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Network Working Group L. Daigle, Ed. Request for Comments: 4052 Internet Architecture Board BCP: 102 April 2005 Category: Best Current Practice

     IAB Processes for Management of IETF Liaison Relationships

Status of This Memo

 This document specifies an Internet Best Current Practices for the
 Internet Community, and requests discussion and suggestions for
 improvements.  Distribution of this memo is unlimited.

Copyright Notice

 Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2005).

Abstract

 This document discusses the procedures used by the IAB to establish
 and maintain liaison relationships between the IETF and other
 Standards Development Organizations (SDOs), consortia and industry
 fora.  This document also discusses the appointment and
 responsibilities of IETF liaison managers and representatives, and
 the expectations of the IAB for organizations with whom liaison
 relationships are established.

Table of Contents

 1. Liaison Relationships and Personnel .............................2
 2. Aspects of Liaisons and Liaison Management ......................3
    2.1. Liaison Relationships ......................................3
    2.2. Liaison Manager ............................................3
    2.3. Liaison Representatives ....................................4
    2.4. Liaison Communications .....................................4
 3. Summary of IETF Liaison Manager Responsibilities ................5
 4. Approval and Transmission of Liaison Statements .................6
 5. Security Considerations .........................................6
 6. Acknowledgements ................................................7
 7. References ......................................................8
    7.1. Normative References .......................................8
    7.2. Informative References .....................................8

Daigle & IAB Best Current Practice [Page 1] RFC 4052 IAB Liaison Management April 2005

1. Liaison Relationships and Personnel

 The IETF, as an organization, has the need to engage in direct
 communication or joint endeavors with various other formal
 organizations.  For example, the IETF is one of several Standards
 Development Organizations, or SDOs, and all SDOs including the IETF
 find it increasingly necessary to communicate and coordinate their
 activities involving Internet-related technologies.  This is useful
 in order to avoid overlap in work efforts and to manage interactions
 between their groups.  In cases where the mutual effort to
 communicate and coordinate activities is formalized, these
 relationships are generically referred to as "liaison relationships".
 In such cases, a person from the IETF is designated to manage a given
 liaison relationship; that person is generally called the "IETF
 liaison manager" to the other organization.  When the liaison
 relationship is expected to encompass a complex or broad range of
 activities, more people may be designated to undertake some portions
 of the communications, coordinated by the liaison manager.  Often,
 the other organization will similarly designate their own liaison
 manager to the IETF.
 This document is chiefly concerned with:
 o  the establishment and maintenance of liaison relationships, and
 o  the appointment and responsibilities of IETF liaison managers and
    representatives.
 The management of other organizations' liaison managers to the IETF,
 whether or not in the context of a liaison relationship, is outside
 the scope of this document.
 The IETF has chartered the Internet Architecture Board to manage
 liaison relationships.  Consistent with its charter [2], the IAB acts
 as representative of the interests of the IETF and the Internet
 Society in technical liaison relationships with other organizations
 concerned with standards and other technical and organizational
 issues relevant to the worldwide Internet.  Liaison relationships are
 kept as informal as possible and must be of demonstrable value to the
 IETF's technical mandate.  Individual participants of the IETF are
 appointed as liaison managers or representatives to other
 organizations by the IAB.

Daigle & IAB Best Current Practice [Page 2] RFC 4052 IAB Liaison Management April 2005

 In general, a liaison relationship is most valuable when there are
 areas of technical development of mutual interest.  For the most
 part, SDOs would rather leverage existing work done by other
 organizations than recreate it themselves (and would like the same
 done with respect to their own work).  Establishing a liaison
 relationship can provide the framework for ongoing communications to
 o  prevent inadvertent duplication of effort, without obstructing
    either organization from pursuing its own mandate;
 o  provide authoritative information of one organization's
    dependencies on the other's work.

2. Aspects of Liaisons and Liaison Management

2.1. Liaison Relationships

 A liaison relationship is set up when it is mutually agreeable and
 needed for some specific purpose, in the view of the other
 organization, the IAB, and the IETF participants conducting the work.
 There is no set process or form for this; the IETF participants and
 the peer organization approach the IAB, and after discussion come to
 an agreement to form the relationship.  In some cases, the intended
 scope and guidelines for the collaboration are documented
 specifically (e.g., see [3], [4], and [5]).
 In setting up the relationship, the IAB expects that there will be a
 mutual exchange of views and discussion of the best approach for
 undertaking new standardization work items.  Any work items resulting
 for the IETF will be undertaken in the usual IETF procedures, defined
 in [1].  The peer organization often has different organizational
 structure and procedures than the IETF, which will require some
 flexibility on the part of both organizations to accommodate.  The
 IAB expects that each organization will use the relationship
 carefully, allowing time for the processes it requests to occur in
 the other organization, and will not make unreasonable demands.

