[members-discuss] [GM] Requirements and Expectations for Board Members and Candidates

Dear Ondrej, 

Thank you for this email on ncc-announce and from what I've read in the minutes of the EB, this has become quite a controversial topic within the EB already.. 

This shows in the minutes where it states : ( https://www.ripe.net/about-us/executive-board/minutes/2023/minutes-165th-executive-board-meeting <https://www.ripe.net/about-us/executive-board/minutes/2023/minutes-165th-executive-board-meeting> point 7.3 ) 

> 7.3 EB candidates assessment
> During EB#163, the Board asked the Managing Director to investigate mechanisms for the assessment of Executive Board candidates before an election. 
> Remco van Mook left the meeting room during the discussion of this item. He requested that it be noted in the minutes that it was inappropriate for the Board to discuss this topic.

I can only guess on the actual reason for Remco to leave the room as this was brought to the table .. 

Could you express why the board decided to continue to discus the topic with an incomplete board, where putting this on the agenda was clearly upsetting one of the board members ? 
Was this because of the actual content of the proposal brought to the table by the MD (as he was tasked by preparing the topic as requested ) 
The topic by itself was requested by the EB, so it shouldn't have been such a controversial topic that an EB member should feel that it couldn't be discussed as is.. and needed to step out. 
I don't remember reading other EB meeting minutes where an EB member felt the need to step outside ... 

Was the proposal overreach by the MD, where the feedback / emotions after the investigation, which led to this topic, ( see https://www.ripe.net/about-us/executive-board/minutes/2022/minutes-163rd-executive-board-meeting <https://www.ripe.net/about-us/executive-board/minutes/2022/minutes-163rd-executive-board-meeting> point 13 and 14 ) weight to heavy on the actual deliverable that was put forward to the EB. 
And if so, why did the EB not corrected the MD on the work or handling, before discussing it further ? 

From what I see in the email that you send today, the proposal is looking to exclude WG Chairs (active members of the RIPE community) to not run for the EB... While these are some of the most active members of the community. 
Another suggestion from what I see is to limit the amount of people from the same country.. We've had Falk & CK (German) in the Board, Job, Remco & Raymond ( Dutch ), although Raymond has been living in Finland for years. 
Or are we talking about where they are residing .. in that case Salam (former EB member and running candidate) is residing in The Netherlands, so is Job & Remco ... 

Personally I would find it discriminating, if a good candidate would be disqualified, just by its country of origin, because someone in the EB happens to be already from the same country. (by birth or where he/she resides. ) 

Also removing the pool of WG Chairs is something I would be strongly against ... A lot of current / former board members have been WG Chairs ..
They have the faith of the community, they know the community and that is why they get elected for the EB position ... 

By putting this apparently controversial topic in the EB now forward to the community, my question is, is the EB managing this topic sufficiently and the MD on the work on it

 .. before requesting a community about an (in my few) flawed proposal ? 

Regards,
Erik Bais 








On 12/05/2023, 10:44, "ncc-announce on behalf of Ondřej Filip" <ncc-announce-bounces at ripe.net <mailto:ncc-announce-bounces at ripe.net> <mailto:ncc-announce-bounces at ripe.net <mailto:ncc-announce-bounces at ripe.net>> on behalf of exec-board-announce at ripe.net <mailto:exec-board-announce at ripe.net> <mailto:exec-board-announce at ripe.net <mailto:exec-board-announce at ripe.net>>> wrote:




Dear all,




This week, you will have seen an invitation to join the Executive Board 
at an Open House on Requirements and Expectations of Board Members and 
Candidates. I want to provide some context on why we are having this 
meeting and how your input can help the Board.




There are several reasons why we feel that now is the right time to 
discuss the expectations that the RIPE NCC membership has of its 
Executive Board members, not least the fact that we are responsible for 
the good governance of the RIPE NCC. And while the members will always 
elect the Board, we want to look closely at the formal requirements for 
Board members to make sure those elected will be able to carry out the 
role effectively and play their part in the good governance of the RIPE NCC.




We recently strengthened the processes around board candidacy by making 
amendments to the Articles of Association, which were approved by the 
membership. But we have seen recently in other RIR regions that there 
have been concerns raised about candidates for executive boards. This 
has made us pay extra attention to our own processes around board 
candidacy and membership.




