Colin Perkins
16 April 2024
The following is an attempt to outline the set of tasks performed by the IRTF Chair. See also RFC 7827 ("The Role of the IRTF Chair") for a more thoughtful, but perhaps less complete, discussion of the role.
Time commitment is likely 20-25% FTE, plus at least 4 long haul trips per year (3x IETF, 1x IAB retreat; possibly others) plus time taken to keep up-to-date with the research community, including attending conferences such as ACM SIGCOMM, IMC, etc., and any outreach activities.
This page is intended to be descriptive, not normative.
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Manage to IRSG document review process after RG last call
- Initial review of draft (broadly similar to AD review)
- Assign IRSG reviewer
- Initiate IRSG ballot
- Initiate IESG conflict review (RFC 5742) and IANA review
- Sent to RFC Editor
- Manage any AUTH48 discussion
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Act as IRTF Stream Manager
- Liaise with RPC and RFC Series Editor
- Organise review of errata for IRTF stream RFCs (most of the IRTF errata relate to CFRG-produced RFCs and review is delegated to the CFRG chairs)
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Act as member of RSWG
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Act of IRTF Representative on RSAB (can potentially be delegated)
- Appoint replacement chairs, as needed
- Manage rechartering, as needed
- Liaise with RG chairs
- Guidance on direction – maintain distinction between RGs and WGs
- Awareness of potential issues
- Maintain awareness of activity in research groups
- Attend meetings, or review minutes/recordings
- Ongoing light-tough review of drafts and meeting materials
- Work with Secretariat/RG chairs on agenda planning
- Work with Secretariat/IAB to schedule IAB review of RGs
- Review charter proposals, formal or informal, from interested parties; give feedback as appropriate
- Help to develop promising ideas into proposed RGs
- Support proponents to put together initial group of participants, organise workshop and side meetings to develop ideas, etc.
- Support proponents to develop charter text and ideas
- Work with IRSG to review potential RGs
- Work with IAB to review and approve potential RGs
- Support chairs of Proposed RGs during the initial year of activity, prior to approval as full RG
- Decline non-viable ideas
- Work with proponents to understand their ideas
- Direct non-IRTF work towards IETF, Independent Stream, other SDOs, other research or industry venues, as appropriate
- Work with proponents to support them when declining to charter an activity
- Work with chairs to manage expectations prior to closing
¶ Maintain awareness of relevant research areas
- Keep up-to-date with literature, relevant conferences, etc.
- Keep up-to-date with relevant activities in IETF
- Attend relevant ACM/IEEE/USENIX conferences and events
- Manage RG chairs, as above
- Manage draft review process, as above
- Appoint at-large members, as needed
- Arrange IRSG dinner at IETF meeting
- Report to IETF Plenary
- Appoint TPC Chairs in coordination with Steering Committee
- Coordinate with ACM
- Revise and update MoU, as needed
- Budget process – support TPC chairs with PAF, TMRF
- Financial/post meeting reports
- Steering committee
- Update website as needed
- Publicity via IRTF website and social media
¶ Maintain IRTF Website
- Update for ANRW
- Update for ANRP
- Update for travel grants
- Update for changes to RGs
- Twitter
- Mastodon
- LinkedIn
- Facebook
- Blog posts
- Coordinate with Greg Wood on all the above
- Attend weekly business meetings
- Attend business meetings during IETF (Sunday, Tuesday/Thursday breakfast)
- Attend joint IAB/IESG meetings during IETF (Sunday, Friday)
- Attend annual IAB/IESG retreat
- Organise regular IAB review of RGs
- Participate in organisation of IAB workshops
- IAB workshops are often forward looking and intersect with topics IRTF may be considering
- Participate in outreach activities
- Talk about IRTF at conferences, workshops, and events
- Participate in review activities (e.g., ISOC Foundation)
- Participate in research studies (e.g., students doing studies of Internet governance)
- Participate in Internet governance activities
- IRTF chair will likely receive invitations to engage with national and regional government consultations and events
- IRTF chair is invited to attend UN Internet Governance Forum, may wish to engage with national IGF, etc.
- Contribute to IAB response to consultations, giving research perspective
- Participate in IAB-ISOC activities
- IRTF Chair is likely to be invited to participate in ISOC Policymakers programme, Policy Roundtable, IAB-ISOC coordination programme, etc.
- Distribute and respond to liaison statements directed to IRTF
- Steady stream of these, mostly from ITU-T and IEEE Standards Association
- Participate in selection of ISE
- IRTF Chair has been involved in selection of the ISE, to ensure there is cross stream input into the decision
- Run IRTF Diversity travel grant programme
- Advertising the programme
- Organise the review process and make decisions
- Secretariat organise the logistics
- Organise and promote other diversity initiatives as necessary
- Appoint award committee
- Manage review process
- Assign reviewers
- Manage review collection/reminders
- Manage discussion phase
- Chair the award selection call
- Inform successful/declined awardees
- Solicit nominees
- Arrange publicity
- For each meeting:
- Work with Secretariat/Internet Society to arrange travel for awardee
- Organise talk logistics, collect slides, paper, etc.
- Chair IRTF Open Meeting with award talks
- Logistics for talks from ANRP winners (as above)
- Prepare agenda and Chair meeting
- Ensure minutes are taken
- Attend IRTF RGs, ANRW, IRTF Open Meeting
- Attend side meetings relating to potential RG topics
- Attend IAB Open and IAB business meetings
- Attend newcomers events
- Attend fundraising events as invited
- Track BoFs and side meetings for relevance to IRTF
- Decide on IRTF in-person meeting fee waivers
¶ Review and update IRTF process documents
- Illustrative examples: policy for reporting potential copyright infringement by IRTF, policy for cross-stream updates affecting IRTF RFCs, inclusive language policy, archival of AUTH48 communications, policy for restricting access to IRTF mailing lists and events, fee waiver policy, code of conduct, 2014bis, …
- Work with IRSG, IETF LLC, Secretariat, and Legal as needed
¶ Handle code of conduct violations, harassment, etc.
- Liaise with Ombudsteam, Legal, IETF LLC, Secretariat, IRSG, and IESG as needed