Network Working Group                                    R. Austein, Ed.
Request for Comments: 4071                                           ISC
BCP: 101                                                  B. Wijnen, Ed.
Category: Best Current Practice                      Lucent Technologies
                                                             April 2005


     Structure of the IETF Administrative Support Activity (IASA)

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 (2005).

Abstract

  This document describes the structure of the IETF Administrative
  Support Activity (IASA) as an activity housed within the Internet
  Society (ISOC).  It defines the roles and responsibilities of the
  IETF Administrative Oversight Committee (IAOC), the IETF
  Administrative Director (IAD), and ISOC in the fiscal and
  administrative support of the IETF standards process.  It also
  defines the membership and selection rules for the IAOC.

Table of Contents

  1.  Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  2
  2.  Definitions and Principles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  3
      2.1.  Alphabet Soup  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  3
      2.2.  Principles of the IASA, IETF, and ISOC Relationship  . .  4
      2.3.  Community Consensus and Grant of Authority . . . . . . .  5
      2.4.  Termination and Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  5
      2.5.  Effective Date for Commencement of IASA  . . . . . . . .  5
  3.  Structure of the IASA  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  5
      3.1.  IAD Responsibilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  7
      3.2.  IAOC Responsibilities  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  9
      3.3.  Relationship of the IAOC to Existing IETF Leadership . . 10
      3.4.  IAOC Decision Making . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
      3.5.  Review and Appeal of IAD and IAOC Decision . . . . . . . 10
  4.  IAOC Membership, Selection and Accountability  . . . . . . . . 11
      4.1.  Initial IAOC Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13





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  5.  IASA Funding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
      5.1.  Cost Center Accounting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
      5.2.  IETF Meeting Revenues  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
      5.3.  Designated Donations, Monetary and In-Kind . . . . . . . 14
      5.4.  Other ISOC Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
      5.5.  IASA Expenses  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
      5.6.  Operating Reserve  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
  6.  IASA Budget Process  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
  7.  ISOC Responsibilities for IASA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
  8.  Security Considerations  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
  9.  IANA Considerations  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
  10. Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
  11. References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
      11.1. Normative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
      11.2. Informative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

1.  Introduction

  This document describes the structure of the IETF Administrative
  Support Activity (IASA) as an activity housed within the Internet
  Society (ISOC).  It defines the roles and responsibilities of the
  IETF Administrative Oversight Committee (IAOC), the IETF
  Administrative Director (IAD), and ISOC in the fiscal and
  administrative support of the IETF standards process.  It also
  defines the membership and selection rules for the IAOC.

  The IETF undertakes its technical activities as an ongoing, open,
  consensus-based process.  This document defines an administrative
  support structure intended to be responsive to the administrative
  needs of the IETF technical community, and it describes how that
  support structure fits under ISOC's organizational umbrella.  This
  document does not affect the ISOC-IETF working relationship as it
  relates to standards development or the communication of technical
  advice relevant to the policy and educational goals of ISOC.

  The IETF Administrative Support Activity (IASA) provides the
  administrative structure required to support the IETF standards
  process and to support the IETF's technical activities.  As of the
  time at which this document was written, this included the work of
  IETF working groups, the IESG, the IAB, and the IRTF.  Should the
  IETF standards process at some future date come to include other
  technical activities, the IAOC is responsible for developing plans to
  provide administrative support for them.  Such support includes, as
  appropriate, undertaking or contracting for the work described in
  [RFC3716], including IETF document and data management, IETF
  meetings, and any operational agreements or contracts with the RFC
  Editor and the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA).  The IASA
  is also ultimately responsible for the financial activities



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  associated with IETF administrative support, such as collecting IETF
  meeting fees, paying invoices, managing budgets and financial
  accounts, and so forth.

  The IASA is responsible for ensuring that the IETF's administrative
  needs are met, and met well.  The IETF does not expect the IASA to
  undertake the bulk of this work directly; rather, the IETF expects
  the IASA to contract this work from others and to manage these
  contractual relationships to achieve efficiency, transparency, and
  cost effectiveness.

  The IASA is distinct from IETF-related technical functions, such as
  the RFC Editor, the IANA, and the IETF standards process itself.  The
  IASA has no influence on the technical decisions of the IETF or on
  the technical contents of IETF work.  Note, however, that this in no
  way prevents people who form part of the IASA from participating as
  individuals in IETF technical activities.

2.  Definitions and Principles

  This section describes terminology and underlying principles used in
  the rest of this document.

2.1.  Alphabet Soup

  Although most of the terms, abbreviations, and acronyms used in this
  document are reasonably well known, first-time readers may find this
  alphabet soup confusing.  This section therefore attempts to provide
  a quick summary.

  IAB: Internet Architecture Board (see [RFC2026], [RFC2850]).

