[Chapter-delegates] ChAC Decision Needed: Proposal for greater Chapter participation in developing position & policy briefs

[avri doria]

Dear ChAC delegates,

The ChAC Steering Committee has reviewed "A proposal for greater
involvement of Chapters in the position and policy brief development
process"  (below & attached) and is submitting it to the Chapter Council
for approval.

Decisions by the ChAC are governed by the Rules & Procedure paragraph 6

> Substantive decisions, in particular regarding advice and
> recommendations, shall be made by the AC. Decisions may be made by
> electronic means (e.g. E-Mail, electronic voting systems, etc.) or
> during remote (audio/video conferencing) or physical meetings.
> Decisions shall normally be taken by consensus (meaning lack of formal
> opposition). If consensus cannot be achieved, then the Chair of the AC
> Steering Committee shall organize a vote. In case of voting, decisions
> shall be taken by a majority vote of the delegates to the AC. The
> quorum shall be nineteen (19) delegates. In case of tie, the matter
> will be resubmitted for discussion and a new vote. Votes will be
> secret. The tally of votes (for, against, abstain, did not vote) will
> be published. Abstentions will be counted towards determining the quorum.

At this point I would like to open discussion on this proposal for the
next week - until 8/27 1200 UTC.  At that point I will initiate a
consensus call on the document, including any changes that may be
warranted as part of the discussion.  This consensus call will also be
scheduled for 1 week.  Should the document not meet with consensus, I
will then request that we continue discussion on it and will bring it to
a vote.

Thank you

Avri Doria

(for the ChAC SC)


-----

*A proposal for greater involvement of Chapters in the position and
policy brief development process*

*Background*

In the past, there have been occasions when ISOC staff met with national
policy makers without involving the national chapter in any way. Since
national chapters often have good relations with national officials, it
would be preferable if the chapters are also involved in meetings with
national officials. We propose a recommendation below to that effect.

At present, there does not seem to be a consistent practice within ISOC
regarding the role of the membership in the policy development
process and the preparation of background and position papers that ISOC
puts forward. Specifically, some policy papers are submitted to the
membership for comment, specifically the policy briefs, while others
papers, such as position papers, are not. In one case, the membership
was not informed of a specific submission. It appears to us that
systematic consultation with the membership can only improve the quality
of a policy, background paper, or position paper. The intent is not to
change ISOC's current decision-making process for such papers: staff
would remain fully responsible for the final version of the paper. The
intent is to allow staff to benefit systematically from the views of the
membership, and to decide whether or how to incorporate comments from
the membership. We propose a recommendation below to that effect.


*Recommendations*

Review with the relevant chapters, policy positions and alliances before
they are made, and inform them of meetings with national policy
makers, unless time constraints do not permit it. We have active mailing
lists that can make it quick and easy.

In general, policy, background and position papers, including policy
briefs should be submitted to the membership for comment prior to
publication, with the understanding that staff retains full ownership
for the final version. Staff can choose the most appropriate method to
consult the membership, for example by asking for volunteers to review
drafts, by posting a draft for comment to a mailing list, by convening a
virtual meeting to discuss the issues, etc.

Further, when papers are published and/or submitted to some entity
outside ISOC, the membership should be informed and a link to the paper
should be sent to the appropriate mailing list and to the Chapter
Delegate's mailing list just prior to the publication or submission.




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