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]. Expires April 13, 2014 [Page 1] S. Moonesamy Attracting people October 10, 2013 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 Expires April 13, 2014 [Page 2] S. Moonesamy Attracting people October 10, 2013 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 Expires April 13, 2014 [Page 3] S. Moonesamy Attracting people October 10, 2013 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(_at_)ietf(_dot_)org 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- Expires April 13, 2014 [Page 4] S. Moonesamy Attracting people October 10, 2013 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, [RET] Internet Society, Returning Fellowship to the IETF Programme, Accessed 4 October, 2013, [SEL] Internet Society, Selection Criteria for Fellowships to the IETF, Accessed 4 October, 2013, [DIN] [FAA] [FAS] [ACS] [EDU] 8. Author's Address Expires April 13, 2014 [Page 5] S. Moonesamy Attracting people October 10, 2013 S. Moonesamy Email: sm+ietf(_at_)elandsys(_dot_)com Expires April 13, 2014 [Page 6]