RFC3777
Network Working Group J. Galvin, Ed. Request for Comments: 3777 eList eXpress LLC Obsoletes: 2727 June 2004 BCP: 10 Category: Best Current Practice
IAB and IESG Selection, Confirmation, and Recall Process:
Operation of the Nominating and Recall Committees
Status of this Memo
This document specifies an Internet Best Current Practices for the Internet Community, and requests discussion and suggestions for improvements. Distribution of this memo is unlimited.
Copyright Notice
Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2004).
Abstract
The process by which the members of the IAB and IESG are selected, confirmed, and recalled is specified. This document is a self- consistent, organized compilation of the process as it was known at the time of publication.
Contents
Introduction
This document is a revision of and supercedes RFC 2727 [2]. It is a complete specification of the process by which members of the IAB and IESG are selected, confirmed, and recalled as of the date of its approval.
The following two assumptions continue to be true of this specification.
1. The Internet Research Task Force (IRTF) and Internet Research
Steering Group (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 time frames specified here use IETF meetings as a frame of reference. The time frames assume that the IETF meets three times per calendar year with approximately equal amounts of time between them. The meetings are referred to as the First IETF, Second IETF, or Third IETF as needed.
The next section lists the words and phrases commonly used throughout this document with their intended meaning.
The majority 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 the
volunteers who will serve on the committee are recognized.
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.
A final section describes how this document differs from its predecessor: RFC 2727 [2].
An appendix of useful facts and practices collected from previous nominating committees is also included.
Definitions
The following words and phrases are commonly used throughout this document. They are listed here with their intended meaning for the convenience of the reader.
candidate: A nominee who has been selected to be considered for
confirmation by a confirming body.
confirmed candidate: A candidate that has been reviewed and approved
by a confirming body.
nominating committee term: The term begins when its members are
officially announced, which is expected to be prior to the Third IETF to ensure it is fully operational at the Third IETF. The term ends at the Third IETF (not three meetings) after the next nominating committee's term begins.
nominee: A person who is being or has been considered for one or more
open positions of the IESG or IAB.
sitting member: A person who is currently serving a term of
membership in the IESG, IAB or ISOC Board of Trustees.
General
The following set of rules apply to the process as a whole. If necessary, a paragraph discussing the interpretation of each rule is included.
1. The completion of the annual process is due within 7 months.
The completion of the annual process is due one month prior to the Friday of the week before the First IETF. It is expected to begin at least 8 months prior to the Friday of the week before the First IETF.
The process officially begins with the announcement of the Chair of the committee. The process officially ends when all confirmed candidates have been announced.
The annual process is comprised of three major components as follows.
1. The selection and organization of the nominating committee
members.
2. The selection of candidates by the nominating committee.
3. The confirmation of the candidates.
There is an additional month set aside between when the annual process is expected to end and the term of the new candidates is to begin. This time may be used during unusual circumstances to extend the time allocated for any of the components listed above.
2. The principal functions of the nominating committee are to review
each open IESG and IAB position and to either nominate its incumbent or a superior candidate.
Although there is no term limit for serving in any IESG or IAB position, the nominating committee may use length of service as one of its criteria for evaluating an incumbent.
The nominating committee does not select the open positions to be reviewed; it is instructed as to which positions to review.
The nominating committee will be given the title of the positions to be reviewed and a brief summary of the desired expertise of the candidate that is nominated to fill each position.
Incumbents must notify the nominating committee if they wish to be nominated.
The nominating committee does not confirm its candidates; it presents its candidates to the appropriate confirming body as indicated below.
A superior candidate is one who the nominating committee believes would contribute in such a way as to improve or enhance the body to which he or she is nominated.
3. One-half of each of the then current IESG and IAB positions is
selected to be reviewed each year.
The intent of this rule to ensure the review of approximately one-half of each of the IESG and IAB sitting members each year. It is recognized that circumstances may exist that will require the nominating committee to review more or less than one-half of the current positions, e.g., if the IESG or IAB have re-organized prior to this process and created new positions, if there are an odd number of current positions, or if a member unexpectedly resigns.
4. Confirmed candidates are expected to serve at least a 2 year term.
The intent of this rule is to ensure that members of the IESG and IAB serve the number of years that best facilitates the review of one-half of the members each year.
The term of a confirmed candidate selected according to the mid- term vacancy rules may be less than 2 years, as stated elsewhere in this document.
It is consistent with this rule for the nominating committee to choose one or more of the currently open positions to which it may assign a term of not more than 3 years in order to ensure the ideal application of this rule in the future.
It is consistent with this rule for the nominating committee to choose one or more of the currently open positions that share responsibilities with other positions (both those being reviewed and those sitting) to which it may assign a term of not more than 3 years to ensure that all such members will not be reviewed at the same time.
All sitting member terms end during the First IETF meeting corresponding to the end of the term for which they were confirmed. All confirmed candidate terms begin during the First IETF meeting corresponding to the beginning of the term for which they were confirmed.
For confirmed candidates of the IESG the terms begin no later than when the currently sitting members' terms end on the last day of the meeting. A term may begin or end no sooner than the first day of the meeting and no later than the last day of the meeting as determined by the mutual agreement of the currently sitting member and the confirmed candidate. A confirmed candidate's term may overlap the sitting member's term during the meeting as determined by their mutual agreement.
