[rpd] Policy Proposal: PDP Working Group (WG) Guidelines and Procedures

[Noah]

*Policy Proposal: PDP Working Group (WG) Guidelines and Procedures*

Summary of the problem being addressed by this proposal
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The current PDP uses a working group for policy development activities. It
does not define specific procedures and operational rules for the working
group. This has over the time led to interpretation issues in regards to
how the working group is administered and how discussions are moderated.

Summary of how this proposal addresses the problem
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The proposal addresses the problems by defining clear and explicit Working
Group guidelines and procedures.

Policies  the proposal amends/obsoletes
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The proposal amends the Policy Development Process, section 3.0 of the
AFRINIC CPM.

Proposal
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1.0 Introduction

The Policy Development working group (PDWG) provides an open public forum
to discuss Internet number resources policies and related topics of
interest to AFRINIC and the Internet community in the AFRINIC service
region.

PDWG sessions are held at AFRINIC Public policy meetings. Between meetings,
discussions continue through the Resource Policy discussions mailing list.
The PDWG is open to all interested individuals.

This document serves as guidelines on how the working group shall operate.
It defines clear roles and responsibilities for the PDWG co-chairs and
clear procedures for the working group’s administration.

2.0 Co-chairs

Two PDWG co-chairs primarily administer the Policy Development working
group. The PDWG co-chairs perform a vital role in managing the working
group. The effectiveness of the PDWG is dependent on the active
participation of the co-chairs. PDWG co-chairs undertake their role on a
volunteer basis.

The co-chairs coordinate the activities of the policy development’s working
group and are expected to attend all AFRINIC Public Policy Meetings. They
must remain subscribed to the AFRINIC Policy Discussion mailing list for
the duration of their term and must also be subscribed to the AFRINIC
member-discuss mailing list during their term.

For each policy proposal, one co-chair must be assigned as the primary
contact; both co-chairs however shall actively participate in the consensus
building. The leading co-chair for the proposal as described above shall
guide the policy proposal through the different phases of the PDP.

2.1 Responsibilities of PDWG co-chairs

The co-chairs’ responsibility encompasses at least the following:

·      Ensure working group process and content management

The co-chairs have ultimate responsibility for ensuring that the working
group achieves forward progress .The co-chairs are also responsible to
ensure that the working group operates in an open and fair manner.

·      Moderate the Resource Policy Discussion mailing list

The co-chairs should attempt to ensure that the discussions on the list are
relevant and that they converge to consensus agreements.  The co-chairs
should make sure that discussions on the list are summarized and that the
outcome is well documented to avoid repetition and other abuses.

·      Organize, prepare and chair the face-to-face and on-line formal
working group meetings

The responsibilities of the co-chairs are listed below:

2.1.1 Before an AFRINIC Public Policy Meeting

-  Assist authors with formatting proposal

-  Introduce policy proposals to the policy discussion mailing list

-  Discourage any behavior that jeopardizes open participation to policy
discussions, especially for newcomers.

-   Monitor and moderate discussions held on AFRINIC policy discussion
mailing list

-  Announce the call for presentation of policy proposals for Public Policy
Meetings on the policy discussion mailing list

-  Read presentation's slides to familiarise themselves with the details
and ensure they match proposals ‘text. In case of any difference,
submission of an updated version of the proposal on the mailing list to
notify the working group is required, even if these changes will not be
considered.

-  Create agenda presentation slides for the meeting with AFRINIC staff.

-  Guide the consensus building process; announce the current status of a
policy proposal.

-  Read AFRINIC Public Policy Meeting minutes and makes corrections as
necessary

-  Present the policy discussion working group report to the AFRINIC Public
Policy Meeting.

2.1.2 During a Public Policy Meeting

-  Chair the Public Policy meeting and moderate the discussions.

-  Determine whether proposals gained enough support to move to the next
phase.

-  Monitor remote chat-room discussions during the AFRINIC Public Policy
Meeting

-  Present the policy discussion working group report to the AFRINIC Public
Policy Meeting.

2.1.3 After a Public Policy Meeting

- Send a report of the Public Policy Meeting to the community and policy
discussion mailing lists including policy proposal discussion outcomes and
open action items.