  IAD: IETF Administrative Director, defined by this document.

  IAOC: IETF Administrative Oversight Committee, defined by this
        document.

  IASA: IETF Administrative Support Activity, defined by this document.

  IESG: Internet Engineering Steering Group (see [RFC2026], [RFC3710]).

  IETF: Internet Engineering Task Force (see [RFC3233]).

  ISOC: Internet Society (see [RFC2031] and [ISOC]).







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2.2.  Principles of the IASA, IETF, and ISOC Relationship

  This section attempts to describe principles underlying the
  mechanisms described in this document.

  1.  The IETF intends to establish a structure (the IASA) in order to
      have IETF administrative functions managed appropriately,
      according to good administrative, fiscal, and management
      principles.  The IASA includes the IAD and the IAOC and shall be
      housed within ISOC.

  2.  The IAD and IAOC shall not have any authority over the IETF
      standards development activities.  This document does not modify
      ISOC's other roles related to the IETF standards process.

  3.  The IAD and IAOC, in cooperation with the ISOC President/CEO and
      staff, shall develop an annual budget for the IASA.  The budget
      must clearly identify all expected direct and indirect
      expenditures related to the IASA.  ISOC, through its normal
      procedures, shall evaluate and approve the IASA budget as part of
      ISOC's own budget process and commit to ensuring funds to support
      the approved budget.

  4.  Responsibility for the evaluation, review, and negotiation of
      contracts and other IETF administrative and support agreements
      and other expenditures of funds under the IASA shall rest with
      the IAD, operating in accordance with policies and procedures set
      by the IAOC and consistent with ISOC operating policies.

  5.  Once funds or in-kind donations have been credited to the IASA
      accounts, they shall be irrevocably allocated to the support of
      the IETF.

  6.  There shall be a detailed public accounting to separately
      identify all funds available to and all expenditures relating to
      the IETF and to the IASA, including any donations, of funds or in
      kind, received by ISOC for IETF-related activities.  In-kind
      donations shall only be accepted at the direction of the IAD and
      IAOC.

  7.  Amongst the IETF, IASA and ISOC, the IETF, through the IASA,
      shall have a perpetual right to use, display, distribute,
      reproduce, modify, and create derivatives of all software and
      data created in support of IETF activities.







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  8.  The IASA, in cooperation with ISOC, shall use reasonable efforts
      to ensure that sufficient reserves exist to keep the IETF
      operational in the case of unexpected events such as income
      shortfalls.

  The remainder of this document contains details based on the above
  principles.

2.3.  Community Consensus and Grant of Authority

  The IETF is a consensus-based group, and authority to act on behalf
  of the community requires a high degree of consensus and the
  continued consent of the community.  After a careful process of
  deliberation, a broad-based community consensus emerged to house the
  IETF Administrative Support Activity (IASA) within the Internet
  Society.  This document reflects that consensus.

2.4.  Termination and Change

  Any change to this agreement shall require a similar level of
  community consensus and deliberation and shall be reflected by a
  subsequent Best Current Practice (BCP) document.

2.5.  Effective Date for Commencement of IASA

  The procedures in this document shall become operational after this
  document has been approved by the process defined in BCP 9 [RFC2026],
  including its acceptance as an IETF process BCP by the ISOC Board of
  Trustees, and after the ISOC Board of Trustees has confirmed its
  acceptance of ISOC's responsibilities under the terms herein
  described.

3.  Structure of the IASA

  The IASA structure is designed to ensure accountability and
  transparency of the IETF administrative and fiscal activities to the
  IETF community.  The IETF Administrative Oversight Committee (IAOC)
  directs and oversees the IASA.  The IAOC consists of volunteers, all
  chosen directly or indirectly by the IETF community, as well as
  appropriate ex officio members from ISOC and IETF leadership.  The
  IAOC shall be accountable to the IETF community for the
  effectiveness, efficiency, and transparency of the IASA.

  The IASA consists initially of a single full-time ISOC employee, the
  IETF Administrative Director (IAD), who is entitled to act on behalf
  of the IASA at the direction of the IAOC.  The IAD is likely to draw
  on financial, legal, and administrative support furnished by ISOC
  support staff or consultants.  Costs for ISOC support staff and



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  consultants are allocated based on actual expenses or on some other
  allocation model determined by consultation between the IAOC and
  ISOC.

  Although the IAD is an ISOC employee, he or she works under the
  direction of the IAOC.  A committee of the IAOC is responsible for
  hiring and firing the IAD, for reviewing the IAD's performance, and
  for setting the compensation of the IAD.  The members of this
  committee are appointed by the IAOC and consist at minimum of the
  ISOC President, the IETF Chair, and one of the Nomcom-appointed IAOC
  members.