For confirmed candidates of the IAB the terms overlap with the terms of the sitting members for the entire week of the meeting.
For candidates confirmed under the mid-term vacancy rules, the term begins as soon as possible after the confirmation.
5. Mid-term vacancies are filled by the same rules as documented here
with four qualifications.
First, when there is only one official nominating committee, the body with the mid-term vacancy relegates the responsibility to fill the vacancy to it. If the mid-term vacancy occurs during the period of time that the term of the prior year's nominating committee overlaps with the term of the current year's nominating committee, the body with the mid-term vacancy must relegate the responsibility to fill the vacancy to the prior year's nominating committee.
Second, if it is the case that the nominating committee is reconvening to fill the mid-term vacancy, then the completion of the candidate selection and confirmation process is due within 6 weeks, with all other time periods otherwise unspecified prorated accordingly.
Third, 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.
Fourth, the term of the confirmed candidate will be either:
1. the remainder of the term of the open position if that
remainder is not less than one year.
2. the remainder of the term of the open position plus the next 2
year term if that remainder is less than one year.
In both cases a year is the period of time from a First IETF
meeting to the next First IETF meeting.
6. All deliberations and supporting information that relates to
specific nominees, candidates, and confirmed candidates are confidential.
The nominating committee and confirming body members will be exposed to confidential information as a result of their deliberations, their interactions with those they consult, and from those who provide requested supporting information. All members and all other participants are expected to handle this information in a manner consistent with its sensitivity.
It is consistent with this rule for current nominating committee members who have served on prior nominating committees to advise the current committee on deliberations and results of the prior committee, as necessary and appropriate.
7. Unless otherwise specified, the advice and consent model is used
throughout the process. This model is characterized as follows.
1. The IETF Executive Director informs the nominating committee of
the IESG and IAB positions to be reviewed.
The IESG and IAB are responsible for providing summary of the
expertise desired of the candidates selected for their
respective open positions to the Executive Director. The
summaries are provided to the nominating committee for its
consideration.
2. The nominating committee selects candidates based on its
understanding of the IETF community's consensus of the
qualifications required and advises each confirming body of its
respective candidates.
3. The confirming bodies review their respective candidates, they
may at their discretion communicate with the nominating
committee, and then consent to some, all, or none of the
candidates.
The sitting IAB members review the IESG candidates.
The Internet Society Board of Trustees reviews the IAB
candidates.
The confirming bodies conduct their review using all
information and any means acceptable to them, including but not
limited to the supporting information provided by the
nominating committee, information known personally to members
of the confirming bodies and shared within the confirming body,
the results of interactions within the confirming bodies, and
the confirming bodies interpretation of what is in the best
interests of the IETF community.
If all of the candidates are confirmed, the job of the
nominating committee with respect to those open positions is
complete.
If some or none of the candidates submitted to a confirming
body are confirmed, the confirming body should communicate with
the nominating committee both to explain the reason why all the
candidates were not confirmed and to understand the nominating
committee's rationale for its candidates.
The confirming body may reject individual candidates, in which
case the nominating committee must select alternate candidates
for the rejected candidates.
Any additional time required by the nominating committee should
not exceed its maximum time allotment.
4. A confirming body decides whether it confirms each candidate
using a confirmation decision rule chosen by the confirming
body.
If a confirming body has no specific confirmation decision
rule, then confirming a given candidate should require at least
one-half of the confirming body's sitting members to agree to
that confirmation.
The decision may be made by conducting a formal vote, by
asserting consensus based on informal exchanges (e.g., email),
or by any other mechanism that is used to conduct the normal
business of the confirming body.
Regardless of which decision rule the confirming body uses, any
candidate that is not confirmed under that rule is considered
to be rejected.
The confirming body must make its decision within a reasonable
time frame. The results from the confirming body must be
reported promptly to the nominating committee.
8. The following rules apply to nominees candidates who are currently
sitting members of the IESG or IAB, and who are not sitting in an open position being filled by the nominating committee.
The confirmation of a candidate to an open position does not automatically create a vacancy in the IESG or IAB position currently occupied by the candidate. The mid-term vacancy can not exist until, first, the candidate formally resigns from the current position and, second, the body with the vacancy formally decides for itself that it wants the nominating committee to fill the mid-term vacancy according to the rules for a mid-term vacancy documented elsewhere in this document.
The resignation should be effective as of when the term of the new position begins. The resignation may remain confidential to the IAB, IESG, and nominating committee until the confirmed candidate is announced for the new position. The process, according to
rules set out elsewhere in this document, of filling the seat vacated by the confirmed candidate may begin as soon as the vacancy is publicly announced.
Filling a mid-term vacancy is a separate and independent action from the customary action of filling open positions. In particular, a nominating committee must complete its job with respect to filling the open positions and then separately proceed with the task of filling the mid-term vacancy according to the rules for a mid-term vacancy documented elsewhere in this document.
However, the following exception is permitted in the case where the candidate for an open position is currently a sitting member of the IAB. It is consistent with these rules for the announcements of a resignation of a sitting member of the IAB and of the confirmed candidate for the mid-term vacancy created by that sitting member on the IAB to all occur at the same time as long as the actual sequence of events that occurred did so in the following order.
* The nominating committee completes the advice and consent
process for the open position being filled by the candidate
currently sitting on the IAB.