-  Monitor and moderate discussions during the last-call phase period.

-   Summarise discussions, and following the end of the last-call, post the
decision regarding whether the proposal has reached consensus or not.

-  Submit policy proposal ratification report to the AFRINIC board of
directors.

2.2. Appointment of PDWG co-chairs

The working group appoints two co-chairs for a two-years term. Co-chairs’
appointments occur in alternate years for each seat (seat1 and seat2).

The working group makes decisions by consensus and shall also appoint
co-chairs by consensus. Elections should be used as a last resort solution.

The appointment for each seat follows the following process:

At least 60 days before the Public Policy Meeting, AFRINIC staff sends a
call for nominations to the policy development mailing list. The call will
contain:

- Details of the co-chair position to be filled (seat1 or seat2)

- Details of the duties of the position.

- The closing date for nominations; 30 days from the date of the call.

Any natural person residing in a country from the AFRINIC service region is
allowed to volunteer.

Volunteers make themselves known by introducing themselves (short biography
and motivation) as a candidate on the working group mailing list.

Candidates for the co-chair’s position should be known as active
participants on the working group mailing list with good experience with
the AFRINIC policy development process, and must have attended at least two
(2) AFRINIC Public Policy Meetings of which one must be in person, during
the last 3 years.

If at least one nomination is received by closing date, the appointment
process starts. The appointment must be held at the upcoming Public Policy
Meeting as the first item on the agenda. Those present at the session,
either in person or remotely, will determine by consensus among the
candidates who shall take the available position. The remaining chair will
determine whether consensus has been reached. If the working group finds
itself without a co-chair, the chair of the AFRINIC Board of Directors will
lead the consensus process.

If only one candidate is being evaluated, the lack of consensus must
declare the seat vacant. The chair of AFRINIC board of directors shall
appoint interim co-chair. The Interim co-chair will act up to the
appointment of the new co-chair.

If no consensus can be reached and more than one candidate is being
evaluated, then a secret ballot to elect the new co-chair will be held.
Everyone physically present at the session can participate in the secret
ballot. Votes and counting shall be conducted using a ranked preferential
voting method otherwise known as IRV. The winner of the secret ballot will
become the new co-chair.

In the unlikely event that after all the rounds of counting of the vote,
there is a tie between the two (2) most ranked candidates, they shall be
asked to select one among them to serve the term by consensus. The seat
shall be declared vacant in case of failure of agreement between the last
two.

If the secret ballot cannot be held, the seat is declared vacant. The chair
of AFRINIC board of directors shall appoint interim co-chairs(s). The
Interim co-chair(s) will act up to the appointment of the new co-chair(s).

Exit of co-chair includes a handover period and an expectation that the
sitting chair follows proposals, which have already reached consensus, to
the completion of their PDP cycle.

2.3. Recalling a co-chair

If the co-chair does not attend two consecutive AFRINIC Public Policy
Meetings without reasons or has been publicly reported by the other
co-chair as no longer attending to the working group’s affairs without
reasons, the co-chair will be removed from its role.

Anyone may request the recall of a working group co-chair at any time, upon
a written request with justification to the AFRINIC Board of Directors. The
request must be supported by at least ten (10) other persons.

The AFRINIC Board of Directors shall appoint a recall committee, excluding
the persons requesting the recall and the co-chair. The recall committee
shall investigate the circumstances of the request for the recall and
determine the outcome in not more than 4 weeks after the recall is
recorded. The recall committee report shall be published on the working
group mailing list.

The recall committee decision shall be final and binding.

Whenever a co-chair is removed from its role and recalled, the remaining
co-chair will assume the chairing role of the working group until the
appointment of a new co-chair(s).

2.4. Resignation of co-chair

If a  co-chair resigns, the remaining co-chair will assume the chairing
role of the working group until the appointment of a new co-chair(s).

If both co-chairs resign, the chair of the AFRINIC board of directors shall
as a matter of urgency lead the appointment by the working group of an
interim co-chair(s) via the mailing list or at the Public Policy meeting.
If no consensus can be reached, the chair of the Board of directors shall
appoint interim Co-chairs(s) for the working group.

 The Interim chair will act up to the appointment of the new co-chair(s).

