[Chapter-delegates] Ted Hardie's call for collaboration

[Dave Burstein]

Hi

Lots of squabbling around the board meeting, but Chair Hardie strikes the
right note, asking us to come together.

"Our work aligns with our goals for the Internet to be open, globally
connected, secure, and trustworthy. *We seek collaboration* with all who
share these goals."
"Considerations on how the Society *can come together* to achieve the
mission goals would, in my personal opinion, be a valuable addition to your
message to the board." *emphasis added*

The work, not the politics, is what's important.

tl:dr But some things need to be said

 Collaboration is essential for ISOC effectiveness. Working together with
strong chapters would make us more effective.

Everyone on the board is honorable and wants to create a better Internet. I
know from experience most are happy to talk. Several have said they want to
hear from all of us.

Please reach out to them.
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I agree with Ted "considerations on how the Society can come together" are
what we need now.

*We especially need to hear from the global South. *That's 2/3rds of the
Internet and an even higher proportion of our chapters. It's ridiculous
that most of this discussion - and most of our leaders - come from the U.S.
It's long past time the U.S. should be telling the rest of the world what
to do.

*All senior jobs and board seats need strong multinational outreach. *I was
refused a request for our election call in Hindi and Arabic. "We don't do
that was the only explanation."

Our current and past board Chairs say they have urged the IETF to choose
diverse board nominees. Make it so.
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*First, make sure everyone has the information we need to** share in the
decisions. *

How many of us knew that a year ago our fundraising was so short that we
needed to fire people? How many self-sustaining community networks have we
fostered with ten years of effort and millions of dollars? How many
individual contributions do we receive, a key fundraising metric?

What are the results of the tens of millions in grants from the Foundation?
What can we learn from the projects that failed? What are we doing to reach
out to the Arab World & East Asia? Almost half of the Internet is nearly
absent from ISOC.

To do better: Ted and the board, backed by the CEO, can direct the staff
to, "Please answer all reasonable questions from chapters and members
unless there is a particular reason not to. Traditionally, details of
personnel matters are private. Some of our policy work needs to be secret.

*Second, show respect for all*
Three key steps I learned from professional fundraisers.
1- Do things that people believe in.
2- Deepen their involvement in the organization. That's yet another reason
to respect and involve members. Especially with a donation shortfall.
3- Ask in a heartfelt way. Sleek fundraising emails rarely do the trick.

One way to show respect is to listen. I'm sure next meeting will have time
for member and chapter comments. The board did not even discuss reasonable
requests from two chapters. Don't put them off until next meeting. The
board can approve or deny them by email rapidly.

We are not in the best of all possible worlds. Our membership has
essentially been flat for six years while Internet users have doubled.
Andrew spoke at the UN on the need for diversity and inclusion; Ted
convened a meeting. Except for some efforts by the chapters, we should
admit that was all hat and no cattle.

To do better: Ted and the board should recognize we need to take strong
action to reverse stagnation. The top down system isn't working. Let's hear
more suggestions; I've already said too much.
----------------
One reason few speak out is that many fear funding cuts and retribution if
they speak out. That may or may not be realistic. Ted can make a simple,
clear statement like, "The Board encourages all members to take an active
part in our  discussions. No one will suffer for positions they take."

Which should be easy to proclaim although it will take some work to
convince people it's true. (Ask me off-list if you need to know more.)
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