* The newly confirmed candidate resigns from their current
position on the IAB.
* The IAB with the new mid-term vacancy requests that the
nominating committee fill the position.
* The Executive Director of the IETF informs the nominating
committee of the mid-term vacancy.
* The nominating committee acts on the request to fill the mid-
term vacancy.
9. All announcements must be made using at least the mechanism used
by the IETF Secretariat for its announcements, including a notice on the IETF web site.
As of the publication of this document, the current mechanism is an email message to both the "ietf" and the "ietf-announce" mailing lists.
Nominating Committee Selection
The following set of rules apply to the creation of the nominating committee and the selection of its members.
1. The completion of the process of selecting and organizing the
members of the nominating committee is due within 3 months.
The completion of the selection and organization process is due at least one month prior to the Third IETF. This ensures the nominating committee is fully operational and available for interviews and consultation during the Third IETF.
2. The term of a nominating committee is expected to be 15 months.
It is the intent of this rule that the end of a nominating committee's term overlap by approximately three months the beginning of the term of the next nominating committee.
The term of a nominating committee begins when its members are officially announced. The term ends at the Third IETF (not three meetings), i.e., the IETF meeting after the next nominating committee's term begins.
A term is expected to begin at least two months prior to the Third IETF to ensure the nominating committee has at least one month to get organized before preparing for the Third IETF.
A nominating committee is expected to complete any work-in- progress before it is dissolved at the end of its term.
During the period of time that the terms of the nominating committees overlap, all mid-term vacancies are to be relegated to the prior year's nominating committee. The prior year's nominating committee has no other responsibilities during the overlap period. At all times other than the overlap period there is exactly one official nominating committee and it is responsible for all mid-term vacancies.
When the prior year's nominating committee is filling a mid-term vacancy during the period of time that the terms overlap, the nominating committees operate independently. However, some coordination is needed between them. Since the prior year's Chair is a non-voting advisor to the current nominating committee the coordination is expected to be straightforward.
3. The nominating committee comprises at least a Chair, 10 voting
volunteers, 3 liaisons, and an advisor.
Any committee member may propose the addition of an advisor to participate in some or all of the deliberations of the committee. The addition must be approved by the committee according to its established voting mechanism. Advisors participate as individuals.
Any committee member may propose the addition of a liaison from other unrepresented organizations to participate in some or all of the deliberations of the committee. The addition must be approved by the committee according to its established voting mechanism. Liaisons participate as representatives of their respective organizations.
The Chair is selected according to rules stated elsewhere in this document.
The 10 voting volunteers are selected according to rules stated elsewhere in this document.
The IESG and IAB liaisons are selected according to rules stated elsewhere in this document.
The Internet Society Board of Trustees may appoint a liaison to the nominating committee at its own discretion.
The Chair of last year's nominating committee serves as an advisor according to rules stated elsewhere in this document.
None of the Chair, liaisons, or advisors vote on the selection of candidates. They do vote on all other issues before the committee unless otherwise specified in this document.
4. The Chair of the nominating committee is responsible for ensuring
the nominating committee completes its assigned duties in a timely fashion and performs in the best interests of the IETF community.
The Chair must be thoroughly familiar with the rules and guidance indicated throughout this document. The Chair must ensure the nominating committee completes its assigned duties in a manner that is consistent with this document.
The Chair must attest by proclamation at a plenary session of the First IETF that the results of the committee represent its best effort and the best interests of the IETF community.
The Chair does not vote on the selection of candidates.
5. The Internet Society President appoints the Chair, who must meet
the same requirements for membership in the nominating committee as a voting volunteer.
The nominating committee Chair must agree to invest the time necessary to ensure that the nominating committee completes its assigned duties and to perform in the best interests of the IETF community in that role.
The appointment is due no later than the Second IETF meeting to ensure it can be announced during a plenary session at that meeting. The completion of the appointment is necessary to ensure the annual process can complete at the time specified elsewhere in this document.
6. A Chair, in consultation with the Internet Society President, may
appoint a temporary substitute for the Chair position.
There are a variety of ordinary circumstances that may arise from time to time that could result in a Chair being unavailable to oversee the activities of the committee. The Chair, in consultation with the Internet Society President, may appoint a substitute from a pool comprised of the liaisons currently serving on the committee and the prior year's Chair or designee.
Any such appointment must be temporary and does not absolve the Chair of any or all responsibility for ensuring the nominating committee completes its assigned duties in a timely fashion.
7. Liaisons are responsible for ensuring the nominating committee in
general and the Chair in particular execute their assigned duties in the best interests of the IETF community.
Liaisons are expected to represent the views of their respective organizations during the deliberations of the committee. They should provide information as requested or when they believe it would be helpful to the committee.
Liaisons from the IESG and IAB are expected to provide information to the nominating committee regarding the operation, responsibility, and composition of their respective bodies.
Liaisons are expected to convey questions from the committee to their respective organizations and responses to those questions to the committee, as requested by the committee.
Liaisons from the IESG, IAB, and Internet Society Board of Trustees (if one was appointed) are expected to review the
operation and executing process of the nominating committee and to report any concerns or issues to the Chair of the nominating committee immediately. If they can not resolve the issue between themselves, liaisons must report it according to the dispute resolution process stated elsewhere in this document.