  The IAOC determines what IETF administrative functions are to be
  performed, and how or where they should be performed (whether
  internally within the IASA or by outside organizations), so as to
  maintain an optimal balance of functional performance and cost of
  each such function.  The IAOC should document all such decisions, and
  the justification for them, for review by the community.  Each
  function should be reviewed on a regular basis using the assumption
  that, absent such justification, the function is either unnecessary
  or, if necessary, it is overstaffed, rather than using an assumption
  that anything that has been done in the past is still necessary; each
  function should be adjusted as needed given the result of this
  review.

  The IAD is responsible for negotiating and maintaining contracts or
  equivalent instruments with outside organizations, and for providing
  any coordination necessary to make sure that the IETF administrative
  support functions are covered properly.  All functions, whether
  contracted to outside organizations or performed internally within
  the IASA, must be clearly specified and documented with well-defined
  deliverables, service level agreements, and transparent accounting
  for the cost of such functions.

  The IASA is responsible for managing all intellectual property rights
  (IPR), including but not limited to trademarks, and copyrights that
  belong to the IETF.  The IASA is also responsible for managing the
  ownership, registration, and administration of relevant domain names.
  The IASA is responsible for undertaking any and all required actions
  on behalf of the IETF to obtain, protect, and manage the rights that
  the IETF needs to carry out its work.

  If the IASA cannot comply with the procedures described in this
  document for legal, accounting, or practical reasons, the IAOC shall
  report that fact to the community, along with the variant procedure
  that the IAOC intends to follow.  If the problem is a long-term one,
  the IAOC shall ask the IETF to update this document to reflect the
  changed procedure.



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3.1.  IAD Responsibilities

  The IAD is responsible for working with the IAOC and others to
  understand the administrative requirements of the IETF, and for
  managing the IASA to meet those needs.  This includes determining the
  structure of the IASA effort, establishing an operating budget,
  negotiating contracts with service providers, managing the business
  relationship with those providers, and establishing mechanisms to
  track their performance.  The IAD may also manage other contractors
  or ISOC employees (such as support staff) as necessary, when such
  contractors or employees are engaged in IASA-related work.

  The IAD is responsible for running the IASA in an open and
  transparent manner, and for producing regular monthly, quarterly, and
  annual financial and operational updates for IAOC and IETF community
  review.

  The IAD is responsible for administering the IETF finances, for
  managing separate financial accounts for the IASA, and for
  establishing and administering the IASA budget.  The IAD (with IAOC
  approval, as appropriate) should have signing authority consistent
  with carrying out IASA work effectively, efficiently and
  independently, taking into account ISOC's financial and approval
  controls.  If there are any problems regarding the level of financial
  approval granted to the IAD, the IAOC and ISOC shall work out a
  policy that is mutually agreeable, and they shall do so within a
  reasonable time frame.

  The IAD negotiates service contracts, with input, as appropriate,
  from other bodies, including legal advice, and with review, as
  appropriate, by the IAOC.  The IAOC should establish guidelines for
  what level of review is expected based on contract type, size, cost,
  or duration.  ISOC executes contracts on behalf of the IASA, after
  whatever review ISOC requires to ensure that the contracts meet
  ISOC's legal and financial guidelines.

  The IAD shall ensure that contracts entered into by ISOC on behalf of
  the IASA and/or the IETF (an "IASA Contract") that provide for the
  creation, development, modification, or storage of any data
  (including, without limitation, any data relating to IETF membership,
  documents, archives, mailing lists, correspondence, financial
  records, personnel records and the like) ("Data"), grant to ISOC the
  perpetual, irrevocable right, on behalf of IASA and IETF, to use,
  display, distribute, reproduce, modify and create derivatives of such
  Data.  ISOC will permit IASA and its designee(s) to have sole control
  and custodianship of such Data, and ISOC will not utilize or access
  such Data in connection with any ISOC function other than IETF
  without the written consent of the IAD.



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  The IAD shall ensure that personal data collected for legitimate
  purposes of the IASA are protected appropriately; at minimum, such
  data must be protected to a degree consistent with relevant
  legislation and applicable privacy policies.

  If an IASA Contract provides for the creation, development, or
  modification of any software (including, without limitation, any
  search tools, indexing tools, and the like) ("Developed Software"),
  then the IAD shall, whenever reasonable and practical, ensure that
  such contract either (a) grants ownership of such Developed Software
  to ISOC, or (b) grants ISOC a perpetual, irrevocable right, on behalf
  of IASA and IETF, to use, display, distribute, reproduce, modify, and
  create derivatives of such Software (including, without limitation,
  pursuant to an open source style license).  It is preferred that
  Developed Software be provided and licensed for IASA and IETF use in
  source code form, with no ongoing payments.  ISOC will permit the
  IASA and its designee(s) to have sole control and custodianship of
  such Developed Software.  The foregoing rights are not required in
  the case of off-the-shelf or other commercially-available software
  that is not developed at the expense of ISOC.

