Network Working Group J. Galvin INTERNET DRAFT TIS draft-ietf-poised95-nomcom-00.txt September 1995 IAB and IESG Selection, Confirmation, and Recall Process: Operation of the Nominating and Recall Committees Status of this Memo This document is an Internet Draft. Internet Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), its Areas, and its Working Groups. Note that other groups may also distribute working documents as Internet Drafts. Internet Drafts are 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''. To learn the current status of any Internet Draft, please check the 1id-abstracts.txt listing contained in one of the Internet Drafts Shadow Directories on ds.internic.net (US East Coast), venera.isi.edu (US West Coast), munnari.oz.au (Pacific Rim), or nic.nordu.net (Europe). Abstract The process by which the members of the IAB and IESG are selected, confirmed, and recalled has been exercised three times since its formal creation. The evolution of the process has relied principally on oral tradition as a means by which the lessons learned could be passed on to successive committees. This document is a self-consistent, organized compilation of the process as it is known today. 1. Introduction By 1992, many aspects of the operation of the Internet Architecture Board (IAB), Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), and the Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG) had been reviewed and changes were being implemented. Included in those changes was the process by which members of the IAB and IESG are selected, confirmed, and recalled. Since 1992, the process of selection and confirmation has been exercised three times: 1992, 1993, and 1994. The recall process has not been Galvin Expires: March 1996 [Page 1]
INTERNET DRAFT NOMCOM and Recall Operation September 1995 exercised. A single paragraph in RFC1602 is the extent to which the process has been formally recorded to date. Informally, following the 1992 exercise of the process, an internet draft was distributed recording many of the details of the operation of that first nominating committee. In addition, in both 1994 and 1995, the POISED working group met, which facilitated the "oral tradition" transference of the selection and confirmation process lessons learned, including the email archives of the working group mailing list. This document is a self-consistent, organized compilation of the process as described by each of these sources. The process described here includes only items for which the consensus of those participating in the various discussions was easily recognized. As a result, two assumptions are made. (1) The IRTF and IRSG are not a part of the process described here. (2) The organization (and re-organization) of the IESG is not a part of the process described here. The remainder of this document is divided into four major topics as follows. General This a set of rules and constraints that apply to the selection and confirmation process as a whole. Nominating Committee Selection This is the process by which volunteers from the IETF community are recognized to serve on the committee that nominates candidates to serve on the IESG and IAB. Nominating Committee Operation This is the set of principles, rules, and constraints that guide the activities of the nominating committee, including the confirmation process. Member Recall This is the process by which the behavior of a sitting member of the IESG or IAB may be questioned, perhaps resulting in the removal of the sitting member. Galvin Expires: March 1996 [Page 2]
INTERNET DRAFT NOMCOM and Recall Operation September 1995 2. General The following set of rules apply to the selection and confirmation process as a whole. If necessary, a paragraph discussing the interpretation of each rule is included. (1) The principal function of the nominating committee is to nominate candidates for open IESG and IAB seats. The nominating committee does not select the open seats to be refilled; it is instructed as to which seats to refill. At a minimum, the nominating committee will be given the title of the seat to be filled. The nominating committee may be given a desirable set of qualifications for the candidates nominated to fill a seat. The nominating committee does not confirm its nominees; it presents its slate of nominees to the appropriate confirming body as indicated below. (2) The selection and confirmation process must be completed within 3 months. The selection and confirmation process must be completed on the friday of the week before the Spring IETF. It begins 3 months prior to that date. (3) One-half of each of the then current IESG and IAB seats is selected to be refilled each year. A given seat is selected every other year. In this way, never more than 50% of the sitting IESG and IAB members is replaced in any one year. A seat may be refilled with its sitting member, if the sitting member is nominated by the nominating committee. (4) Confirmed candidates are expected to serve at least a 2 year term. The nominal 2 year term of a confirmed candidate begins the day after the last day of the Spring IETF meeting. The term ends on the last day of the second Spring IETF meeting following the beginning of the term. (5) Mid-term IESG vacancies are filled by the sitting IESG members by appointment for the remainder of the term of the vacant seat. Galvin Expires: March 1996 [Page 3]