Liaisons from confirming bodies are expected to assist the committee in preparing the testimony it is required to provide with its candidates.
Liaisons may have other nominating committee responsibilities as required by their respective organizations or requested by the nominating committee, except that such responsibilities may not conflict with any other provisions of this document.
Liaisons do not vote on the selection of candidates.
8. The sitting IAB and IESG members each appoint a liaison from
their current membership, someone who is not sitting in an open position, to serve on the nominating committee.
9. An advisor is responsible for such duties as specified by the
invitation that resulted in the appointment.
Advisors do not vote on the selection of candidates.
10. The Chair of the prior year's nominating committee serves as an
advisor to the current committee.
The prior year's Chair is expected to review the actions and activities of the current Chair and to report any concerns or issues to the nominating committee Chair immediately. If they can not resolve the issue between themselves, the prior year's Chair must report it according to the dispute resolution process stated elsewhere in this document.
The prior year's Chair may select a designee from a pool composed of the voting volunteers of the prior year's committee and all prior Chairs if the Chair is unavailable. If the prior year's Chair is unavailable or is unable or unwilling to make such a designation in a timely fashion, the Chair of the current year's committee may select a designee in consultation with the Internet Society President.
Selecting a prior year's committee member as the designee permits the experience of the prior year's deliberations to be readily available to the current committee. Selecting an earlier prior year Chair as the designee permits the experience of being a
Chair as well as that Chair's committee deliberations to be readily available to the current committee.
All references to "prior year's Chair" in this document refer to the person serving in that role, whether it is the actual prior year's Chair or a designee.
11. Voting volunteers are responsible for completing the tasks of the
nominating committee in a timely fashion.
Each voting volunteer is expected to participate in all activities of the nominating committee with a level of effort approximately equal to all other voting volunteers. Specific tasks to be completed are established and managed by the Chair according to rules stated elsewhere in this document.
12. The Chair must establish and announce milestones for the
selection of the nominating committee members.
There is a defined time period during which the selection process is due to 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.
13. The Chair obtains the list of IESG and IAB positions to be
reviewed and announces it along with a solicitation for names of volunteers from the IETF community willing to serve on the nominating committee.
The solicitation must permit the community at least 30 days during which they may choose to volunteer to be selected for the nominating committee.
The list of open positions is published with the solicitation to facilitate community members choosing between volunteering for an open position and volunteering for the nominating committee.
14. Members of the IETF community must have attended at least 3 of
the last 5 IETF meetings in order to volunteer.
The 5 meetings are the five most recent meetings that ended prior to the date on which the solicitation for nominating committee volunteers was submitted for distribution to the IETF community.
The IETF Secretariat is responsible for confirming that volunteers have met the attendance requirement.
Volunteers must provide their full name, email address, and primary company or organization affiliation (if any) when volunteering.
Volunteers are expected to be familiar with the IETF processes and procedures, which are readily learned by active participation in a working group and especially by serving as a document editor or working group chair.
15. Members of the Internet Society Board of Trustees, sitting
members of the IAB, and sitting members of the IESG may not volunteer to serve on the nominating committee.
16. The Chair announces both the list of the pool of volunteers from
which the 10 voting volunteers will be randomly selected and the method with which the selection will be completed.
The announcement should be made at least 1 week prior to the date on which the random selection will occur.
The pool of volunteers must be enumerated or otherwise indicated according to the needs of the selection method to be used.
The announcement must specify the data that will be used as input to the selection method. The method must depend on random data whose value is not known or available until the date on which the random selection will occur.
It must be possible to independently verify that the selection method used is both fair and unbiased. A method is fair if each eligible volunteer is equally likely to be selected. A method is unbiased if no one can influence its outcome in favor of a specific outcome.
It must be possible to repeat the selection method, either through iteration or by restarting in such a way as to remain fair and unbiased. This is necessary to replace selected volunteers should they become unavailable after selection.
The selection method must produce an ordered list of volunteers.
One possible selection method is described in RFC 2777 [1].
17. The Chair randomly selects the 10 voting volunteers from the pool
of names of volunteers and announces the members of the nominating committee.
No more than two volunteers with the same primary affiliation may be selected for the nominating committee. The Chair reviews the primary affiliation of each volunteer selected by the method in turn. If the primary affiliation for a volunteer is the same as two previously selected volunteers, that volunteer is removed from consideration and the method is repeated to identify the next eligible volunteer.
There must be at least two announcements of all members of the nominating committee.
The first announcement should occur as soon after the random selection as is reasonable for the Chair. The community must have at least 1 week during which any member may challenge the results of the random selection.
The challenge must be made in writing (email is acceptable) to the Chair. The Chair has 48 hours to review the challenge and offer a resolution to the member. If the resolution is not accepted by the member, that member may report the challenge according to the dispute resolution process stated elsewhere in this document.
If a selected volunteer, upon reading the announcement with the list of selected volunteers, finds that two or more other volunteers have the same affiliation, then the volunteer should notify the Chair who will determine the appropriate action.
During at least the 1 week challenge period the Chair must contact each of the members and confirm their willingness and availability to serve. The Chair should make every reasonable effort to contact each member.
* If the Chair is unable to contact a liaison the problem is
referred to the respective organization to resolve. The Chair
should allow a reasonable amount of time for the organization
to resolve the problem and then may proceed without the
liaison.