  If an IASA Contract relates to the licensing of third-party software,
  the IAD shall ensure that such license expressly permits use of such
  software for and on behalf of the IASA and/or the IETF, as
  applicable, and that such license is transferable in accordance with
  the provisions of Section 7 (Removability).

  Notwithstanding the foregoing, the IAD can enter into different terms
  if doing so is in the best interest of the IETF and upon approval of
  the IAOC.

  The IAD and IAOC are responsible for making all business decisions
  regarding the IASA.  In particular, the ISOC Board of Trustees shall
  not have direct influence over the choice of IASA contractors or IETF
  meeting sponsors.  This restriction is meant to enforce the
  separation between fund-raising and the actual operation of the
  standards process.

  The IAD prepares an annual budget, which is subject to review and
  approval by the IAOC.  The IAD is responsible for presenting this
  budget to the ISOC Board of Trustees, as part of ISOC's annual
  financial planning process.  As described elsewhere in this document,
  the IAOC is responsible for ensuring the budget's suitability for
  meeting the IETF community's administrative needs, but the IAOC does
  not bear fiduciary responsibility for ISOC.  The ISOC Board of
  Trustees therefore needs to review and understand the budget and
  planned activity in enough detail to carry out its fiduciary
  responsibility properly.  The IAD is responsible for managing this



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  process of review and approval.  The IAD sees to it that the IASA
  publishes its complete approved budget to the IETF community each
  year.

3.2.  IAOC Responsibilities

  The IAOC's role is to provide appropriate direction to the IAD, to
  review the IAD's regular reports, and to oversee IASA functions to
  ensure that the administrative needs of the IETF community are being
  properly met.  The IAOC's mission is not to be engaged in the day-
  to-day administrative work of the IASA, but rather to provide
  appropriate direction, oversight, and approval.

  Therefore, the IAOC's responsibilities are as follows:

  o  To select the IAD and to provide high-level review and direction
     for his or her work.  This task should be handled by a sub-
     committee, as described above.

  o  To review the IAD's plans and contracts to ensure that they will
     meet the administrative needs of the IETF.

  o  To track whether the IASA functions are meeting the IETF
     community's administrative needs, and to work with the IAD to
     determine a plan for corrective action if they are not.

  o  To review the IAD's budget proposals to ensure that they will meet
     the IETF's needs, and to review the IAD's regular financial
     reports.

  o  To ensure that the IASA is run in a transparent and accountable
     manner.  Although the day-to-day work should be delegated to the
     IAD and others, the IAOC is responsible for ensuring that IASA
     finances and operational status are tracked appropriately, and
     that monthly, quarterly, and annual financial and operational
     reports are published to the IETF community.

  o  To designate, in consultation with the IAB and the IESG, the
     person or people who carry out the tasks that other IETF process
     documents say are carried out by the IETF Executive Director.

  The IAOC's role is to direct and review, not to perform, the work of
  the IAD and IASA.  The IAOC holds periodic teleconferences and face-
  to-face meetings as needed to carry out the IAOC's duties efficiently
  and effectively.






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  If there is no IAD or if the IAD is unavailable, the IAOC may
  temporarily assign the IAD's duties to individual members of the
  IAOC.

3.3.  Relationship of the IAOC to Existing IETF Leadership

  The IAOC is directly accountable to the IETF community for the
  performance of the IASA.  However, the nature of the IAOC's work
  involves treating the IESG and IAB as major internal customers of the
  administrative support services.  The IAOC and the IAD should not
  consider their work successful unless the IESG and IAB are also
  satisfied with the administrative support that the IETF is receiving.

3.4.  IAOC Decision Making

  The IAOC attempts to reach consensus on all decisions.  If the IAOC
  cannot achieve a consensus decision, then the IAOC may decide by
  voting.

  The IAOC decides the details about its decision-making rules,
  including its rules for quorum, conflict of interest, and breaking of
  ties.  These rules shall be made public.

  All IAOC decisions shall be recorded in IAOC minutes, and IAOC
  minutes shall be published in a timely fashion.

3.5.  Review and Appeal of IAD and IAOC Decision

  The IAOC is directly accountable to the IETF community for the
  performance of the IASA.  In order to achieve this, the IAOC and IAD
  will ensure that guidelines are developed for regular operational
  decision making.  Where appropriate, these guidelines should be
  developed with public input.  In all cases, they must be made public.

  If a member of the IETF community questions whether a decision or
  action of the IAD or the IAOC has been undertaken in accordance with
  IETF BCPs or IASA operational guidelines, or questions whether the
  IASA has created and maintained appropriate guidelines, he or she may
  ask the IAOC for a formal review of the decision or action.

