Network Working Group L. Daigle Internet-Draft Editor Expires: May 26, 2004 Internet Architecture Board IAB November 26, 2003 IAB Processes for management of liaison relationships draft-iab-liaison-mgt-00 Status of this Memo This document is an Internet-Draft and is in full conformance with all provisions of Section 10 of RFC2026. Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), its areas, and its working groups. Note that other groups may also distribute working documents as Internet- Drafts. Internet-Drafts are draft documents valid for a maximum of six months and may be updated, replaced, or obsoleted by other documents at any time. It is inappropriate to use Internet-Drafts as reference material or to cite them other than as "work in progress." The list of current Internet-Drafts can be accessed at http://www.ietf.org/ietf/1id-abstracts.txt. The list of Internet-Draft Shadow Directories can be accessed at http://www.ietf.org/shadow.html. This Internet-Draft will expire on May 26, 2004. Copyright Notice Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2003). All Rights Reserved. Abstract This document discusses the procedures the IAB uses to select organizations to form and maintain liaison relationships with. It further discusses the expectations that the IAB has of such organizations and of the people assigned to manage those relationships. Daigle & Internet Architecture Board Expires May 26, 2004 [Page 1] Internet-Draft IAB Liaison Management November 2003 Table of Contents 1. Liaison Relationships and Personnel . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 2. Aspects of Liaisons and Liaison Management . . . . . . . . . . 4 2.1 Liaison Relationships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 2.2 Liaison Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 2.3 Liaison Communications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 3. Summary of IETF Liaison Role Expectations . . . . . . . . . . 6 4. Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 5. Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Authors' Addresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Full Copyright Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Daigle & Internet Architecture Board Expires May 26, 2004 [Page 2] Internet-Draft IAB Liaison Management November 2003 1. Liaison Relationships and Personnel The IETF, as an organization, has the need to engage in joint endeavors with various other formal organizations. For example, as the IETF is one of many Standards Development Organizations, or SDOs. Increasingly, SDOs find it necessary to communicate and coordinate their activities involving Internet-related technologies, to avoid overlaps and to manage interactions between their groups. They do this in many ways: they send people to each other's meetings, they exchange email and more formal notes call "liaison statements", and they hold formal meetings. These relationships are generically referred to as liaison relationships. Often, a person is designated to manage a "liaison relationship"; that person is generally called the "IETF liaison" to that organization. The IETF has chartered the Internet Architecture Board to manage liaison relationships. In its charter [2], the IAB states that The IAB acts as representative of the interests of the IETF and the Internet Society in technical liaison relationships with other organizations concerned with standards and other technical and organizational issues relevant to the world-wide Internet. Liaisons are kept as informal as possible and must be of demonstrable value in improving the quality of IETF specifications. Individual members of the IETF are appointed as liaisons to other organizations by the IAB or IESG as appropriate. Daigle & Internet Architecture Board Expires May 26, 2004 [Page 3] Internet-Draft IAB Liaison Management November 2003 2. Aspects of Liaisons and Liaison Management 2.1 Liaison Relationships A liaison relationship is set up when it is mutually agreeable and needed, in the view of the other organization, the IAB, and the IETF participants conducting the work. There is no set process or form for this; the IETF participants and the peer organization approach the IAB, and after discussion come to an agreement to form the relationship. The IAB's expectation in setting up the relationship is that there will be a mutual exchange of views, resulting in documents developed in both organizations. If the peer organization wants the IETF to adopt a document, someone from that organization may propose and Internet-Draft following the usual procedures, or an IETF participant may do so. Such work will be accomplished in an IETF working group in the usual manner, chartered and managed by the IESG according to IETF procedures [1]. The peer organization often has different organizational structure and different procedures than the IETF, which will require some flexibility on the part of both organizations to accommodate. The IAB expects that the peer organization will use the relationship carefully, allowing time for the processes it requests to occur and not making unreasonable demands. 