* If the Chair is unable to contact an advisor the Chair may
elect to proceed without the advisor, except for the prior
year's Chair for whom the Chair must consult with the Internet
Society President as stated elsewhere in this document.
* If the Chair is unable to contact a voting volunteer the Chair
must repeat the random selection process in order to replace
the unavailable volunteer. There should be at least 1 day
between the announcement of the iteration and the selection
process.
After at least 1 week and confirming that 10 voting volunteers are ready to serve, the Chair makes the second announcement of the members of the nominating committee, which officially begins the term of the nominating committee.
18. The Chair works with the members of the committee to organize
itself in preparation for completing its assigned duties.
The committee has approximately one month during which it can self-organize. Its responsibilities during this time include but are not limited to the following.
* Setting up a regular teleconference schedule.
* Setting up an internal web site.
* Setting up a mailing list for internal discussions.
* Setting up an email address for receiving community input.
* Establishing operational procedures.
* Establishing milestones in order to monitor the progress of
the selection process.
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.
1. All rules and special circumstances not otherwise specified are
at the discretion of the committee.
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.
Any member of the committee may propose a rule for adoption by the committee. The rule must be approved by the committee according to its established voting mechanism.
All members of the committee should consider whether the exception is worthy of mention in the next revision of this document and follow-up accordingly.
2. The completion of the process of selecting candidates to be
confirmed by their respective confirming body is due within 3 months.
The completion of the selection process is due at least two month's prior to the First IETF. This ensures the nominating committee has sufficient time to complete the confirmation process.
3. The completion of the process of confirming the candidates is due
within 1 month.
The completion of the confirmation process is due at least one month prior to the First IETF.
4. The Chair must establish for the nominating committee a set of
milestones for the candidate selection and confirmation process.
There is a defined time period during which the candidate 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 Chair should ensure that all committee members are aware of the milestones.
5. 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.
6. At least a quorum of committee members must participate in a
vote.
Only voting volunteers vote on a candidate selection. For a candidate selection vote a quorum is comprised of at least 7 of the voting volunteers.
At all other times a quorum is present if at least 75% of the nominating committee members are participating.
7. Any member of the nominating committee may propose to the
committee that any other member except the Chair be recalled. The process for recalling the Chair is defined elsewhere in this document.
There are a variety of ordinary circumstances that may arise that could result in one or more members of the committee being unavailable to complete their assigned duties, for example health concerns, family issues, or a change of priorities at work. A committee member may choose to resign for unspecified personal reasons. In addition, the committee may not function well as a group because a member may be disruptive or otherwise uncooperative.
Regardless of the circumstances, if individual committee members can not work out their differences between themselves, the entire committee may be called upon to discuss and review the circumstances. If a resolution is not forthcoming a vote may be conducted. A member may be recalled if at least a quorum of all committee members agree, including the vote of the member being recalled.
If a liaison member is recalled the committee must notify the affected organization and must allow a reasonable amount of time for a replacement to be identified by the organization before proceeding.
If an advisor member other than the prior year's Chair is recalled, the committee may choose to proceed without the advisor. In the case of the prior year's Chair, the Internet Society President must be notified and the current Chair must be allowed a reasonable amount of time to consult with the Internet Society President to identify a replacement before proceeding.
If a single voting volunteer position on the nominating committee is vacated, regardless of the circumstances, the committee may choose to proceed with only 9 voting volunteers at its own discretion. In all other cases a new voting member must be selected, and the Chair must repeat the random selection process including an announcement of the iteration prior to the actual selection as stated elsewhere in this document.
A change in the primary affiliation of a voting volunteer during the term of the nominating committee is not a cause to request the recall of that volunteer, even if the change would result in more than two voting volunteers with the same affiliation.
8. Only the prior year's Chair may request the recall of the current
Chair.
It is the responsibility of the prior year's Chair to ensure the current Chair completes the assigned tasks in a manner consistent with this document and in the best interests of the IETF community.
Any member of the committee who has an issue or concern regarding the Chair should report it to the prior year's Chair immediately. The prior year's Chair is expected to report it to the Chair immediately. If they can not resolve the issue between themselves, the prior year's Chair must report it according to the dispute resolution process stated elsewhere in this document.
9. All members of the nominating committee may participate in all
deliberations.
The emphasis of this rule is that no member can be explicitly excluded from any deliberation. However, a member may individually choose not to participate in a deliberation.
10. The Chair announces the open positions to be reviewed, the
desired expertise provided by the IETF Executive Director, and the call for nominees.
The call for nominees must include a request for comments regarding the past performance of incumbents, which will be considered during the deliberations of the nominating committee.
The call must request that a nomination include a valid, working email address, a telephone number, or both for the nominee. The nomination must include the set of skills or expertise the nominator believes the nominee has that would be desirable.
11. Any member of the IETF community may nominate any member of the
IETF community for any open position, whose eligibility to serve will be confirmed by the nominating committee.
A self-nomination is permitted.
Nominating committee members are not eligible to be considered for filling any open position by the nominating committee on
which they serve. They become ineligible as soon as the term of the nominating committee on which they serve officially begins. They remain ineligible for the duration of that nominating committee's term.
Although each nominating committee's term overlaps with the following nominating committee's term, nominating committee members are eligible for nomination by the following committee if not otherwise disqualified.
