Subject: IASA Transition Team update on Secretariat 2005

From: Leslie Daigle <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 21 Jan 2005 18:53:40 -0500

As part of its work to look at potential agreements with service
providers, the IASA Transition Team has been reviewing the
possibilities for IETF secretariat functions for 2005.  As you
have heard, CNRI has committed to running the IETF Secretariat for
2005, as it has done in the past, unless and until a suitable
alternate arrangement is established.

The IASA Transition Team has been informed by CNRI and NeuStar that
discussions are underway to sell Foretec to NeuStar, after which
NeuStar would create a new, non-profit company with the intent of
offering continuing Secretariat services to the IETF with
changed management and under new rules of financial transparency and
management control.  To date, we are unaware of any binding agreements
having been made between CNRI and NeuStar.

The IASA TT observes that this arrangement would have the advantage of
preserving the continuity of the Secretariat operation and ensuring that
both the 2005 meeting schedule and the ongoing support of the IESG and
working groups proceed without interruption.   At the same time, a
very large portion of the goals of the Administrative Restructuring
effort would be accomplished.  Specifically, within the
next few months:

o The IASA operation will be in place as an IETF-controlled activity 
within the Internet Society

o There will be full financial transparency and accountability

o There will be full management accountability

o All future intellectual property will be unequivocally accessible to
the IETF and the community.

Therefore, the Transition Team is favorably inclined to consider
a proposal from NeuStar for continuing Secretariat services under very
specific conditions.

1. This arrangement would be for a limited period of time, after which
the IASA will review the performance and proceed to an open RFP (in
which this new company could reasonably compete)

2. The operating relationship between the IASA and the NeuStar
entity would be based on the IASA-Secretariat relationship
framework described below.

Leslie, for
The IASA Transition Team

--------------

Proposed IASA-Secretariat relationship framework

Upon establishment of the IASA, it (or the appropriate
component of the IASA, as defined by the BCP) will
interact with the organization(s) providing secretariat
services as follows:

1. The IASA, on behalf of the IETF expects to operate under a
written agreement with the provider(s) of IETF secretariat
functions.

2. The IASA will be accountable for all money received and
expended on behalf of the IETF (as described in the IASA
BCP).  This necessarily means that the IASA is responsible
for decisions related to expenditures.  Implementation details
for decision making, requests, and authorization will be
defined in the written agreement(s) between IASA and
the provider(s).

2.1  The IASA will approve new meeting location proposals.

2.2  The IASA will manage proposals for administrative infrastructure
improvements (software, tools requirements and expenditures).

2.3  The IASA will be responsible for maintaining the
IETF administrative work descriptions and assignments,
beyond the existing definition of "secretariat" activities.

3. The IASA will evaluate the performance of the services
and will make decisions for service continuation or termination.

4. In principle, all data and any other IPR created or collected on
behalf of the IETF for secretariat purposes will be made accessible
to the IASA on a regular basis, and the IASA may make that data
available to other parties to perform activities not included in the
secretariat functions.

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