1. ISOC status 6/2002 Brian E Carpenter Chair, ISOC Board of Trustees

2. Topics A brief history of ISOC ISOCs four pillars Adapting the governance model to the new world Forward

3. Foundation Founded in 1992 with a self-appointed Board, to –facilitate & support technical evolution of the Internet as a research & education infrastructure, & stimulate involvement of scientific community, industry, government & others in evolution of the Internet –educate scientific community, industry & public on technology, use & application of the Internet –promote educational applications of Internet technology for benefit of government, colleges & universities, industry, & public –provide a forum for exploration of new Internet applications, & stimulate collaboration among organizations in operational use of the global Internet.

4. Original governance model Paying Organisational Members; no position on the Board of Trustees –Org. members sit in an Advisory Council Paying individual members, voting for Trustee elections –Originally, most members were from the technical community (IETF, NRENs, ISPs, etc.) Three Charter Trustees with veto power –TERENA, CNRI and EDUCOM

5. 1997 Change to Governance The Charter Trustees agreed to give up their seats and their veto power –All Trustees elected by individual members –Org. Members still have no Board position

6. Environment changed since 1992 Many successes, but also… –Constant turnover in individual membership; no longer based in the core technical community –Organisational Members Advisory Council proved not to have the expected influence –The Internets success led to many other organisations with overlapping missions –Difficulties in maintaining financial stability, especially since dot.com bust –By 2000, ISOC mission was becoming unclear

7. DOLLARS PAID (2001) 9% Individual Members 91% Organisation Members 100% Individual Members 0% Organisation Members VOTING POWER (2001) Do you see a problem here?

8. Four pillars of activity (as defined in June 2000) Education Standards Public Policy Members INET NDSS NTW Think Quest … IETF, RFC Editor Statements Consultancy NGO status Web Briefings Chapters SIGs

9. Clearer vision Defining the mission in these four pillars –Gave a clearer view of the budget and its pressure points –Allowed us to identify successes and failures –Allowed us to discover what the Organisational Members care about: open standards above all It became clear that the composition of the Board did not reflect either ISOCs technical roots or the priorities of its principal source of funds

10. Change was unavoidable Goals –Correct the evident imbalance of power –Strengthen ISOC Chapters as the best forum for individual member participation –Guarantee connection to technical community –Achieve industrial strength Board –Reduce expense during the industry downturn

11. 2002 Change to Governance By-laws and election rules changed –6 Trustees elected by Organisational Members –3 Trustees elected by Chapters for Individual Members –3 Trustees selected by IETF –Board may appoint a few additional Trustees –complete transition will take two more years Happy side-effect: individual membership is now free of charge Allowed substantial budget restructuring –Less expense than before, especially on membership administration

12. Forward! The first elections under the new procedures have just finished We now have a strong Board which will –Further clarify the pillars of ISOCs mission –Assist in strengthening the chapters –Enhance fund raising Next stop: INET2002 in Washington D.C. this month http://www.inet2002.org