Members of the IETF community who were recalled from any IESG or IAB position during the previous two years are not eligible to be considered for filling any open position.
12. The nominating committee selects candidates based on its
understanding of the IETF community's consensus of the qualifications required to fill the open positions.
The intent of this rule is to ensure that the nominating committee consults with a broad base of the IETF community for input to its deliberations. In particular, the nominating committee must determine if the desired expertise for the open positions matches its understanding of the qualifications desired by the IETF community.
The consultations are permitted to include names of nominees, if all parties to the consultation agree to observe the same confidentiality rules as the nominating committee itself.
A broad base of the community should include the existing members of the IAB and IESG, especially sitting members who share responsibilities with open positions, e.g., co-Area Directors, and working group chairs, especially those in the areas with open positions.
Only voting volunteer members vote to select candidates.
13. Nominees should be advised that they are being considered and
must consent to their nomination prior to being chosen as candidates.
Although the nominating committee will make every reasonable effort to contact and to remain in contact with nominees, any nominee whose contact information changes during the process and who wishes to still be considered should inform the nominating committee of the changes.
A nominee's consent must be written (email is acceptable) and must include a commitment to provide the resources necessary to fill the open position and an assurance that the nominee will perform the duties of the position for which they are being considered in the best interests of the IETF community.
Consenting to a nomination must occur prior to a nominee being a candidate and may occur as soon after the nomination as needed by the nominating committee.
Consenting to a nomination must not imply the nominee will be a candidate.
The nominating committee should help nominees provide justification to their employers.
14. The nominating committee advises the confirming bodies of their
candidates, specifying a single candidate for each open position and testifying as to how each candidate meets the qualifications of an open position.
For each candidate, the testimony must include a brief statement of the qualifications for the position that is being filled, which may be exactly the expertise that was requested. If the qualifications differ from the expertise originally requested a brief statement explaining the difference must be included.
The testimony may include either or both of a brief resume of the candidate and a brief summary of the deliberations of the nominating committee.
15. Confirmed candidates must consent to their confirmation and
rejected candidates and nominees must be notified before confirmed candidates are announced.
It is not necessary to notify and get consent from all confirmed candidates together.
A nominee may not know they were a candidate. This permits a candidate to be rejected by a confirming body without the nominee knowing about the rejection.
Rejected nominees, who consented to their nomination, and rejected candidates must be notified prior to announcing the confirmed candidates.
It is not necessary to announce all confirmed candidates together.
The nominating committee must ensure that all confirmed candidates are prepared to serve prior to announcing their confirmation.
16. The nominating committee should archive the information it has
collected or produced for a period of time not to exceed its term.
The purpose of the archive is to assist the nominating committee should it be necessary for it to fill a mid-term vacancy.
The existence of an archive, how it is implemented, and what information to archive is at the discretion of the committee. The decision must be approved by a quorum of the voting volunteer members.
The implementation of the archive should make every reasonable effort to ensure that the confidentiality of the information it contains is maintained.
Dispute Resolution Process
The dispute resolution process described here is to be used as indicated elsewhere in this document. Its applicability in other circumstances is beyond the scope of this document.
The nominating committee operates under a strict rule of confidentiality. For this reason when process issues arise it is best to make every reasonable effort to resolve them within the committee. However, when circumstances do not permit this or no resolution is forthcoming, the process described here is to be used.
The following rules apply to the process.
1. The results of this process are final and binding. There is no
appeal.
2. The process begins with the submission of a request as described
below to the Internet Society President.
3. As soon as the process begins, the nominating committee may
continue those activities that are unrelated to the issue to be resolved except that it must not submit any candidates to a confirming body until the issue is resolved.
4. All parties to the process are subject to the same
confidentiality rules as each member of the nominating committee.
5. The process should be completed within two weeks.
The process is as follows:
1. The party seeking resolution submits a written request (email is
acceptable) to the Internet Society President detailing the issue to be resolved.
2. The Internet Society President appoints an arbiter to investigate
and resolve the issue. A self-appointment is permitted.
3. The arbiter investigates the issue making every reasonable effort
to understand both sides of the issue. Since the arbiter is subject to the same confidentiality obligations as all nominating committee members, all members are expected to cooperate fully with the arbiter and to provide all relevant information to the arbiter for review.
4. After consultation with the two principal parties to the issue,
the arbiter decides on a resolution. Whatever actions are necessary to execute the resolution are immediately begun and completed as quickly as possible.
5. The arbiter summarizes the issue, the resolution, and the
rationale for the resolution for the Internet Society President.
6. In consultation with the Internet Society President, the arbiter
prepares a report of the dispute and its resolution. The report should include all information that in the judgment of the arbiter does not violate the confidentiality requirements of the nominating committee.
7. The Chair includes the dispute report when reporting on the
activities of the nominating committee to the IETF community.
Member Recall
The following rules apply to the recall process. If necessary, a paragraph discussing the interpretation of each rule is included.
1. At any time, at least 20 members of the IETF community, who are
qualified to be voting members of a nominating committee, may request by signed petition (email is acceptable) to the Internet Society President the recall of any sitting IAB or IESG member.
All individual and collective qualifications of nominating committee eligibility are applicable, including that no more than two signatories may have the same primary affiliation.
Each signature must include a full name, email address, and primary company or organization affiliation.
