[Chapter-delegates] The Future of the Internet Governance Forum

[Patrick Vande Walle]

On Wed, 15 Dec 2010 03:53:23 +1200 (FJT), Franck Martin
<franck at avonsys.com> wrote:
> ISOC HQ is embarrassed of its chapters, if they could not exists,
> life would be easier for them...
> 
> The board of trustee seems to support that view.

Franck,

Having been on the board for 6 years, I disagree with you.  Over the
years, I have met with newly-elected trustees that needed to be briefed
about the chapters, their role, etc. Coming from a chapter perspective,
I similarly needed to be briefed on the work of the IETF, IAB, IESG. I
think it is  perfectly normal that new trustees try to understand all
parts of the organization. I never felt my colleagues rejected the
chapters as a whole, or the mere concept of having chapters. Rather,
they try to understand what chapters are good at, what they are good for
and what can be done to make them better support ISOC's mission. They
may come to different conclusions, of course. 

I see the issue of involving the chapters more as one of organizational
nature, rather that philosophical. Right now, the staff assigned to
chapter management is not involved in collecting chapter positions. The
staff involved in policy drafting is driven by deadlines thrown on them
by external events and does not really have all the time in the world to
collect and aggregate chapter feedback. Chapters themselves are often
not able to react quickly. This is adds up to build frustration.

I supported a proposal by Veni some years ago that a part of the ISOC
budget should be allocated to making the local chapters professional by
financing a half-time employee and a real office. Working with
volunteers only is all very good. However, if the chapter is unable to
attend a meeting with government officials on short notice (during
office hours, of course), it misses the opportunity to make its point of
view heard. 
Chapters also need formal training on communication and PR aspects and
strategy on communicating with governments and MPs, for example. This
would allow more coordinated information campaigns. I won't go into more
detail here. The bottom line is that the local chapter should pick up
the phone when called and give a meaningful answer. That is not always
happening right now. 

Patrick
-- 
Blog: http://patrick.vande-walle.eu
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