  The request for review should be addressed to the IAOC chair and
  should include a description of the decision or action to be
  reviewed, an explanation of how, in the requestor's opinion, the
  decision or action violates the BCPs or operational guidelines, and a
  suggestion for how the situation could be rectified.  All requests
  for review shall be posted publicly, and the IAOC is expected to
  respond to these requests within a reasonable period, typically
  within 90 days.  It is up to the IAOC to determine what type of



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  review and response is required, based on the nature of the review
  request.  Based on the results of the review, the IAOC may choose to
  overturn their own decision, to change their operational guidelines
  to prevent further misunderstandings, to take other action as
  appropriate, or just to publish the review result and take no other
  action.

  If a member of the community is not satisfied with the IAOC's
  response to his or her review request, he or she may escalate the
  issue by appealing the decision or action to the IAB, using the
  appeals procedures outlined in RFC 2026 [RFC2026].  If he or she is
  not satisfied with the IAB response, he or she can escalate the issue
  to the ISOC Board of Trustees, as described in RFC 2026.

  The reviewing body (the IAB or ISOC Board of Trustees) shall review
  the decision of the IAD or IAOC to determine whether it was made in
  accordance with existing BCPs and operational guidelines.  As a
  result of this review, the reviewing body may recommend to the
  community that the BCPs governing IAOC actions should be changed.
  The reviewing body may also advise the IAOC to modify existing
  operational guidelines to avoid similar issues in the future and/or
  it may advise the IAOC to re-consider their decision or action.  It
  may also recommend that no action be taken, based on the review.

  In exceptional cases, when no other recourse seems reasonable, the
  reviewing body may overturn or reverse a non-binding decision or
  action of the IAOC.  This should be done only after careful
  consideration and consultation with the IAOC regarding the
  ramifications of this action.  In no circumstances may the IAB or
  ISOC Board of Trustees overturn a decision of the IAOC that involves
  a binding contract or overturn a personnel-related action (such as
  hiring, firing, promotion, demotion, performance reviews, salary
  adjustments, etc.).

4.  IAOC Membership, Selection and Accountability

  The IAOC shall consist of eight voting members who shall be selected
  as follows:

  o  Two members appointed by the IETF Nominations Committee (NomCom);

  o  One member appointed by the IESG;

  o  One member appointed by the IAB;

  o  One member appointed by the ISOC Board of Trustees;

  o  The IETF Chair (ex officio);



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  o  The IAB Chair (ex officio);

  o  The ISOC President/CEO (ex officio).

  The IETF Administrative Director also serves, ex officio, as a non-
  voting member of the IAOC.

  The IAOC may also choose to invite liaisons from other groups, but it
  is not required to do so; the IAOC decides whether to have a liaison
  to any particular group.  Any such liaisons are non-voting.
  Responsibility for selecting the individual filling a particular
  liaison role lies with the body from which the IAOC has requested the
  liaison.

  Subject to paragraph 2 of Section 4.1, appointed members of the IAOC
  serve two-year terms.  IAOC terms normally end at the end of the
  first IETF meeting of a year.

  The members of the IAOC shall select one of its appointed voting
  members to serve as the chair of the IAOC.  The term of the IAOC
  chair shall be one year from the time of selection or the remaining
  time of his or her tenure on the IAOC, whichever is less.  An
  individual may serve any number of terms as chair, if selected by the
  IAOC.

  The Chair serves at the pleasure of the IAOC and may be removed from
  that position at any time by a vote of 2/3 of the voting IAOC
  members, not counting the IAOC chair.

  The chair of the IAOC shall have the authority to manage the
  activities and meetings of the IAOC.

  The two NomCom-appointed IAOC members are chosen using the procedures
  described in RFC 3777 [RFC3777].  For the initial IAOC selection, the
  IESG will provide the list of desired qualifications for these
  positions; in later years, the IAOC will provide this qualification
  list.  The IESG will serve as the confirming body for IAOC
  appointments by the NomCom.

  While there are no hard rules regarding how the IAB and the IESG
  should select members of the IAOC, such appointees need not be
  current IAB or IESG members (and probably should not be, if only to
  avoid overloading the existing leadership).  The IAB and IESG should
  choose people with some knowledge of contracts and financial
  procedures, who are familiar with the administrative support needs of
  the IAB, the IESG, or the IETF standards process.  The IAB and IESG
  should follow a fairly open process for these selections, perhaps
  with an open call for nominations or a period of public comment on



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  the candidates.  The procedure for IAB selection of ISOC Board of
  Trustees [RFC3677] might be a good model for how this could work.
  After the IETF gains some experience with IAOC selection, these
  selection mechanisms should be documented more formally.