The IETF Secretariat is responsible for confirming that each signatory is qualified to be a voting member of a nominating committee. A valid petition must be signed by at least 20 qualified signatories.
The petition must include a statement of justification for the recall and all relevant and appropriate supporting documentation.
The petition and its signatories must be announced to the IETF community.
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.
3. The recall committee is created according to the same rules as is
the nominating committee with the qualifications that both the person being investigated and the parties 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.
7. If a sitting member is recalled the open position is to be filled
according to the mid-term vacancy rules.
Changes From RFC 2727
This section describes the substantive changes from RFC 2727, listed approximately in the order in which they appear in the document.
1. A section with definitions for words and phrases used throughout
the document was inserted.
2. The role of term limits as a selection criterion was clarified.
3. The nominating committee must now be provided with a brief
description of the desirable expertise for each candidate to be nominated for each position.
4. Because of the overlapping terms of successive nominating
committees, the specific committee responsible for a mid-term vacancy was specified.
5. The characterization of the advice and consent model was revised
to permit the confirming body to communicate with the nominating committee during the approval process.
6. A general rule was added to define that all announcements are
made with the usual IETF Secretariat mechanism.
7. Details regarding the expected timeline of the selection and
operation of the committee were made even more explicit. An Appendix was added that captures all the details for the convenience of the reader.
8. The term of the nominating committee was extended to
approximately 15 months such that it explicitly overlaps by approximately 3 months the next year's nominating committee's term.
9. The terms voting member and non-voting member were replaced by
voting volunteers, liaisons, and advisors. All members vote at all times except that only voting volunteers vote on a candidate selection.
10. The responsibilities of the Chair, liaisons, advisors, and voting
volunteers is now explicitly stated.
11. Processes for recalling members of the committee were added.
12. Liaisons and advisors are no longer required to meet the usual
requirements for nominating committee membership.
13. The Internet Society Board of Trustees may appoint a non-voting
liaison.
14. The eligibility qualifications for the nominating committee were
changed to require attendance at 3 out of 5 of the last five meetings, to require volunteers to submit identifying contact information, and to request that volunteers be familiar with IETF processes and procedures.
15. Some additional clarification was added to the method used to
select volunteers.
16. The process for selecting the 10 voting volunteers had several
clarifications and additional requirements added, including a challenge process and the requirement to disallow more than two volunteers with the same primary affiliation.
17. Nominations for open positions should include both contact
information and a description of the skills or expertise the nominator believes the nominee possesses.
18. Nominees are requested to keep the nominating committee informed
of changes in their contact information. Editorially, the distinction between a nominee and candidate was emphasized.
19. A description of a testimony to be provided with each candidate
to a confirming body by the nominating committee is specified.
20. The rules regarding the announcement of confirmed candidates were
substantially rewritten to make it easier to understand.
21. The nominating committee is permitted to keep an archive for the
duration of its term of the information it collects and produces for its own internal use.
22. A dispute resolution process for addressing process concerns was
added.
23. The process for recalling a sitting member of the IAB and IESG
requires at least 20 eligible members of the IETF community to sign a petition requesting the recall.
24. The section on Security Considerations was expanded.
25. Appendix A, Oral Tradition, has been added.
26. Appendix B, Nominating Committee Timeline, has been added as a
convenience to the reader.
Acknowledgements
There have been a number of people involved with the development of this document over the years as it has progressed from RFC 2027 through RFC 2282 [3] and RFC 2727 [2] to its current version.
A great deal of credit goes to the first three Nominating Committee Chairs:
1993 - Jeff Case
1994 - Fred Baker
1995 - John Curran
who had the pleasure of operating without the benefit of a documented process. It was their fine work and oral tradition that became the first version of this document.
Of course we can not overlook the bug discovery burden that each of the Chairs since the first publication have had to endure:
1996 - Guy Almes
1997 - Geoff Huston
1998 - Mike St. Johns
1999 - Donald Eastlake
2000 - Avri Doria
2001 - Bernard Adoba
2002 - Ted T'so
2003 - Phil Roberts
The bulk of the early credit goes to the members of the POISSON Working Group, previously the POISED Working Group. The prose here would not be what it is were it not for the attentive and insightful review of its members. Specific acknowledgement must be extended to Scott Bradner and John Klensin, who consistently contributed to the improvement of the first three versions of this document.
In January 2002, a new working group was formed, the Nominating Committee Working Group (nomcom), to revise the RFC 2727 version. This working group was guided by the efforts of a design team whose members were as follows:
Bernard Adoba
Harald Alvestrand - Chair of the IETF
Leslie Daigle - Chair of the IAB
Avri Doria - Chair of the Working Group
James Galvin - Editor of the Document
Joel Halpern
Thomas Narten
10. 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 must maintain the confidentiality of any and all information not explicitly identified as suitable for public dissemination.
When the nominating committee decides it is necessary to share confidential or otherwise private information with others, the dissemination must be minimal and must include a prior commitment from all persons consulted to observe the same confidentiality rules as the nominating committee itself.
11. Informative References
[1] Eastlake, 3rd, D., "Publicly Verifiable Nominations Committee
(Nomcom) Random Selection", RFC 3797, June 2004.
[2] Galvin, J., "IAB and IESG Selection, Confirmation, and Recall
Process: Operation of the Nominating and Recall Committees", BCP 10, RFC 2727, February 2000.
