[Chapter-delegates] My comment to the the board re:supporting chapters

[Glenn McKnight]

Folks
I think many of the concepts have validity but  as you have noticed the
 ISOC  staff  typical reaction to claim that  chapters  already get
plenty.  This becomes a tug and war of wills.  The ISOC  Advisory needs to
strike a  committee to investigate these grievances and come up with an
accountability plan and compensation strategy.
At the heart is the issue:  Does  ISOC want strong and viable chapters and
a active membership?
If yes then the programs and support would reflect this perspective.
Currently we have  a small amount provided if applied for the chapter plus
the chance to earn 10% for admin for a Beyond the Net  funding.  If one
looks at the costs for insurance, financial review, routine bookkeeping,
 office supplies, printing, promotion, etc etc.  Each chapter needs at
 least  $1,000 per month.  This gives a stipend to an admin and pays for
the insurance and annual financial review.   I would suggest only these
funds for chapters who already have committed to a professional
organization.   They have a strategic plan,  proof of insurance,  annual
reports and financial audit by a CPA or CA,  committee structures and a
transparent nomination process for board members.     I call this the A
Team of  chapters.   The secondary B and C chapters need help to move in
the direction to become a professional organization with tangible action
plans and structure.
Glenn

Glenn McKnight
mcknight.glenn at gmail.com
skype  gmcknight
twitter gmcknight
.

On Fri, Apr 8, 2016 at 4:22 PM, Dave Burstein <daveb at dslprime.com> wrote:

> Folks
>
> Later today, following up on a discussion at the North American chapters,
> I'm going to suggest this to the board. Improvements welcome but I'm moving
> quickly. If you have opinions, I suggest you write board members directly
> or ask a question in the open, web streamed meeting. I'm happy to share the
> emails of board members who make them publicly available, which is most.
>
> My suggestion on how to move forward:
>
> First, that ISOC start immediately on a program to allow chapters to
> decide how to spend, say, 3% of the ISOC budget.
>
> I suggest the first step should be modest, perhaps a $2,000-$10,000
> allocation to each *active* chapter. The guideline would be to spend the
> money as ISOC is currently spending on chapter support: events, expenses to
> F2F events, web sites, necessary fees for non-profit status, ...
>
> It should be accompanied by serious but easy to follow rules on
> accountabilty.  For example, any amount spent above petty cash must be
> reported on a simple web form within 30 days and posted so others can see
> where the money is going, Someone independent should check the accuracy of
> the bank account fairly regularly.
>
> Sure there will be some wastage, but there's some waste in everYthing we
> do. Modest supervision should keep it under control.
>
> Second, that staff discuss in depth with the relevant chapters any major
> policy move, *before the policy is decided.* (Unless it's urgent.) This
> is the right way to run the organization. It also will lead to better
> policy choices.
>
> Our staff is skilled but not expert in everything. For example, a top
> staffer made a forceful policy recommendation that would have resulted in
> 30-50% less wireless capacity in Kenya. (LTE Carrier Aggregation efficiency
> takes some study to understand,) We particularly lack detailed knowledge of
> the networks in other countries. In an ITU filing, we insisted on
> competition as the solution. The cintext was mostly about bringing
> broadband to rural regions that have difficulty attracting even a single
> provider. Competition can be great but doesn't work everywhere.
>
> ----------------------
>
> Kathy has done an excellent job getting members to speak up. If we are to
> be a bottom-up, multi-stakeholder, however, we need to get the stakeholders
> involved in decisionmaking as well.
>
> Everyone, including the board, has been in general agreement on deepening
> the chapter role. A former board member tells me this has been an issue for
> over a decade.
>
> TIme to make it so.
>
> Dave Burstein
>
>
> --
> Editor, Fast Net News, Net Policy News and DSL Prime
> Author with Jennie Bourne  DSL (Wiley) and Web Video: Making It Great,
> Getting It Noticed (Peachpit)
>
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