Hello,
Here is a draft which attempts to address the challenge of attracting
people from emerging regions who can contribute to IETF work into the
IETF. Please note that I do not have a strong opinion about the suggestions.
Regards,
S. Moonesamy
S. Moonesamy
Expires: April 4, 2014 October 1, 2013
Attracting people from emerging regions into the IETF
draft-ddt-fellowship-01
1. Introduction
The IETF Chair set up a Diversity Design Team in July, 2013 to
determine how to address issues such as geographic diversity. There
is already an ISOC Fellowship programme to the IETF for participants
from emerging regions. This document attempts to address the
challenge of attracting people from emerging regions who can
contribute to IETF work into the IETF.
Section 2 lists the objectives of the existing ISOC Fellowship
programme and the selection criteria. The current programme does
help new participants to establish an initial face-to-face contact.
However, long-term benefit requires helping these participants to
engage in the full range of IETF interactions. The most effective
way to contribute to the IETF is through on-going active
participation and by reviewing and commenting about working group
drafts. There are suggestions in Section 4 to align the ISOC
Fellowship programme with the expectations of the IETF by having
selection criteria that encourages active IETF participation, and by
having an evaluation panel with the expertise to evaluate IETF
contributions.
2. Existing support for participants from emerging regions
2.1. Objectives of the ISOC Fellowship programme
The Internet Society has provided significant financial support given
that attendance by technologists from emerging and developing
economies is currently limited [FEL]. It is considered that actually
attending an event promotes a stronger understanding of the standards
process, encourages active involvement in IETF work, and facilitates
personal networking with others that have similar technical interests
[FEL].
The main purpose [FEL] of the ISOC Fellowship programme is to:
- Raise global awareness about the IETF and its work.
- Foster greater understanding of, and participation in, the work
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of the IETF by technologists from emerging and developing
economies.
- Provide an opportunity for networking with individuals from
around the world with similar technical interests.
- Identify and foster potential future leaders from emerging and
developing economies
- Demonstrate the Internet community's commitment to fostering
greater global participation in Internet Forums such as the
IETF.
The goals of the ISOC Returning fellowship programme [RET] are to:
- Provide an opportunity for highly committed former Fellows to
return to the IETF to advance specific standards work.
- More fully integrate technologists from emerging and developing
economies into the IETF.
- Advance the technical leadership potential of individuals from
emerging and developing economies.
- Provide immediate value to a working group by participating in
scribing the working group meeting and contributing to the
meeting minutes.
2.2. Selection criteria for the ISOC Fellowship programme
Some of the requirements [SEL] for qualifying for ISOC Fellowship
programme are:
- Hold a university-level computer science, information
technology, or similar degree, or can demonstrate similar and
relevant work experience.
- Be employed in a technical or technical management capacity with
a data network provider (including university networks), a
technology vendor, a local technical association, or other
similar organisation OR be a university-level computer
science/information technology professor, lecturer, or student
currently undertaking research in one or more areas of current
IETF standardisation work. Students must be enrolled in a
graduate-level program (Masters or Ph.D).
- Possess a strong understanding of how the IETF relates to and
impacts their work or area of study and demonstrate how specific
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areas of current IETF work are relevant to their pursuits.
Some of the attributes [SEL] that reflect favorably on the
application are:
- Involvement in one or more regional data networking
organisations, such as regional operators groups
- Having actively participated in the work of an IETF Working
Group through the mailing lists.
3. Expectations of the IETF
The objectives of the fellowship are less well aligned with the
expectations of the IETF as it focuses on meeting attendance by
technologists from emerging and developing economies and awareness of
the IETF instead of active participation in the IETF. Although
attending IETF meetings fosters an understanding of the work of the
IETF it does not ensure active participation. Active participation
in the work of an IETF Working Group is listed as an advantage
instead of a requirement for the fellowship [SEL].
The existing selection criteria puts an emphasis on university-level
qualifications and the academic interests of the applicant [SEL]. It
has been mentioned in discussions about academic participation that
the IETF filters out proposals from researchers simply because they
just do not fit in standardization work [DIN].
The Returning Fellowship programme is a laudable initiative by the
Internet Society to encourage IETF participation from emerging
regions. It is unclear how the goals to integrate technologists from
emerging regions into the IETF or advance the technical leadership
potential of individuals from emerging regions are pursued.
4. Suggestions
4.1. Selection criteria for the fellowship
The most effective way to contribute to the IETF is through active
participation and by reviewing and commenting about working group
drafts [FAA]. It is proposed that the applicant fulfills the
following criteria:
- Be proficient in English.
- Can be objectively said to have actively participated in IETF
activities for more than six months, and subjectively, such that
those contributions are considered useful.
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For example, reviewing drafts, commenting on IETF Last Calls,
writing code for drafts or taking part in interop testing are
fine ways to be seen to have participated. Candidates whose
contributions are considered more useful should be preferred
over those who are less useful. Judging utility for
contributions requires knowledge of the specific field.
- Resident of a country in an emerging region.
4.2. Evaluation panel
It is suggested to include Area Directors or Working Group Chairs on
the evaluation panel [FAS]. These people will bring in the expertise
to evaluate the reviews performed by the applicant. They can also
determine whether the applicant has an understanding of the work done
in the IETF. It is suggested that the evaluation panel prioritize
people who have been contributing over time to real IETF work.
4.3. Guidance for applicants
The fellowship is about people who can demonstrate commitment and can
collaborate with other IETF participants to perform IETF work.
Applicants can familiarize themselves with the technologies being
discussed by, for example, implementing the relevant specifications
or evaluating implementations [ACS]. Applicants can ask for advice
on the edu-discuss@xxxxxxxx mailing list [EDU].
4.4. Effectiveness of the fellowship
The effectiveness of the fellowship can be assessed by tracking the
IETF activities of the fellows and doing a follow-up to find out why
fellows drop out.
5. Open Issue
The following is left open as it may require broader feedback.
There were comments to remove the "resident of a country in an
emerging region" suggestion (Section 4.1) so that people from
"developed" regions who would not ordinarily have the means to attend
an IETF meeting are included in the programme.
6. Acknowledgements
The author would like to thank Alejandro Acosta, Dave Crocker, Adrian
Farrel, Stephen Farrell, Roque Gagliano, Vinayak Hegde and Kathleen
Moriarty for contributing to the discussions about participation from
emerging countries.
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7. References
[FEL] <http://www.internetsociety.org/what-we-do/education-and-
leadership-programmes/ietf-and-ois-programmes/internet-
society-fellowship-0>
[RET] <http://www.internetsociety.org/what-we-do/education-and-
leadership-programmes/ietf-and-ois-programmes/internet-
society-fellowship-4>
[SEL] <http://www.internetsociety.org/what-we-do/education-and-
leadership-programmes/ietf-and-ois-programmes/internet-
society-fellowship/selection-criteria>
[DIN] <http://www.ietf.org/mail-
archive/web/diversity/current/msg00344.html>
[FAA] <http://www.ietf.org/mail-
archive/web/diversity/current/msg00339.html>
[FAS] <http://www.ietf.org/mail-
archive/web/diversity/current/msg00337.html>
[ACS] <http://www.ietf.org/mail-
archive/web/diversity/current/msg00355.html>
[EDU] <https://www.ietf.org/mailman/listinfo/edu-discuss>
8. Author's Address
S. Moonesamy
Email: sm+ietf@xxxxxxxxxxxx
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