The responsibilities of the Board are also much greater now than they 
were five, ten or 20 years ago. The Board has oversight of an 
organisation that manages important and valuable resources for 20,000 
members. It must deal with highly complex issues such as the impact of 
war and sanctions on the membership and the Internet, as well as ensure 
that service delivery is provided effectively and fairly across an 
incredibly diverse service region. Financial oversight is a big part of 
our governance, as demonstrated by the recent discussions about the RIPE 
NCC Charging Scheme. And we are also effectively responsible for the 
well-being of all the excellent staff who work hard to meet your needs.




To add to this, an independent investigation was carried out into 
allegations of bullying and harassment of a RIPE NCC staff member by a 
Board member. The investigation found no evidence of a breach of the 
RIPE NCC Code of Conduct and the Board will respect the findings of that 
investigation. But this did force us to look at our current structures 
and ask ourselves how we could handle such a situation should something 
similar arise again, and whether having new requirements or restrictions 
in place would help.




At our Board meeting in March, we discussed these issues and focused on 
whether there should be any new requirements, restrictions or 
expectations for those who sit on the Executive Board. The discussion 
covered many areas, including whether there should be restrictions on 
having more than one Board member from the same organisation or country, 
and whether it’s appropriate for Board members to sit on the boards of 
other Internet organisations. This discussion is noted in the minutes 
from our recent board meeting:
https://www.ripe.net/about-us/executive-board/minutes/2023/minutes-165th-executive-board-meeting <https://www.ripe.net/about-us/executive-board/minutes/2023/minutes-165th-executive-board-meeting> <https://www.ripe.net/about-us/executive-board/minutes/2023/minutes-165th-executive-board-meeting> <https://www.ripe.net/about-us/executive-board/minutes/2023/minutes-165th-executive-board-meeting>>




Although we had a good discussion on these issues, we did feel it would 
be better to consult directly with the membership about these topics. 
Following this discussion, the Board could then propose changes to the 
Articles of Association affecting the make-up of the Board. Such changes 
would have to be voted on by the membership. At this stage, what we are 
looking for is your input and your ideas to help make sure that the 
Board of the RIPE NCC is set up to effectively represent your interests.




So I ask you to please register for the Open House where we will present 
slides with topics for discussion and then open the floor for members’ 
input.
https://www.ripe.net/participate/meetings/open-house/ripe-ncc-open-house-requirements-and-expectations-for-board-members-and-candidates <https://www.ripe.net/participate/meetings/open-house/ripe-ncc-open-house-requirements-and-expectations-for-board-members-and-candidates> <https://www.ripe.net/participate/meetings/open-house/ripe-ncc-open-house-requirements-and-expectations-for-board-members-and-candidates> <https://www.ripe.net/participate/meetings/open-house/ripe-ncc-open-house-requirements-and-expectations-for-board-members-and-candidates>>




Best regards,




Ondřej Filip
RIPE NCC Executive Board Chair




RIPE NCC Executive Board - Functions and Expectations:
https://www.ripe.net/about-us/executive-board/ripe-ncc-executive-board-functions-and-expectations <https://www.ripe.net/about-us/executive-board/ripe-ncc-executive-board-functions-and-expectations> <https://www.ripe.net/about-us/executive-board/ripe-ncc-executive-board-functions-and-expectations> <https://www.ripe.net/about-us/executive-board/ripe-ncc-executive-board-functions-and-expectations>>




Executive Board Liability:
https://www.ripe.net/about-us/executive-board/executive-board-liability <https://www.ripe.net/about-us/executive-board/executive-board-liability> <https://www.ripe.net/about-us/executive-board/executive-board-liability> <https://www.ripe.net/about-us/executive-board/executive-board-liability>>




Current Call for Executive Board Candidates:
https://www.ripe.net/participate/meetings/gm/meetings/may-2023/announcements/call-for-nominations-to-the-ripe-ncc-executive-board <https://www.ripe.net/participate/meetings/gm/meetings/may-2023/announcements/call-for-nominations-to-the-ripe-ncc-executive-board> <https://www.ripe.net/participate/meetings/gm/meetings/may-2023/announcements/call-for-nominations-to-the-ripe-ncc-executive-board> <https://www.ripe.net/participate/meetings/gm/meetings/may-2023/announcements/call-for-nominations-to-the-ripe-ncc-executive-board>>