  Although the IAB, the IESG, and the ISOC Board of Trustees choose
  some members of the IAOC, those members do not directly represent the
  bodies that chose them.  All members of the IAOC are accountable
  directly to the IETF community.  To receive direct feedback from the
  community, the IAOC holds an open meeting at least once per year at
  an IETF meeting.  This may take the form of an open IAOC plenary or a
  working meeting held during an IETF meeting slot.  The form and
  contents of this meeting are left to the discretion of the IAOC
  Chair.  The IAOC should also consider open mailing lists or other
  means to establish open communication with the community.

  IAOC members are subject to recall in the event that an IAOC member
  abrogates his or her duties or acts against the best interests of the
  IETF community.  Any appointed IAOC member, including any appointed
  by the IAB, IESG, or ISOC Board of Trustees, may be recalled using
  the recall procedure defined in RFC 3777 [RFC3777].  IAOC members are
  not, however, subject to recall by the bodies that appointed them.

  If a vacancy occurs among the appointed members, this is filled by
  the appointing body for that position according to its procedures.

  The IAOC members shall not receive any compensation from the IASA,
  ISOC, or IETF for their services as members of the IAOC.

  The IAOC shall set and publish rules covering reimbursement of
  expenses, and such reimbursement shall generally be for exceptional
  cases only.

4.1.  Initial IAOC Selection

  The initial IAOC selection will start after this document is approved
  as a BCP by the IESG and accepted by the ISOC Board of Trustees.  The
  IESG, IAB, and ISOC Board of Trustees should make their selections
  within 45 days of BCP approval, and the NomCom should make their
  selections as quickly as possible while complying with the documented
  NomCom procedures.  The IAOC will become active as soon as a majority
  (three or more) of the appointed members have been selected.

  Initially, the IESG and the ISOC Board of Trustees will make one-year
  appointments, the IAB will make a two-year appointment, and the
  NomCom will make one one-year appointment and one two-year
  appointment.  This will establish a pattern in which approximately
  half of the IAOC is selected each year.



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5.  IASA Funding

  The IASA manages money from three sources:

  1.  IETF meeting revenues;

  2.  Designated donations to ISOC (both monetary and in-kind);

  3.  Other ISOC support.

  Note that the goal is to achieve and maintain a viable IETF support
  function based on available funding sources.  The IETF community
  expects the IAOC and ISOC to work together to attain that goal.

5.1.  Cost Center Accounting

  Funds managed by the IASA shall be accounted for in a separate set of
  general ledger accounts within the IASA Cost Center.  In the
  remainder of this document, these general ledger accounts are termed
  "IASA accounts".  A periodic summary of the IASA accounts shall be
  reported in the form of standard financial statements that reflect
  the income, expenses, assets, and liabilities of the IASA.

  The IAOC and ISOC shall agree upon and publish procedures for
  reporting and auditing of these accounts.

  Note that ISOC in consultation with the IAOC can decide to structure
  the IASA accounting differently in the future within the constraints
  outlined in Section 7.

5.2.  IETF Meeting Revenues

  Meeting revenues are an important source of funds for IETF functions.
  The IAD, in consultation with the IAOC, sets the meeting fees as part
  of the budgeting process.  All meeting revenues shall be credited to
  the appropriate IASA accounts.

5.3.  Designated Donations, Monetary and In-Kind

  Donations are an essential component of funding.  The IASA undertakes
  no direct fund-raising activities.  This establishes a practice of
  separating IETF administrative and standards activities from fund-
  raising activities, and it helps ensure that no undue influence may
  be ascribed to those from whom funds are raised.

  ISOC shall create and maintain appropriate structures and programs to
  coordinate donations intended to support the work of the IETF, and
  these shall include mechanisms for both in-kind and direct



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  contributions to the work supported by IASA.  Since ISOC will be the
  sole entity through whom donations may be made to the work of the
  IETF, ISOC shall ensure that those programs are not unduly
  restrictive.  ISOC shall maintain programs that allow for designated
  donations to the IETF.

  In-kind resources are owned by the ISOC on behalf of the IETF and
  shall be reported and accounted for in a manner that identifies them
  as such.  Designated monetary donations shall be credited to the
  appropriate IASA accounts.

5.4.  Other ISOC Support

  Other ISOC support shall be based on the budget process as specified
  in Section 6, which includes deciding when ISOC monetary support is
  to be credited to the IASA accounts.

  All ISOC support, no matter how it is delivered, shall be reported in
  the IASA financial reports.

5.5.  IASA Expenses

  The IASA exists to support the IETF.  Funds designated for the IASA
  shall be used solely to support IETF activities and for no other
  purposes.

