[Chapter-delegates] SIG / SG questions

[Joly MacFie]

Technically Vint, IPNSIG is no longer a SIG, it's the Interplanetary
Chapter, thus it is chartered. All SIGs were de-chartered at the end of
2021, and IPNSIG was the only one to make that transition, so, essentially
maintaining its status. The Accessibility SIG went back to being an ISOC-NY
project. Some have organized themselves into local chapters. Others either
zombified, or transitioned into the new system, or just transitioned out of
ISOC entirely.

Unlike the chartered Chapters, the new SIGs/SGs are internal projects
within ISOC, with a two year lifespan. The SIGs have to compete for
renewal, while the SGs are permanent, but all need to elect new leadership
at that two year point. They are admin'd by staff, who also take care of
financial details, online presence, documentation etc. With staff doing the
admin, this would leave volunteers free to do the actual project work.

Others may explain better but my understanding is there were two main
reasons for this:
1) Unlike geographically local Chapters, SIGs/SGS, as chartered global
entities, involve a whole lot of legal acrobatics that are beyond
practicality, if one's serious about compliance. Dealing with this stuff
alone for ISOC itself stretches capacity. (Interplanetary did some kind of
end run around this.)
2) SIGS were mushrooming and  some SIGS were not well run, while eligible
for the same support as Chapters, thus the whole thing needed reining in.

One might have hoped that longstanding SIGs with strong leadership could
have yet been eligible for a charter, but it was one size fits all, with
the exception of accessibility, youth, and gender being considered vital
enough to be permanent.


Joly


On Sun, May 26, 2024 at 5:19 AM vinton cerf <vgcerf at gmail.com> wrote:

> Joly,
> I don't have a lot of answers but I believe IPNSIG (Interplanetary
> chapter) set up its own web site. The chapters have independent existence
> from ISOC, by requirement. They can raise their own funds, have a bank
> account distinct from ISOC, etc.
>
> v
>
>
> On Sun, May 26, 2024 at 3:01 AM Joly MacFie via Chapter-delegates <
> chapter-delegates at elists.isoc.org> wrote:
>
>>
>> When the new SIG / Standing Group structure was set up at the start of
>> 2022, there were a set of guidelines posted on MemberNova.
>>
>> This document is no longer available, but IIRC, defined a principle that
>> ISOC staff would handle 'administration' roles, to leave volunteers
>> unencumbered by such mundanity as documentation, web presence, finances, so
>> that they could dedicate themselves to actual projects. I found this quote:
>>
>> Processes and protocols for archiving and accessing publicly available
>>> resources such as web content, listservs and social media accounts will be
>>> developed as part of the roll out plan for the new SIG structure. The
>>> emphasis will be to ensure public assets and work done by SIGs is available
>>> and can inform future efforts while maintaining connections and community
>>> that has been developed
>>
>>
>> So, no websites for Groups outside of ISOC, to ensure continuity as teams
>> change every two years.
>>
>> Eventually landing pages for the SIGS/SGs were set up at
>> https://www.internetsociety.org/sigs/ however, in terms of
>> documentation these are limited to a few focus areas and current Group
>> leaderships, and there was a wait for Fonteva.
>>
>> Most groups responded by setting up chat groups on Telegram, Whatsapp, or
>> Signal, and maybe Google docs, maybe some social media, and now, Chatter
>> groups are available via Fonteva, working for some.
>>
>> Documentation/Website? The ISOC-NY A11ySIG plugged the gap by documenting
>> the Accessibility Standing Group on their wiki, which the new leadership
>> have ported over to a standalone site https://isocasg.org, now linked
>> from the ISOC landing page.
>>
>> So questions:
>>
>> Where are the current guidelines?
>>
>> What follow up is being done on documentation of the first two year
>> projects?
>>
>> Can SIGs now set up their own websites?
>>
>> Is sigleaders at isoc.org listserv still a thing? And, if not, is Chapter
>> Dels an appropriate venue to discuss SIG matters?
>>
>> Looking forward to responses
>>
>> Joly
>> --
>> --------------------------------------
>> Joly MacFie  +12185659365
>> --------------------------------------
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>

-- 
--------------------------------------
Joly MacFie  +12185659365
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