2.2. Liaison Manager

 As described above, most work on mutually interesting topics will be
 carried out in the usual way within the IETF and the peer
 organization.  Therefore, most communications will be informal in
 nature (for example, Working Group (WG) or mailing list discussions).
 An important function of the liaison manager is to ensure that
 communication is maintained, productive, and timely.  He or she may
 use any applicable businesslike approach, from private to public
 communications, and bring in other parties as needed.  If a

Daigle & IAB Best Current Practice [Page 3] RFC 4052 IAB Liaison Management April 2005

 communication from a peer organization is addressed to an
 inappropriate party, such as being sent to the WG but not copying the
 Area Director (AD) or being sent to the wrong WG, the liaison manager
 will help redirect or otherwise augment the communication.
 IETF liaison managers should also communicate and coordinate with
 other liaison managers where concerned technical activities overlap.
 Since the IAB is ultimately responsible for liaison relationships,
 anyone who has a problem with a relationship (whether an IETF
 participant or a person from the peer organization) should first
 consult the IAB's designated liaison manager, and if that does not
 result in a satisfactory outcome, the IAB itself.

2.3. Liaison Representatives

 The liaison manager is, specifically, a representative of the IETF
 for the purpose of managing the liaison relationship.  There may be
 occasion to identify other representatives for the same relationship.
 For example, if the area of mutual work is extensive, it might be
 appropriate to name several people as liaison representatives to
 different parts of the other organization.  Or, it might be
 appropriate to name a liaison representative to attend a particular
 meeting.
 These other liaison representatives are selected by the IAB and work
 in conjunction (and close communication) with the liaison manager.
 In some cases, this may also require communication and coordination
 with other liaison managers or representatives where concerned
 technical activities overlap.  The specific responsibilities of the
 liaison representative will be identified at the time of appointment.

2.4. Liaison Communications

 Communications between organizations use a variety of formal and
 informal channels.  The stated preference of the IETF, which is
 largely an informal organization, is to use informal channels, as
 these have historically worked well to expedite matters.  In some
 cases, however, a more formal communication is appropriate, either as
 an adjunct to the informal channel or in its place.  In the case of
 formal communications, the established procedures of many
 organizations use a form known as a "liaison statement".  Procedures
 for sending, managing, and responding to liaison statements are
 discussed in [6].

Daigle & IAB Best Current Practice [Page 4] RFC 4052 IAB Liaison Management April 2005

3. Summary of IETF Liaison Manager Responsibilities

 While the requirements will certainly vary depending on the nature of
 the peer organization and the type of joint work being undertaken,
 the general expectations of a liaison manager appointed by the IAB
 are as follows:
 o  Attend relevant meetings of the peer organization as needed and
    report back to the appropriate IETF organization any material
    updates.
 o  Carry any messages from the IETF to the peer organization, when
    specifically instructed.  Generally, these communications
    "represent the IETF", and therefore due care and consensus must be
    applied in their construction.
 o  Prepare occasional updates.  The target of these updates (e.g.,
    the IAB, an AD, a WG) will generally be identified upon
    appointment.
 o  Oversee delivery of liaison statements addressed to the IETF,
    ensuring that they reach the appropriate destination within the
    IETF, and ensure that relevant responses from the IETF are created
    and sent in a timely fashion.
 o  Work with the other organization to ensure that the IETF's liaison
    statements are appropriately directed and responded to in a timely
    fashion.
 o  Communicate and coordinate with other IETF liaison managers and
    representatives where concerned technical activities overlap.

Daigle & IAB Best Current Practice [Page 5] RFC 4052 IAB Liaison Management April 2005

