Network Working Group J. Galvin INTERNET DRAFT TIS draft-ietf-poised95-nomcom-01.txt October 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: April 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. In addition, this document specifies time frames the frame of reference of which is IETF meetings. The time frames assume that the IETF meets at least once per year with that meeting occurring during the North American Spring time, i.e., the IETF meets at least on or about March of each year. 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. Galvin Expires: April 1996 [Page 2]
INTERNET DRAFT NOMCOM and Recall Operation September 1995 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. 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 positions. The nominating committee does not select the open positions to be refilled; it is instructed as to which positions to refill. At a minimum, the nominating committee will be given the title of the position to be filled. The nominating committee may be given a desirable set of qualifications for the candidates nominated to fill a position. The nominating committee does not confirm its candidates; it presents its slate of candidates 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 positions is selected to be refilled each year. A given position 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 position 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 Galvin Expires: April 1996 [Page 3]
INTERNET DRAFT NOMCOM and Recall Operation September 1995 beginning of the term. (5) Mid-term IESG vacancies are filled by the same rules as documented here with three qualifications. First, the remaining IESG members act as the nominating committee. Second, the confirming body has two weeks from the day it is notified of a candidate to reject the candidate, otherwise the candidate is assumed to have been confirmed. Third, the term of the confirmed candidate will be either: a. the remainder of the term of the open position if that remainder is more than one year. b. the remainder of the term of the open position plus the next 2 year term. (6) Mid-term IAB vacancies are filled by the same rules as documented here with three qualifications. First, the remaining IAB members act as the nominating committee. Second, the confirming body has two weeks from the day it is notified of a candidate to reject the candidate, otherwise the candidate is assumed to have been confirmed. Third, the term of the confirmed candidate will be either: a. the remainder of the term of the open position if that remainder is more than one year. b. the remainder of the term of the open position plus the next 2 year term. (7) All deliberations and supporting information of all the participants in the selection and confirmation process are private. The nominating committee and confirming body members will be exposed to confidential information from each other as a result of their deliberations and from nominees who provide requested supporting information. All members and all other participants are expected to handle this information in a manner consistent with its sensitivity. (8) Unless otherwise specified, the advise and consent model is used throughout the process. This model is characterized as follows. a. The IETF Executive Director advises the nominating committee of the IESG and IAB positions to be refilled. Galvin Expires: April 1996 [Page 4]
INTERNET DRAFT NOMCOM and Recall Operation September 1995 b. The nominating committee selects candidates and advises the confirming bodies of them. c. The sitting IAB members review the IESG candidates, consenting to some, all, or none. If all of the candidates are confirmed, the job of the nominating committee with respect to filling the open IESG positions is considered complete. If some or none of the candidates are confirmed, the nominating committee must reconvene to select alternate candidates for the rejected candidates. 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 candidates, consenting to some, all, or none. If all of the candidates are confirmed, the job of the nominating committee with respect to filling the open IAB positions is considered complete. If some or none of the candidates are confirmed, the nominating committee must reconvene to select alternate candidates for the rejected candidates. 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 candidates. 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. (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, who must meet the usual requirements for membership in the nominating committee. Galvin Expires: April 1996 [Page 5]
INTERNET DRAFT NOMCOM and Recall Operation September 1995 The nominating committee Chair must agree to invest the time necessary to complete the duties of the nominating committee and to perform in the best interests of the IETF community during the performance of those duties. (3) The Chair solicits and collects a pool of names of volunteers from the IETF community willing to serve on the nominating committee. The solicitation for names must be publicized using at least the same mechanism 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. The rules are organized approximately in the order in which they would be invoked. The term nominee refers to an individual under consideration by the nominating committee. The term candidate refers to a nominee that has been selected by the nominating committee to be considered for confirmation by a confirming body. A confirmed candidate is a candidate that has been reviewed and approved by a confirming body. (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 Galvin Expires: April 1996 [Page 6]
INTERNET DRAFT NOMCOM and Recall Operation September 1995 worthy of mention in the next revision of this document and followup accordingly. (2) The Chair must establish and publicize milestones, which must include at least a call for nominations. 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 candidates is not confirmed. The milestones must be publicized using at least the same mechanism used by the IETF secretariat for its announcements. (3) 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. (4) At least 7 voting members are required to be present for a quorum. (5) 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. (6) 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. (7) The Chair announces the open positions to be filled and the call for nominees. The announcements must be publicized using at least the same mechanism used by the IETF secretariat for its announcements. Galvin Expires: April 1996 [Page 7]
INTERNET DRAFT NOMCOM and Recall Operation September 1995 (8) Any member of the IETF community may nominate any member of the IETF community for any open position. A self-nomination is permitted. (9) Nominating committee members must not be nominees. To be a nominee is to enter the process of being selected as a candidate and confirmed. Nominating committee members are not eligible to be considered for filling any open position. (10) The nominating committee selects candidates based on its understanding of the IETF community's consensus of the qualifications required to fill the open positions. (11) Nominees should be advised that they are being considered and must consent to their nomination prior to being confirmed. The nominating committee should help nominees provide justification to their employers. A nominee's consent must include a commitment to provide the resources necessary to fill the open position and an assurance that the candidate's employer agrees that the candidate will not be required to only represent the employer's interests. (12) The nominating committee advises the confirming bodies of their candidates, specifying a single candidate for each open position and a testament as to how each candidate meets the qualifications of an open position. The testament may include a brief resume of the candidate and a summary of the deliberations of the nominating committee. (13) With respect to any action to be taken in the context of notifying and announcing confirmed candidates, and notifying rejected nominees and candidates, the action must be valid according to all of the rules specified below prior to its execution. a. Up until a candidate is confirmed, the identity of the candidate must be kept strictly confidential. b. The identity of all nominees must be kept strictly confidential (except that the nominee may publicize their intentions). Galvin Expires: April 1996 [Page 8]
INTERNET DRAFT NOMCOM and Recall Operation September 1995 c. Rejected nominees may be notified as soon as they are rejected. d. Rejected candidates may be notified as soon as they are rejected. e. Rejected nominees and candidates must be notified prior to announcing confirmed candidates. f. Confirmed candidates may be notified and announced as soon as they are confirmed. It is consistent with these rules for a nominee to never know if they were a candidate or not. It is consistent with these rules for a nominating committee to reject some nominees early in the process and to keep some nominees as alternates in case a candidate is rejected by a confirming body. In the matter of whether a confirmed candidate was a first choice or an alternate, that information need not ever be disclosed and, in fact, probably never should be. Alternate nominees must be notified that they were not selected for candidacy prior to the announcement of a confirmed candidate. It is consistent with these rules for confirmed candidates to be notified and announced as quickly as possible instead of requiring all confirmed candidates to wait until all open positions have been refilled. The announcements must be publicized using at least the same mechanism used by the IETF secretariat for its announcements. 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. 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. Galvin Expires: April 1996 [Page 9]
INTERNET DRAFT NOMCOM and Recall Operation September 1995 (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. The investigation must include at least both an opportunity for the member being recalled to present a written statement and consultation with third parties. (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: April 1996 [Page 10]
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 .................................. 5 4 Nominating Committee Operation .................................. 6 5 Member Recall ................................................... 9 6 Security Considerations ......................................... 10 7 Editor's Address ................................................ 10 Galvin Expires: April 1996 [Page 11]
