Subject: Area restructuring, and the open App AD position

From: IETF Chair <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 17 Oct 2014 17:01:03 -0700

For your information, this message was sent today to the Nomcom from the IESG, based on the decision that the IESG made in yesterday’s conference call.

Jari Arkko
IETF Chair

Begin forwarded message:

> From: Barry Leiba <[email-masked]>
> Subject: [IAB] Area restructuring, and the open App AD position
> Date: 17 Oct 2014 16:50:13 PDT
> To: nomcom14-coord <[email-masked]>, Michael Richardson <[email-masked]>
> Cc: IAB <[email-masked]>
> 
> Dear NomCom (Cc IAB),
> 
> As we indicated in our earlier message to the community, the IESG is planning to reorganise areas and working groups within areas. This is done to better match our structure to current topics in the IETF, and to increase our ability to deal with the naturally occurring fluctuations in the topic areas. While there are ideas about what this would mean in practice, our plan is to work within the IESG and the community in the coming months to come up with a detailed plan by May 2015. However, it seems clear to us that the reorganisation will affect the applications and real-time applications areas. The IETF remains working very actively on these areas, but it is expected that the number of area directors overseeing applications work can be smaller (and perhaps increase in other areas). The IESG is in charge of organising its work, and a part of that is proper matching management resources to current topic areas. The IESG felt that at this time, not filling the position of the other APP area director would be a prudent course of action. It would match our view about where the topic areas currently are at, would still retain sufficient expertise in the IESG, and would give maximum flexibility for making a restructuring decision in 2015.
> 
> We put the above information to the community, and there have been a number of concerns about telling you to simply not fill the position. Some comments indicated that we should ask you to fill it for a one year term, or that we should focus on other aspects of the IESG’s organisation, and so on. But we heard no concerns about undertaking the reorganization in principle. In the meantime, some willing nominees for the APP area position have surfaced.
> 
> As a result, the IESG would like to inform you that you (and the IAB as a confirming body) should choose to do what you decide is best. You can either fill the seat or not fill it. However, the IESG does believe that leaving the seat un-filled at this time would be the best course of action. If the seat is filled, the candidates should be aware that we think the skillset described in the desired qualifications is not accurate as it stands, and candidates should be prepared to help in the reorganization, which may end them up in a position with an as-yet-undefined set of skills and responsibilities. But again, we don't think it's strictly necessary that you fill the position.
> 
> Barry Leiba (Nomcom Liaison) for the IESG
>