5.6.  Operating Reserve

  As an initial guideline and in normal operating circumstances, the
  IASA should have an operating reserve for its activities sufficient
  to cover 6 months of non-meeting operational expenses, plus twice the
  recent average for meeting contract guarantees.  The IASA, in
  cooperation with ISOC, shall establish detailed targets for a reserve
  fund to cover normal operating expenses and meeting expenses, in
  accordance with prudent planning and as part of the budget process.

  The IASA expects ISOC to use reasonable efforts to build and provide
  that operational reserve, through whatever mechanisms ISOC deems
  appropriate.

  If the IASA accounts accumulate a surplus, ISOC may count that as
  part of the reserve.









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6.  IASA Budget Process

  While the IASA sets a budget for the IETF's administrative needs, its
  budget process clearly needs to be closely coordinated with ISOC's.
  The specific timeline shall be established each year by IASA and
  ISOC.  As an example, a general annual timeline for budgeting is:

  July 1: The IAD presents a budget proposal (prepared in consultation
     with ISOC staff) for the following fiscal year, with 3-year
     projections, to the IAOC.

  August 1: The IAOC approves the budget proposal for IETF purposes,
     after any appropriate revisions.  As the ISOC President is part of
     the IAOC, the IAOC should have a preliminary indication of how the
     budget will fit with ISOC's own budgetary expectations.  The
     budget proposal is passed to the ISOC Board of Trustees for review
     in accordance with its fiduciary duty.

  September 1: The ISOC Board of Trustees approves the budget proposal
     provisionally.  During the next 2 months, the budget may be
     revised to be integrated in ISOC's overall budgeting process.

  November 1: Final budget to the ISOC Board for approval.

  The dates described above are examples and are subject to change.
  They will most likely be modified each year based on the dates of the
  second and third IETF meetings of that year.  They also need to be
  synchronized with the ISOC budgeting process.

  The IAD shall provide monthly accountings of expenses and shall
  update expenditures forecasts every quarter.  This may require
  adjustment of the IASA budget.  If so, the revised budget will need
  to be approved by the IAOC, the ISOC President/CEO and, if necessary,
  the ISOC Board of Trustees.

7.  ISOC Responsibilities for IASA

  Within ISOC, support for the IASA shall meet the following goals:

  Transparency: The IETF community shall have complete visibility into
     the financial and legal structure of the ISOC activities that are
     related to, but not part of, the IASA standards support activity.
     In particular, a detailed budget for the entire related ISOC
     activity, quarterly financial reports, and audited annual
     financial reports shall all be available to the IETF community.
     In addition, key contract material and MOUs shall also be publicly
     available, subject to any reasonable confidentiality obligations
     approved by the IAOC.



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  Unification: As part of this arrangement, ISOC's sponsorship of the
     RFC Editor, IAB and IESG shall be managed as part of the IASA
     under the IAOC.

  Independence: The IASA shall be distinct from other ISOC activities.
     ISOC shall support the IASA through the mechanisms specified in
     this document and its successors.

  Support: ISOC shall work with the IAD and IAOC to ensure appropriate
     financial support for the IASA, following the mechanisms described
     in this document and its successors.

  Removability: While there is no current plan to transfer the legal
     and financial home of the IASA to another corporation, the IASA
     shall be structured to enable a clean transition in the event that
     the IETF community decides that such a transition is required and
     documents its consensus in a formal document (currently called a
     BCP).  In such a case, the IAOC shall give ISOC a minimum of six
     months' notice before the transition formally occurs.  During that
     period, the IETF and ISOC shall work together to create a smooth
     transition that does not result in any significant service outages
     or missed IETF meetings.  All contracts executed by ISOC on behalf
     of the IASA shall either include a clause allowing termination by
     ISOC with six months notice, or be transferable to another
     corporation in the event that the IASA transitions away from ISOC.
     To the extent allowed by law, any balance in the IASA accounts,
     any IETF-specific intellectual property rights, and any IETF-
     specific data and tools shall also transition to the new entity.
     Other terms shall be negotiated between the IETF and ISOC.

  Within the constraints outlined above, all other details of how to
  structure this activity within ISOC (for instance, as a cost center,
  a division, or an affiliate) shall be determined by ISOC in
  consultation with the IAOC.

8.  Security Considerations

  This document describes the structure of the IETF's administrative
  support activity.  It introduces no security considerations for the
  Internet.

9.  IANA Considerations

  This document has no IANA considerations in the traditional sense.
  However, some of the information in this document may affect how the
  IETF standards process interfaces with the IANA, so the IANA may be
  interested in the contents.




