Hi Jari,
Here's is a draft about improving the ISOC Fellowship programme to
attract people from under-represented regions into the IETF. The
draft builds upon the ISOC work, proposing adjustments and additional
efforts, with the goal of enabling more sustained and active
participation by contributors from under-represented regions.
In a blog article ( http://www.ietf.org/blog/2013/04/diversity/ ), it
is mentioned that:
"The design team will present their recommendations to the community,
and engage in the discussion. Recommendations with community support
will be taken forward."
The draft only makes suggestions instead of recommendations. I am
copying this message to ietf@xxxxxxxx so that the community can
comment about the draft.
Regards,
S. Moonesamy
S. Moonesamy
Expires: April 13, 2014 October 10, 2013
Improving the ISOC Fellowship programme to attract people
from under-represented regions into the IETF
draft-ddt-fellowship-03
1. Introduction
The IETF Chair set up a Diversity Design Team in July, 2013 to
understand the diversity problem and suggest solutions to make the
IETF more inclusive. There is already an ISOC Fellowship programme
to the IETF for participants from emerging regions. The Fellowship
to the IETF helps to increase the diversity of inputs to, and global
awareness of the IETF's vital work. This document builds upon the
ISOC work, proposing adjustments and additional efforts, with the
goal of enabling more sustained and active participation by
contributors from under-represented regions.
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 better align the ISOC
Fellowship programme with the expectations of the IETF Community 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's efforts are encompassed by a basic Fellowship
Programme and a Returning 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 a face-to-
face IETF meeting promotes a stronger understanding of the standards
process, lays the foundation for active involvement in IETF work, and
facilitates personal networking with others that have similar
technical interests [FEL].
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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
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
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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
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.
A Returning Fellowship award will not be given to the same individual
twice in one calendar year.
3. Expectations of the IETF Community
The current ISOC Fellowship Programme is primarily useful for initial
introductions to IETF activities and culture. However the goal in
the IETF, itself, is for continuing and active participation, which
goes considerably beyond introductions. Moving from introduction to
participation requires additional effort.. 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].
However, 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 further encourage IETF participation from an
under-represented sector. It is unclear how an ISOC Fellow can build
upon the initial -- but limited -- experiences of the basic Programme
and Returning Fellow Programme, to achieve the Fellow's technical
leadership potential, through on-going, active participation in the
IETF.
4. Suggestions
4.1. Selection criteria for the basic Programme and Returning Fellow
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Programme
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.
- Has been actively and constructively participating in the IETF
for at least six months.
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 under-represented 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 contributions made 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
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 under-
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represented 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, Adrian Farrel, Roque
Gagliano, Vinayak Hegde and Kathleen Moriarty for contributing to the
discussions about participation from emerging countries. Thanks to
Dave Crocker and Stephen Farrell for their substantial contributions
to improve the document.
7. References
[FEL] Internet Society, About the Fellowship, Accessed 4 October,
2013, <http://www.internetsociety.org/what-we-do/education-
and-leadership-programmes/ietf-and-ois-programmes/internet-
society-fellowship-0>
[RET] Internet Society, Returning Fellowship to the IETF
Programme, Accessed 4 October, 2013,
<http://www.internetsociety.org/what-we-do/education-and-
leadership-programmes/ietf-and-ois-programmes/internet-
society-fellowship-4>
[SEL] Internet Society, Selection Criteria for Fellowships to the
IETF, Accessed 4 October, 2013,
<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
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S. Moonesamy
Email: sm+ietf@xxxxxxxxxxxx
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