4. Approval and Transmission of Liaison Statements

 It is important that appropriate leadership review be made of
 proposed IETF liaison statements and that those writing such
 statements, who claim to be speaking on behalf of IETF, are truly
 representing IETF views.
 All outgoing liaison statements will be copied to IETF Secretariat
 using procedures defined in [6] or its successors.
 For a liaison statement generated on behalf of an IETF WG, the WG
 chair(s) must create a statement based on appropriate discussions
 within the WG to ensure working group consensus for the position(s)
 presented.  The chair(s) must have generated or must agree with the
 sending of the liaison statement, and must advise the AD(s) that the
 liaison statement has been sent by copying the appropriate ADs on the
 message.
 For a liaison statement generated on behalf of an IETF Area, the
 AD(s) must have generated or must agree with the sending of the
 liaison statement.  If the liaison statement is not sent by the ADs,
 then their agreement must be obtained in advance and confirmed by
 copying the ADs on the message.
 For a liaison statement generated on behalf of the IETF as a whole,
 the IETF Chair must have generated or must agree with the sending of
 the liaison statement.  If the liaison statement is not sent by the
 IETF Chair, then his or her agreement must be obtained in advance and
 confirmed by copying the IETF Chair on the message.
 For a liaison statement generated by the IAB, the IAB Chair must have
 generated or must agree with the sending of the liaison statement.
 If the liaison statement is not sent by the IAB Chair, then his or
 her agreement must be obtained in advance and confirmed by copying
 the IAB Chair on the message.
 In cases where prior agreement was not obtained as outlined above,
 and the designated authority (AD, IETF Chair, or IAB Chair) in fact
 does not agree with the message, the designated authority will work
 with the liaison manager to follow up as appropriate, including
 emitting a revised liaison statement if necessary.  Clearly, this is
 a situation best avoided by assuring appropriate agreement in advance
 of sending the liaison message.

5. Security Considerations

 The security of the Internet is not threatened by these procedures.

Daigle & IAB Best Current Practice [Page 6] RFC 4052 IAB Liaison Management April 2005

6. Acknowledgements

 This document was developed as part of a conversation regarding the
 management of [6], and the authors of that document contributed
 significantly to it.  Also, this version of the document has been
 improved over its predecessor by several suggestions from Stephen J.
 Trowbridge, Peter Saint-Andre, Michael Patton, Bert Wijnen, Fred
 Baker, Scott Bradner, Scott Brim, Avri Doria, Allison Mankin, Thomas
 Narten, Russ Housley and Dan Romasanu.
 Members of the IAB at the time of approval of this document were:
    Bernard Aboba
    Harald Alvestrand (IETF chair)
    Rob Austein
    Leslie Daigle (IAB chair)
    Patrik Faltstrom
    Sally Floyd
    Jun-ichiro Itojun Hagino
    Mark Handley
    Bob Hinden
    Geoff Huston (IAB Executive Director)
    Eric Rescorla
    Pete Resnick
    Jonathan Rosenberg

Daigle & IAB Best Current Practice [Page 7] RFC 4052 IAB Liaison Management April 2005

7. References

7.1. Normative References

 [1]  Bradner, S., "The Internet Standards Process -- Revision 3", BCP
      09, RFC 2026, October 1996.
 [2]  Internet Architecture Board and B. Carpenter, "Charter of the
      Internet Architecture Board (IAB)", BCP 39, RFC 2850, May 2000.

7.2. Informative References

 [3]  Rosenbrock, K., Sanmugam, R., Bradner, S., and J. Klensin,
      "3GPP-IETF Standardization Collaboration", RFC 3113, June 2001.
 [4]  Bradner, S., Calhoun, P., Cuschieri, H., Dennett, S., Flynn, G.,
      Lipford, M., and M. McPheters, "3GPP2-IETF Standardization
      Collaboration", RFC 3131, June 2001.
 [5]  Fishman, G. and S. Bradner, "Internet Engineering Task Force and
      International Telecommunication Union - Telecommunications
      Standardization Sector Collaboration Guidelines", RFC 3356,
      August 2002.
 [6]  Trowbridge, S., Bradner, S., and F. Baker, "Procedure for
      Handling Liaison Statements Between Standards Bodies",
      June 2004.

Authors' Addresses

 Leslie Daigle
 Editor
 Internet Architecture Board
 IAB
 EMail: iab@iab.org

Daigle & IAB Best Current Practice [Page 8] RFC 4052 IAB Liaison Management April 2005

Full Copyright Statement

 Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2005).
 This document is subject to the rights, licenses and restrictions
 contained in BCP 78, and except as set forth therein, the authors
 retain all their rights.
 This document and the information contained herein are provided on an
 "AS IS" basis and THE CONTRIBUTOR, THE ORGANIZATION HE/SHE REPRESENTS
 OR IS SPONSORED BY (IF ANY), THE INTERNET SOCIETY AND THE INTERNET
 ENGINEERING TASK FORCE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED,
 INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTY THAT THE USE OF THE
 INFORMATION HEREIN WILL NOT INFRINGE ANY RIGHTS OR ANY IMPLIED
 WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

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 http://www.ietf.org/ipr.
 The IETF invites any interested party to bring to its attention any
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 ipr@ietf.org.

Acknowledgement

 Funding for the RFC Editor function is currently provided by the
 Internet Society.

Daigle & IAB Best Current Practice [Page 9]

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