within the IETF and the peer
organization. Therefore, most communications will be informal in
nature (e.g., working group, mailing list discussions, etc).
An important function of the liaison manager is to ensure that
communication is maintained, is productive, and is timely. He or she
may use any businesslike approach to that necessary, from private
communications to public communications, and bringing in other
parties as needed. If a communication from a peer organization is
addressed to an inappropriate party, such as being sent to the
working group but not copying the AD or being sent to the wrong
working group, the liaison manager will help redirect or otherwise
augment the communication.
Since the IAB is ultimately responsible for liaison relationships,
anyone who has a problem with a relationship (whether an IETF
participant or a person from the peer organization) should first
consult the IAB's designated liaison manager, and if that does not
result in a satisfactory outcome, the IAB itself.
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2.3 Liaison Communications
Communications between organizations use a variety of formal and
informal channels. The stated preference of the IETF, which is
largely an informal organization, is to use informal channels, as
these have historically worked well to expedite matters. In some
cases, however, more formal communications are appropriate. In such
cases, the established procedures of many organizations use a form
known as a "liaison statement". Procedures for sending, managing,
and responding to liaison statements are discussed in draft-baker-
liaison-statements.
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3. Summary of IETF Liaison Manager Responsibilities
While the requirements will certainly vary depending on the nature of
the peer organization and the type of joint work being undertaken,
the general expectations of a liaison appointed by the IAB are as
follows:
Attend relevant meetings of the peer organization as needed and
report back to the appropriate IETF organization any material
updates.
Carry any messages from the IETF to the peer organization, when
specifically instructed. Generally, these communications
"represent the IETF", and due care (and consensus) must be applied
in their construction.
Prepare occasional updates -- e.g., to the IAB, an AD, a WG. The
target of these updates will generally be identified upon
appointment.
Oversee delivery of liaison statements addressed to the IETF,
ensuring that they reach the appropriate destination within the
IETF, and work to ensure that whatever relevant response from the
IETF is created and sent in a timely fashion.
Work with the other organization to ensure that the IETF's
liaisons are appropriately directed and responded to in a timely
fashion.
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4. Security Considerations
The security of the Internet is not threatened by these procedures.
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5. Acknowledgements
This document was developed as part of a conversation regarding the
management of draft-baker-liaison-statements, and the authors of that
document contributed significantly to it. Also, this version of the
document has been improved over its predecessor by several
suggestions from Michael Patton, Bert Wijnen, and Scott Bradner.
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Normative References
[1] Bradner, S., "The Internet Standards Process -- Revision 3", BCP
9, RFC 2026, October 1996.
[2] Internet Architecture Board and B. Carpenter, "Charter of the
Internet Architecture Board (IAB)", BCP 39, RFC 2850, May 2000.
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Informative References
[3] Rosenbrock, K., Sanmugam, R., Bradner, S. and J. Klensin, "3GPP-
IETF Standardization Collaboration", RFC 3113, June 2001.
[4] Bradner, S., Calhoun, P., Cuschieri, H., Dennett, S., Flynn, G.,
Lipford, M. and M. McPheters, "3GPP2-IETF Standardization
Collaboration", RFC 3131, June 2001.
[5] Fishman, G. and S. Bradner, "Internet Engineering Task Force and
International Telecommunication Union - Telecommunications
Standardization Sector Collaboration Guidelines", RFC 3356,
August 2002.
Authors' Addresses
Leslie Daigle
Editor
Internet Architecture Board
IAB
EMail: iab@iab.org
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