INTERNET DRAFT NOMCOM and Recall Operation September 1995 (6) Mid-term IAB vacancies are filled by the sitting IAB members by appointment for the remainder of the term of the vacant seat. (7) Unless otherwise specified, the advise and consent model is used throughout the process. This model is characterized as follows. a. The Internet Society President advises the nominating committee of the IESG and IAB seats to be refilled. b. The nominating committee nominates candidates and advises the confirming bodies of the nominees. c. The sitting IAB members review the IESG nominees, consenting to some, all, or none. If all of the nominees are confirmed, the job of the nominating committee with respect to filling the open IESG seats is considered complete. If some or none of the nominees are confirmed, the nominating committee must reconvene to select alternate candidates for the rejected nominees. Any additional time required by the nominating committee must not exceed its maximum time allotment. d. The Internet Society Board of Trustees reviews the IAB nominees, consenting to some, all, or none. If all of the nominees are confirmed, the job of the nominating committee with respect to filling the open IAB seats is considered complete. If some or none of the nominees are confirmed, the nominating committee must reconvene to select alternate candidates for the rejected nominees. Any additional time required by the nominating committee must not exceed its maximum time allotment. e. The confirming bodies decide their consent according to a mechanism of their own choosing. Sitting members of the confirming bodies must agree to confirm individual nominees. The agreement may be decided by conducting a formal vote, by asserting consensus based on informal conversations, or by whatever mechanism is used to conduct the normal business of the confirming body. 3. Nominating Committee Selection The following set of rules apply to the creation of the nominating committee and the selection of its members. Galvin Expires: March 1996 [Page 4]
INTERNET DRAFT NOMCOM and Recall Operation September 1995 (1) The committee is comprised of a non-voting Chair, 10 voting volunteers, and 2 non-voting liaisons. (2) The Internet Society President appoints the non-voting Chair. (3) The Chair solicits and collects the names of volunteers from the IETF community willing to serve on the nominating committee. At a minimum, the solicitation for names must be publicized using the same mechanisms used by the IETF secretariat for its announcements. (4) Members of the IETF community must have attended at least 2 of the last 3 IETF meetings in order to volunteer. (5) Internet Society Board of Trustees, sitting members of the IAB, and sitting members of the IESG may not volunteer. (6) The Chair randomly selects the 10 voting volunteers from the pool of names of volunteers. (7) The sitting IAB and IESG members each appoint from their current membership a non-voting liaison to the nominating committee. 4. Nominating Committee Operation The following rules apply to the operation of the nominating committee. If necessary, a paragraph discussing the interpretation of each rule is included. (1) All rules not otherwise specified are at the discretion of the Chair. Exceptional circumstances will occasionally arise during the normal operation of the nominating committee. This rule is intended to foster the continued forward progress of the committee. All members of the committee should consider whether the exception is worthy of mention in the next revision of this document and followup accordingly. (2) The principal purpose of the nominating committee is to nominate candidates for the open positions indicated by the Internet Society President. Galvin Expires: March 1996 [Page 5]
INTERNET DRAFT NOMCOM and Recall Operation September 1995 (3) The Chair must establish and publicize milestones. There is a defined time period during which the selection and confirmation process must be completed. The Chair must establish a set of milestones which, if met in a timely fashion, will result in the completion of the process on time. The Chair should allow time for iterating the activities of the committee if one or more nominees is not confirmed. The milestones must be publicized using the same mechanisms used by the IETF secretariat for its announcements. (4) The Chair must establish a voting mechanism. The committee must be able to objectively determine when a decision has been made during its deliberations. The criteria for determining closure must be established and known to all members of the nominating committee. (5) At least 7 voting members are required for a quorum. (6) The Chair may establish a process by which a member of the nominating committee may be recalled. The process, if established, must be agreed to by