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10.  Acknowledgements

  The editors would like to thank everyone who provided feedback on
  this document or any of its predecessors back to the original
  "Scenario O" e-mail message.  In particular, the editors would like
  to thank: Bernard Aboba, Jari Arkko, Fred Baker, Scott Bradner, Scott
  Brim, Brian Carpenter, Jorge Contreras, Dave Crocker, Elwyn Davies,
  Spencer Dawkins, Avri Doria, Tony Hain, Joel Halpern, Ted Hardie, Sam
  Hartman, Russel Housley, Geoff Huston, Jeff Hutzelman, John Klensin,
  Valdis Kletnieks, Eliot Lear, Henrik Levkowetz, Kurt Erik Lindqvist,
  John Loughney.  Carl Malamud, Allison Mankin, Tom Petch, Eric
  Rescorla, Pete Resnick, Glenn Ricart, Jonne Soininen, Lynn St. Amour,
  and Michael StJohns.

  Special thanks are due to Leslie Daigle and Margaret Wasserman, who
  wrote the original "Scenario O" message and edited the earliest
  versions of this document.

  Special thanks are also due to Henrik Levkowetz for kindly
  volunteering to maintain the issue tracking system associated with
  this document.

  Last, special thanks are due to Harald Alvestrand, for leading the
  search for consensus on the IETF mailing list.

  No doubt the above list is incomplete.  We apologize to anyone whom
  we left out.

  This document was written using the xml2rfc tool described in RFC
  2629 [RFC2629].

11.  References

11.1.  Normative References

  [RFC2026]  Bradner, S., "The Internet Standards Process -- Revision
             3", BCP 9, RFC 2026, October 1996.

  [RFC3716]  IAB Advisory Committee, "The IETF in the Large:
             Administration and Execution", RFC 3716, March 2004.

  [RFC3777]  Galvin, J., "IAB and IESG Selection, Confirmation, and
             Recall Process: Operation of the Nominating and Recall
             Committees", BCP 10, RFC 3777, June 2004.







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11.2.  Informative References

  [ISOC]     Internet Society, "Internet Society By-Laws", February
             2001,
             <http://www.isoc.org/isoc/general/trustees/bylaws.shtml>.

  [RFC2031]  Huizer, E., "IETF-ISOC relationship", RFC 2031, October
             1996.

  [RFC2629]  Rose, M., "Writing I-Ds and RFCs using XML", RFC 2629,
             June 1999.

  [RFC2850]  Internet Architecture Board and B. Carpenter, "Charter of
             the Internet Architecture Board (IAB)", BCP 39, RFC 2850,
             May 2000.

  [RFC3233]  Hoffman, P. and S. Bradner, "Defining the IETF", BCP 58,
             RFC 3233, February 2002.

  [RFC3677]  Daigle, L. and Internet Architecture Board, "IETF ISOC
             Board of Trustee Appointment Procedures", BCP 77, RFC
             3677, December 2003.

  [RFC3710]  Alvestrand, H., "An IESG charter", RFC 3710, February
             2004.

Authors' Addresses

  Rob Austein (editor)
  Internet Systems Consortium
  950 Charter Street
  Redwood City, CA  94063
  USA

  EMail: [email protected]


  Bert Wijnen (editor)
  Lucent Technologies
  Schagen 33
  3461 GL Linschoten
  NL

  Phone: +31-348-407-775
  EMail: [email protected]






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Full Copyright Statement

  Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2005).

  This document is subject to the rights, licenses and restrictions
  contained in BCP 78, and except as set forth therein, the authors
  retain all their rights.

  This document and the information contained herein are provided on an
  "AS IS" basis and THE CONTRIBUTOR, THE ORGANIZATION HE/SHE REPRESENTS
  OR IS SPONSORED BY (IF ANY), THE INTERNET SOCIETY AND THE INTERNET
  ENGINEERING TASK FORCE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED,
  INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTY THAT THE USE OF THE
  INFORMATION HEREIN WILL NOT INFRINGE ANY RIGHTS OR ANY IMPLIED
  WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

Intellectual Property

  The IETF takes no position regarding the validity or scope of any
  Intellectual Property Rights or other rights that might be claimed to
  pertain to the implementation or use of the technology described in
  this document or the extent to which any license under such rights
  might or might not be available; nor does it represent that it has
  made any independent effort to identify any such rights.  Information
  on the procedures with respect to rights in RFC documents can be
  found in BCP 78 and BCP 79.

  Copies of IPR disclosures made to the IETF Secretariat and any
  assurances of licenses to be made available, or the result of an
  attempt made to obtain a general license or permission for the use of
  such proprietary rights by implementers or users of this
  specification can be obtained from the IETF on-line IPR repository at
  http://www.ietf.org/ipr.

  The IETF invites any interested party to bring to its attention any
  copyrights, patents or patent applications, or other proprietary
  rights that may cover technology that may be required to implement
  this standard.  Please address the information to the IETF at ietf-
  [email protected].

Acknowledgement

  Funding for the RFC Editor function is currently provided by the
  Internet Society.







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