2.2 Liaison Manager As described above, most work on mutually interesting topics will be carried out in the usual way within the IETF and the peer organization. Therefore, most communications will be informal in nature (e.g., working group, mailing list discussions, etc). From time to time, it may be important for the peer organization to send a more formal communication, making a request or declaring an official position.To ensure that communications are smooth and the results proper, the IAB requests that any such formal email or liaison statement to an IETF organization, the following be copied: statements@ietf.org, the appropriate working group, the IAB- designated liaison manager, and the relevant area directors. The email will generally be addressed to the area director, if the matter is larger than a single working group, or the working group chair. The function of the liaison manager, or "liaison", is to ensure that communication is maintained, is productive, and is timely. He or she may use any businesslike approach to that necessary, from private communications to public communications, and bringing in other parties as needed. If a communication from a peer organization is addressed to an inappropriate party, such as being sent to the Daigle & Internet Architecture Board Expires May 26, 2004 [Page 4] Internet-Draft IAB Liaison Management November 2003 working group but not copying the AD or being sent to the wrong working group, the liaison manager should redirect or otherwise augment the communication. Since the IAB is ultimately responsible for liaison relationships, anyone who has a problem with one (whether an IETF participant or a person from the peer organization) should first consult the IAB's designated liaison relationship manager, and if that does not result in a satisfactory outcome, the IAB itself. 2.3 Liaison Communications Communications between organizationns use a variety of formal and informal channels. The stated preference of the IETF, which is largely an informal organization, is to use informal channels, as these have historically worked well to expedite matters. In some cases, however, more formal communications are appropriate. In such cases, the established procedures of many organizations use a form known as a "liaison statement". Procedures for sending, managing, and responding to liaison statements are discussed in draft-baker- liaisons. Daigle & Internet Architecture Board Expires May 26, 2004 [Page 5] Internet-Draft IAB Liaison Management November 2003 3. Summary of IETF Liaison Role Expectations While the requirements will certainly vary depending on the nature of the peer organization and the type of joint work being undertaken, the general expectations of a liaison appointed by the IAB are as follows: Attend relevant meetings of the peer organization and report back to the appopriate IETF organization any material updates. Carry any messages from the IETF to the peer organization, when specifically instructed (in this case, the message does "represent the IETF"). Prepare occasional updates -- e.g., to the IAB, an AD, a WG. The target of these updates will generally be identified upon appointment. Ensure that any liaison statement addressed to the IETF reaches the appropriate destination within the IETF, and work to ensure that whatever relevant response from the IETF is created and sent in a timely fashion. Daigle & Internet Architecture Board Expires May 26, 2004 [Page 6] Internet-Draft IAB Liaison Management November 2003 4. Security Considerations The security of the Internet is not threatened by these procedures. Daigle & Internet Architecture Board Expires May 26, 2004 [Page 7] Internet-Draft IAB Liaison Management November 2003 5. Acknowledgements This document was developed as part of a conversation regarding the management of draft-baker-liaisons, and the authors of that document contributed significantly to it. Daigle & Internet Architecture Board Expires May 26, 2004 [Page 8] Internet-Draft IAB Liaison Management November 2003 Normative References [1] Bradner, S., "The Internet Standards Process -- Revision 3", BCP 9, RFC 2026, October 1996. [2] Internet Architecture Board and B. Carpenter, "Charter of the Internet Architecture Board (IAB)", BCP 39, RFC 2850, May 2000. Daigle & Internet Architecture Board Expires May 26, 2004 [Page 9] Internet-Draft IAB Liaison Management November 2003 Informative References Authors' Addresses Leslie Daigle Editor Internet Architecture Board IAB EMail: iab@iab.org Daigle & Internet Architecture Board Expires May 26, 2004 [Page 10] Internet-Draft IAB Liaison Management November 2003 Full Copyright Statement Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2003). All Rights Reserved. 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