all members of the nominating committee, including the non-voting members since they would be subject to the same process. (7) All members of the nominating committee may participate in all deliberations. The emphasis of this rule is that no member, whether voting or non-voting, can be explicitly excluded from any deliberation. However, a member may individually choose not to participate in a deliberation. (8) All deliberations and supporting information of the nominating committee and confirming bodies are private. (9) Nominees may be publicly announced as soon as they are confirmed but no sooner. Up until the time a nominee is confirmed, the identity of a nominee must be kept strictly confidential. The fact that a person is being considered for candidacy must be kept strictly confidential. Galvin Expires: March 1996 [Page 6]
INTERNET DRAFT NOMCOM and Recall Operation September 1995 The fact that an incumbent may wish to be re-nominated must be kept strictly confidential (except that the incumbent may publicize their intentions). However, once a nominee is confirmed, the identity of the confirmed nominee may be publicized. This is explicitly intended to allow confirming bodies to notify confirmed nominees in a timely fashion instead of requiring all nominees to wait until all open seats have been refilled. (10) The confirming body announces confirmed nominees, including notifying the confirmed nominees. At a minimum, the announcement must be publicized using the same mechanisms used by the IETF secretariat for its announcements. (11) Nominating committee members may not be nominated for any open seat. (12) The nominating committee selects nominees based on its understanding of the IETF community's consensus of the qualifications required to fill the open positions. (13) Candidate nominees should be advised that they are being considered and must consent to their nomination prior to being confirmed. The nominating committee should help candidate nominees provide justification to their employers. A candidate nominee's consent must include a commitment to provide the resources necessary to fill the open seat. (14) The nominating committee advises the confirming bodies of their nominees, including a testament of how each nominee meets the qualifications of an open position. 5. Member Recall The following rules apply to the recall process. If necessary, a paragraph discussing the interpretation of each rule is included. (1) Anyone may request the recall of any sitting IAB or IESG member, at any time, upon written (including email) request with justification to the Internet Society President. (2) Internet Society President shall appoint a Recall Committee Chair. Galvin Expires: March 1996 [Page 7]
INTERNET DRAFT NOMCOM and Recall Operation September 1995 The Internet Society President must not evaluate the recall request. It is explicitly the responsibility of the IETF community to evaluate the behavior of its leaders. (3) The recall committee is created according to the same rules as is the nominating committee with the qualification that the person being investigated and the person requesting the recall must not be a member of the recall committee in any capacity. (4) The recall committee operates according to the same rules as the nominating committee with the qualification that there is no confirmation process. (5) The recall committee investigates the circumstances of the justification for the recall and votes on its findings. (6) A 3/4 majority of the members who vote on the question is required for a recall. If a sitting member is recalled the open position is to be filled according to the mid-term vacancy rules. 6. Security Considerations Any selection, confirmation, or recall process necessarily involves investigation into the qualifications and activities of prospective candidates. The investigation may reveal confidential or otherwise private information about candidates to those participating in the process. Each person who participates in any aspect of the process has a responsibility to maintain the confidentiality of any and all information not explicitly identified as suitable for public dissemination. 7. Editor's Address James M. Galvin Trusted Information Systems 3060 Washington Road Glenwood, MD 21738 Email: galvin@tis.com Phone: 301.854.6889 FAX: 301.854.5363 Galvin Expires: March 1996 [Page 8]
INTERNET DRAFT NOMCOM and Recall Operation September 1995 Table of Contents Status of this Memo .............................................. 1 Abstract ......................................................... 1 1 Introduction .................................................... 1 2 General ......................................................... 3 3 Nominating Committee Selection .................................. 4 4 Nominating Committee Operation .................................. 5 5 Member Recall ................................................... 7 6 Security Considerations ......................................... 8 7 Editor's Address ................................................ 8 Galvin Expires: March 1996 [Page 9]