[3] Galvin, J., "IAB and IESG Selection, Confirmation, and Recall
Process: Operation of the Nominating and Recall Committees", BCP 10, RFC 2282, February 1998.
Appendix A. Oral Tradition
Over the years various nominating committees have learned through oral tradition passed on by liaisons that there are certain consistencies in the process and information considered during deliberations. Some items from that oral tradition are collected here to facilitate its consideration by future nominating committees.
1. It has been found that experience as an IETF Working Group Chair
or an IRTF Research Group Chair is helpful in giving a nominee experience of what the job of an Area Director involves. It also helps a nominating committee judge the technical, people, and process management skills of the nominee.
2. No person should serve both on the IAB and as an Area Director,
except the IETF Chair whose roles as an IAB member and Area Director of the General Area are set out elsewhere.
3. The strength of the IAB is found in part in the balance of the
demographics of its members (e.g., national distribution, years of experience, gender, etc.), the combined skill set of its members, and the combined sectors (e.g., industry, academia, etc.) represented by its members.
4. There are no term limits explicitly because the issue of
continuity versus turnover should be evaluated each year according to the expectations of the IETF community, as it is understood by each nominating committee.
5. The number of nominating committee members with the same primary
affiliation is limited in order to avoid the appearance of improper bias in choosing the leadership of the IETF. Rather than defining precise rules for how to define "affiliation", the IETF community depends on the honor and integrity of the participants to make the process work.
Appendix B. Nominating Committee Timeline
This appendix is included for the convenience of the reader and is not to be interpreted as the definitive timeline. It is intended to capture the detail described elsewhere in this document in one place. Although every effort has been made to ensure the description here is consistent with the description elsewhere, if there are any conflicts the definitive rule is the one in the main body of this document.
The only absolute in the timeline rules for the annual process is that its completion is due by the First IETF of the year after the nominating committee begins its term. This is supported by the fact that the confirmed candidate terms begin during the week of the First IETF.
The overall annual process is designed to be completed in 7 months. It is expected to start 8 months prior to the First IETF. The 7 months is split between three major components of the process as follows.
1. First is the selection and organization of the committee members.
Three months are allotted for this process.
2. Second is the selection of the candidates by the nominating
committee. Three months are allotted for this process.
3. Third is the confirmation of the candidates by their respective
confirming bodies. One month is allotted for this process.
The following figure captures the details of the milestones within each component. For illustrative purposes the figure presumes the Friday before the First IETF is March 1.
0. BEGIN 8 Months Prior to First IETF (approx. July 1); Internet
Society President appoints the Chair. The appointment must be done no later than the Second IETF or 8 months prior to the First IETF, whichever comes first. The Chair must be announced and recognized during a plenary session of the Second IETF.
1. The Chair establishes and announces milestones to ensure the
timely selection of the nominating committee members.
2. The Chair contacts the IESG, IAB, and Internet Society Board of
Trustees and requests a liaison. The Chair contacts the prior year's Chair and requests an advisor. The Chair obtains the list of IESG and IAB open positions and descriptions from the IETF Executive Director.
3. The Chair announces the solicitation for voting volunteer members
that must remain open for at least 30 days. The announcement must be done no later than 7 months and 2 weeks prior to the First IETF (approx. July 15).
4. After the solicitation closes the Chair announces the pool of
volunteers and the date of the random selection, which must be at least 1 week in the future. The announcement must be done no later than 6 months and 2 weeks prior to the First IETF (approx. August 15).
5. On the appointed day the random selection occurs and the Chair
announces the members of the committee and the 1 week challenge period. The announcement must be done no later than 6 months and 1 week prior to the First IETF (approx. August 22).
6. During the challenge period the Chair contacts each of the
committee members and confirms their availability to participate.
7. After the challenge period closes the Chair announces the members
of the committee and its term begins. The announcement must be done no later than 6 months prior to the First IETF (approx. September 1).
8. The committee has one month during which it is to self-organize
in preparation for completing its assigned duties. This must be done no later than 5 months prior to the First IETF (approx. October 1).
9. END the Committee Member Selection Process; BEGIN the Selection
of Candidates; Time is at least 5 months prior to the First IETF (approx. October 1).
10. The Chair establishes and announces the milestones to ensure the
timely selection of the candidates, including a call for nominations for the open positions. The announcement must be done no later than 5 months prior to the First IETF (approx. October 1).
11. Over the next 3 months the nominating committee collects input
and deliberates. It should plan to conduct interviews and other consultations during the Third IETF. The committee is due to complete its candidate selection no later than 2 months prior to the First IETF (approx. January 1).
12. END the Selection of Candidates; BEGIN the Confirmation of
Candidates; Time is at least 2 months prior to the First IETF (approx. January 1);
13. The committee presents its candidates to their respective
confirming bodies. The presentation must be done no later than 2 months prior to the First IETF (approx. January 1).
14. The confirming bodies have 1 month to deliberate and, in
communication with the nominating committee, accept or reject candidates.
15. The Chair announces the confirmed candidates. The announcement
must be done no later than 1 month prior to the First IETF (approx. February 1).
Author's Address
James M. Galvin (editor) eList eXpress LLC 607 Trixsam Road Sykesville, MD 21784 US
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