[Chapter-delegates] Chapter advice on live streaming
Olivier MJ Crépin-Leblond
ocl at gih.com
Mon Sep 16 08:40:06 PDT 2024
Dear Ted,
Thank you for your response. Given your valid point regarding the
openness of the Chapter Delegate mailing list, I will focus exclusively
on the ISOC.Live Streaming and Archiving service, which primarily serves
Chapters.
Aligning with the previous CEO's statements, you mentioned that the
decision to close ISOC.LIVE was made by staff. However, this misses a
crucial point: the request to resume funding was formally submitted by
Chapters to the ISOC Board of Trustees through the Chapter Advisory
Council. A formal decision from the ISOC Board of Trustees was
necessary, requiring adherence to governance principles, including
transparency and accountability, which your response lacks.
I refer you to my previous points made to Luis concerning the Board of
Trustees' responsibilities, beyond their fiduciary duties:
According to the US Council of Nonprofits
(https://www.councilofnonprofits.org/running-nonprofit/governance-leadership/board-roles-and-responsibilities):
"A board of directors does not exist solely to fulfill legal duties and
serve as a fiduciary of the organization’s assets. Board members also
play significant roles in providing guidance to nonprofits by
contributing to the organization’s culture, strategic focus,
effectiveness, and financial sustainability, as well as serving as
ambassadors and advocates. Beyond fulfilling legal duties, board members
can be important resources for the organization in multiple ways."
Merely rubber-stamping staff decisions can lead to significant failures,
as evidenced by numerous corporate governance disasters. A pertinent
example is the failed attempt to sell PIR, which severely damaged the
Internet Society's reputation. It is advisable for all Board members to
undertake a basic course on their rights and responsibilities to ensure
effective governance and fulfil their critical roles as outlined above.
If ISOC.Live is considered a critical service for one of the Internet
Society’s three core communities, the ISOC Board of Trustees is
obligated to take action and fulfil their responsibilities, rather than
avoiding them.
Kind regards,
Olivier Crépin-Leblond
On 16/09/2024 09:04, Ted Hardie wrote:
> Hi Olivier,
>
> Thanks for expressing your thoughts on this matter. You ask below
> whether the Board will be "formally notifying the Chair of the Chapter
> Advisory Council, along with her Council Board members, of the
> rejection of the Chapter Advisory Council’s Advice?"
>
> On the question of the openness of the chapter delegate list, the
> board has pointed out that there is no need for board action here,
> since the history shows that the original action to close it was taken
> by the ChAC. This is not a rejection of the advice; it is a
> continuation of the dialogue with the ChAC on how to accomplish their
> goal and a note that the staff contacts will be able to help worth
> through the options with them.
>
> On the question of live streaming, the board has reminded the ChAC
> that the decision to move to a project basis for live streaming was a
> staff decision, based on an analysis of the consumption patterns of
> the relevant media. The board's role here was to set the goals for
> the communication plan; it does not direct the staff on how to
> structure contracts nor would it be appropriate for the board to
> require specific contractors. It has also noted that data from the
> chapters on the consumption patterns they see when using live
> streaming would be valuable input to ongoing analysis of how to best
> meet the goals of the communication plan.
>
> I do not believe I would characterize either response as a rejection
> of the advice of the ChAC. The board has responded and clarified its
> roles here, and in neither case would it be the right body to take the
> action requested. We are happy to have the staff support the ChAC in
> meeting its goals directly in the first instance and in the second
> instance to work together with the chapters to continue the analysis
> of consumption patterns and communication strategies.
>
> The ChAC has been kind enough to invite me to the call tomorrow,
> September 17th, and I look forward to the opportunity for us to chat
> together.
>
> best regards,
>
> Ted Hardie
>
> On Sun, Sep 15, 2024 at 1:36 PM Olivier MJ Crépin-Leblond
> <ocl at gih.com> wrote:
>
> Dear Ted,
>
> Thank you for explaining the process by which the Internet Society
> Board of Trustees reached its decision. I question the
> appropriateness of this process, given the formal nature of the
> request made by the Chapter Advisory Council, which included a
> vote and extensive documentation.
>
> Could you please clarify the rationale behind the decision not
> requiring a formal resolution? Is it not customary for the Board
> to formally endorse or reject formal Advice upon receipt? What
> measures of accountability does the Board have in its decisions if
> they are based on informal processes that lack transparency and
> traceability? Considering the fiduciary responsibilities of all
> Board members, how many other decisions of the Board are subjected
> to this “informal” process, of which non-Board members were
> previously unaware?
