Internet Engineering Task Force S. Moonesamy Internet-Draft 5 October 2023 Intended status: Informational Expires: 7 April 2024 Attracting people from emerging regions into the IETF draft-moonesamy-diversity-attracting-people-00 Abstract In 2013 the IETF Chair set up a Diversity Design Team to determine how to address issues such as geographic diversity. This document attempted to address the challenge of attracting people from emerging regions who can contribute to IETF work into the IETF. Status of This Memo This Internet-Draft is submitted in full conformance with the provisions of BCP 78 and BCP 79. Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). Note that other groups may also distribute working documents as Internet-Drafts. The list of current Internet- Drafts is at https://datatracker.ietf.org/drafts/current/. 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Moonesamy Expires 7 April 2024 [Page 1] Internet-Draft Attracting people October 2023 Table of Contents 1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 2. Support for participants from emerging regions . . . . . . . 2 2.1. Objectives of the ISOC Fellowship programme . . . . . . . 3 2.2. Selection criteria for the ISOC Fellowship programme . . 3 3. Expectations of the IETF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 4. Suggestions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 4.1. Selection criteria for the fellowship . . . . . . . . . . 5 4.2. Evaluation panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 4.3. Guidance for applicants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 4.4. Effectiveness of the fellowship . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 5. Open Issue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 6. IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 7. Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 8. Informative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Author's Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 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 was already an ISOC Fellowship programme to the IETF for participants from emerging regions. This document attempted to address the challenge of attracting people from emerging regions who could contribute to IETF work into the IETF. Section 2 lists the objectives of the ISOC Fellowship programme and the selection criteria. The programme did help new participants to establish an initial face-to-face contact. However, long-term benefit required helping these participants to engage in the full range of IETF interactions. The most effective way to contribute to the IETF was 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 encouraged active IETF participation, and by having an evaluation panel with the expertise to evaluate IETF contributions. The ISOC Fellowship programme to the IETF ended around 2019. 2. Support for participants from emerging regions Moonesamy Expires 7 April 2024 [Page 2] Internet-Draft Attracting people October 2023 2.1. Objectives of the ISOC Fellowship programme The Internet Society's efforts were 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 was limited [FEL]. It was considered that actually attending a face-to- face IETF meeting promoted a stronger understanding of the standards process, laid the foundation for active involvement in IETF work, and facilitated personal networking with others that had similar technical interests [FEL]. The main purpose [FEL] of the ISOC Fellowship programme was 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] were 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 were: Moonesamy Expires 7 April 2024 [Page 3] Internet-Draft Attracting people October 2023 * 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 areas of current IETF work are relevant to their pursuits. Some of the attributes [SEL] that reflect favorably on the application were: * 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 ISOC Fellowship Programme was primarily useful for initial introductions to IETF activities and culture. However the goal in the IETF, itself, was for continuing and active participation, which went considerably beyond introductions. Moving from introduction to participation required additional effort.. Although attending IETF meetings fostered an understanding of the work of the IETF it did not ensure active participation. Active participation in the work of an IETF Working Group was listed as an advantage instead of a requirement for the fellowship "[SEL]. The selection criteria put 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 was a laudable initiative by the Internet Society to further encourage IETF participation from an under-represented sector. It was unclear how an ISOC Fellow could build upon the initial -- but limited -- experiences of the basic Moonesamy Expires 7 April 2024 [Page 4] Internet-Draft Attracting people October 2023 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 fellowship The most effective way to contribute to the IETF was through active participation and by reviewing and commenting about working group drafts [FAA]. It was proposed that the applicant fulfilled 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. * For example, reviewing drafts, commenting on IETF Last Calls, writing code for drafts or taking part in interop testing were fine ways to be seen to have participated. Candidates whose contributions were 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 was 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 was suggested that the evaluation panel prioritize people who have been contributing over time to real IETF work. 4.3. Guidance for applicants The fellowship was about people who can demonstrate commitment and could collaborate with other IETF participants to perform IETF work. Applicants could familiarize themselves with the technologies being discussed by, for example, implementing the relevant specifications or evaluating implementations [ACS]. Applicants could ask for advice on the edu-discuss@ietf.org mailing list [EDU]. Moonesamy Expires 7 April 2024 [Page 5] Internet-Draft Attracting people October 2023 4.4. Effectiveness of the fellowship The effectiveness of the fellowship could 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 was left open as it might 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 were included in the programme. 6. IANA Considerations This memo includes no request to IANA. 7. Security Considerations This document should not affect the security of the Internet. 8. Informative References [FEL] "About the Fellowship", . [RET] "Returning Programme", . [SEL] "Selection Criteria for Fellowships to the IETF", . [DIN] "ietf networking research", . [FAA] "ISOC fellowship - Attracting new people and work into the IETF", . [FAS] "ISOC fellowship - Attracting new people and work into the IETF", . Moonesamy Expires 7 April 2024 [Page 6] Internet-Draft Attracting people October 2023 [ACS] "Attracting people from emerging regions into the IETF", . [EDU] "edu-discuss mailing list", . 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. Author's Address S. Moonesamy Email: sm+ietf@elandsys.com Moonesamy Expires 7 April 2024 [Page 7]