3.0 Operations working group (PDWG)

3.1 Moderation of working group discussions and sessions

The challenge of managing the policy development working group sessions is
to balance the need for open and fair consideration of the issues against
the need to make forward progress. The working group, as a whole, has the
final responsibility for striking this balance. The working group co-chairs
have the responsibility for overseeing the process.

To facilitate making forward progress, the working group co-chairs may wish
to decide to reject or defer the input from an individual, based upon the
following criteria:

Old:
The input pertains to a topic that already has been resolved and is
redundant with information previously available;

Minor:
The input is new and pertains to a topic that has already been resolved,
but it is felt to be of minor import to the existing decision;

Timing:
The input pertains to a topic that the working group has not yet opened for
discussion;

Scope:
The input is outside the scope of the  discussions or of the working group

3.2 Individual behaviors

Occasionally one or more individuals may engage in behavior on a mailing
list that, in the opinion of the working group co-chairs, is disruptive to
the working group’s progress or goes against applicable Codes of Conduct.

Unless the disruptive behavior is severe enough that it must be stopped
immediately, the co-chairs should attempt to discourage the disruptive
behavior by communicating directly with the offending individual. If the
behavior persists, the co-chairs should send at least one public warning on
the mailing list. The warning should clearly expose what is being cautioned
on the individual and the basis of co-chairs judgment.

As last resort, and typically after one or more explicit warnings, and if
the behavior persists, the working group co-chairs may suspend the mailing
list posting privileges of the disruptive individual for a period of not
more than 30 days. The application of this restriction must be gradual. If
the individual resumes with the same behavior or worse, the restriction
period may increase.

Even while posting privileges are suspended, the individual must not be
prevented from receiving messages posted to the list.

Other Mailing list control solutions may be considered. The working group
must have adopted these solutions.

Like all other working group’s co-chairs' decisions, any suspension of
posting privileges is subject to appeal.

3.3. Public Policy Meeting

A Public Policy Meeting (PPM) is a meeting open to the community wherein
proposals for policies are discussed within the framework of the Policy
Development Process (PDP). The AFRINIC board of Directors calls PPMs in
accordance with section 11.2 of the Bylaws.

If one co-chair can’t participate in a Public Policy Meeting, the second
co-chair shall chair the meeting.

If both co-chairs can’t participate in a meeting, the working group shall
appoint one (1) person temporarily to lead the session. If the working
group cannot appoint a temporary chair, the chair of AFRINIC board of
directors shall appoint a temporary chair. If the board chair fails to
appoint a temporary chair, the meeting shall be adjourned.

The temporary chair appointed above shall lead the discussions according to
the agenda, but can’t determine consensus on policy proposals. He will
provide meeting minutes to the mailing list and allow the co-chairs to take
over.

While open discussion and contribution is essential to working Group
working group success, co-chairs are responsible for ensuring forward
progress. When acceptable to the working group, co-chairs may call for
restricted participation (but not restricted attendance!) at Public Policy
meetings for the purpose of achieving progress. The working group co-chairs
then have the responsibility to refuse to grant the floor to any individual
who is unprepared or otherwise covering inappropriate material, or who, in
the opinion of the co-chairs, is disrupting the working group process.

3.4 Consensus

The working group makes decisions by consensus as defined in the PDP

4.0 Appeals

4.1 Suspension of posting privileges

Anyone whose privileges of posting to the mailing list have been suspended
by the working group co-chairs may file an appeal against the decision to
the chair of the AFRINIC board of directors. The chair will evaluate the
circumstances, hear the co-chairs and complainer and decide. The chair’s
decision shall be final and binding.

4.2 Co-chairs appointment

A person who disagrees with the actions taken by a co-chair regarding the
appointment process shall follow the conflict resolution process as defined
in the PDP.

Actions taken by the chair of AFRINIC board of directors regarding the
appointment process are final and binding

5.0 Acknowledgements

The author would like to acknowledge that some text and procedures in this
document have been adapted from RFC2418 and from the working group’s
practices of other RIRs.

Authors
Noah Maina
noah at neo.co.tz

Alain P. Aina
aalain at trstech.net
========

Cheers,
*./noah*
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