>
> Finally, will you be formally notifying the Chair of the Chapter
> Advisory Council, along with her Council Board members, of the
> rejection of the Chapter Advisory Council’s Advice?
>
> Kind regards,
>
> Olivier Crépin-Leblond
>
>
> On 13/09/2024 12:36, Ted Hardie wrote:
>> Hi Olivier,
>>
>> The board has an active mailing list and informal meetings once a
>> month (though August's meeting did not occur this year because of
>> low availability). The discussion took place mostly on the
>> mailing list, along with trustees' edits of a proposal using
>> online tools. Because this response did not require a resolution,
>> confirmation of agreement was assessed on the list and confirmed
>> at the September informal meeting, earlier this week. None of
>> those methods generate minutes in the formal sense, but I can
>> confirm that there was consensus for the response.
>>
>> regards,
>>
>> Ted Hardie
>>
>> On Fri, Sep 13, 2024 at 12:16 PM Olivier MJ Crépin-Leblond
>> <ocl at gih.com> wrote:
>>
>> Dear Ted,
>>
>> I acknowledge receipt of your response, which I have reviewed
>> with interest.
>>
>> The Chapter Advisory Council submitted its formal request on
>> 17 July 2024. The Board, through its Chair, issued its, I
>> assume, formal response on 13 September 2024.
>>
>> Upon reviewing the list of ISOC Board Meetings available at
>> Internet Society Board of Trustees Meetings
>> <https://www.internetsociety.org/board-of-trustees/meetings/>,
>> I have not identified any meetings of the ISOC Board of
>> Trustees occurring between these dates.
>>
>> Given that this decision was made by the Board, I kindly
>> request the following:
>>
>> * The minutes of the meeting during which the Board decided
>> not to reinstate the ISOC.LIVE video production, editing,
>> and archiving services.
>>
>> Warmest regards,
>>
>> Olivier Crépin-Leblond
>>
>>
>>
>> On 13/09/2024 09:17, Ted Hardie via Chapter-delegates wrote:
>>>
>>> Dear colleagues,
>>>
>>>
>>> One of the items in your recent advice to the board was a
>>> request that the "ISOC funding for the ISOC.LIVE video
>>> production, editing, and archiving services should be
>>> reinstated, as well as ISOC.LIVE should be financially
>>> supported by ISOC on an ongoing basis."
>>>
>>>
>>> The board's role here is to set the direction for the
>>> organization by establishing strategic goals; the details of
>>> the communication plan are a part of the staff execution of
>>> those goals. During the budget analysis of 2023, the
>>> communications team analyzed the effectiveness of specific
>>> streaming approaches and found that community engagement was
>>> driven primarily by on-demand viewing. This matches a
>>> broader shift common to mainstream programming. As a result
>>> of this analysis, the communications plan shifted away from
>>> a retainer-based contract for live streaming to a
>>> project-based funding model for future work.
>>>
>>>
>>> This was a staff management decision, taken with due care
>>> and analysis. The board's role is to assess whether the
>>> overall communications plan is effective in meeting the
>>> strategic goals; it does not direct the staff to use
>>> specific contract types or contractors. If the needs of the
>>> communications plan change again to require live streaming
>>> on a full-time basis, the board is confident that the staff
>>> will issue the appropriate RFP and conduct the appropriate
>>> analysis of the submissions.
>>>
>>>
>>> The project-based funding model remains available, and
>>> chapters may, of course, fund specific live streaming events
>>> using chapter funds or Beyond The Net grants. Any analysis
>>> of the effectiveness of those live streaming events would be
>>> valuable data for any future considerations of the
>>> engagement model.
>>>
>>>
>>> The board thanks the ChaC for its attention to the
>>> communications plan, and we look forward to continued
>>> discussion of how to engage the broader community in the
>>> mission of the society.
>>>
>>>
>>> Best regards,
>>>
>>>
>>> Ted Hardie
>>> for the Board
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> As an Internet Society Chapter Officer you are automatically subscribed
>>> to this list, which is regularly synchronized with the Internet Society Chapter Portal (AMS):https://community.internetsociety.org.
>>> -
>>> View the Internet Society Code of Conduct:https://www.internetsociety.org/become-a-member/code-of-conduct/
>>
>
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