[ripe-list] DRAFT: Principles for Remuneration of the RIPE Chairs

Hi Niall, all,

During the last (and first) process for appointing people to the roles of RIPE Chair and Vice-Chair, I remember a slightly different concern being voiced than those that are addressed in this document. I thought I would mention it.

The pool of highly-qualified candidates for these roles includes people in a variety of personal and financial situations. There are some who are retired, some who are independently wealthy, some with employers who are amenable to providing support for hours not spent on these community activities and others for whom a day with no billable work is a day with no income.

This document addresses the question of how someone successfully appointed to one of these roles might go about negotiating some funding from the RIPE NCC but it is silent on how people can feel confident in accepting a nomination in the first place with no guarantee of funding or prior knowledge of what amount of funding might be available.

This seems like a source of bias in the candidate pool that ideally would not exist. We should be as open to qualified candidates whose normal income is precarious as we are to those whose income is more predictable. People should succeed on their merits in the role, not as a function of the depth of their pockets.

I think it's possible to address this concern in this document without adding a lot of complexity, e.g. by requesting a commitment from the RIPE NCC up front that a certain level of funding is definitely available to the selected candidates if they want it, no negotiation required. Perhaps it can be pegged to a particular salary range that already exists in the NCC, to avoid too much extra work. Negotiation once selected could still be welcome, but at least the baseline would be known.

Making the amount of funding clear and known before people are asked to throw their hats in the ring makes it more likely that people will feel comfortable accepting nominations.

Joe

On Wed, Mar 15, 2023 at 11:47, Niall O'Reilly <niall.oreilly at ucd.ie> wrote:

> Dear friends,
>
> Thanks to all of you who took time to read the draft which I sent last week,
> and especially to everyone who reacted or suggested changes, either privately
> or via the RIPE Discussion List.
>
> Please see below, and attached as PDF, a revised draft, in which we have
>
> -
>
> identified the document's authors, to wit, Daniel Karrenberg and myself;
>
> -
>
> tried to resolve the ambiguity arising from the overlapping meanings
> of "RIPE Chair" by referring explicitly to either or each of the Chair
> and Vice-Chair roles except in citations from other documents;
>
> -
>
> considered simplifying the language around "remuneration", but without
> finding a satisfactory solution;
>
> -
>
> considered specifying how to deal with the contingency that one of the
> selected individuals and the RIPE NCC could not agree on an arrangement,
> and preferred not to specify that in this document (see [message from
> Daniel Karrenberg](https://www.ripe.net/ripe/mail/archives/ripe-list/2023-March/002795.html)).
>
> -
>
> made a number of minor editorial changes.
>
> An additional PDF attachment shows all but the "minor editorial" changes,
> with red and green backgrounds used for dropped and added text respectively.
>
> Please let us know if you think this draft requires material changes.
> If not, I expect to declare a last call on this document after taking advice
> from the RIPE NCC's Director of HR and Administration.
>
> Best regards,
> Niall
>
> Principles for Remuneration of the RIPE Chair and Vice-Chair
>
> Document ID: RIPE-nnn (to be assigned)
> Authors: Daniel Karrenberg, Niall O'Reilly
>
> Notes for editorial attention
>
> This section is to be removed prior to publication.
>
> - Assign RIPE document number
> - Identify authors and acknowledge other contributors after
> obtaining corresponding consent from each.
> - Ensure that references are current.
>
> Introduction
>
> The RIPE Chair and Vice-Chair (together, the RIPE Chairs) have roles
> described in The RIPE Chair ([ripe-714](https://www.ripe.net/publications/docs/ripe-714/)). They are selected
> according to the process set out in The RIPE Chair Selection
> Process ([ripe-787](https://www.ripe.net/publications/docs/ripe-787/)).
>
> Over the years, taking on the role of RIPE Chair has become a
> significant commitment, as recognized in discussions on the RIPE
> Discussion List in [2017](https://www.ripe.net/ripe/mail/archives/ripe-list/2017-November/001268.html) and [2018](https://www.ripe.net/ripe/mail/archives/ripe-list/2018-February/001334.html). The role of RIPE Vice-Chair has subsequently
> been revived, and involves a comparable level of commitment. The
> sensitivity to conflicts of interest has increased too.
>
> In 2020 the RIPE Nominating Committee selected Mirjam Kühne as RIPE
> Chair. Mirjam needed to resign from her job with the RIPE NCC before
> taking on the role. On recommendation by the Nominations Committee the
> RIPE NCC offered to provide reasonable remuneration while making
> [arrangements](https://www.ripe.net/ripe/mail/archives/ripe-list/2020-August/001945.html) so that Mirjam can act without undue influence from the
> RIPE NCC.
>
> During this process questions were raised from the community about
> providing remuneration for either or both of the RIPE Chair and
> Vice-Chair, and specifically whether it is appropriate that the RIPE
> NCC provide such funding.
>
> The RIPE Nominating committee made this recommendation (among others)
> in its report ( [ripe-762](https://www.ripe.net/publications/docs/ripe-762/)), “Document community consensus about
> remuneration of the RIPE Chairs”.
>
> At the time of writing the community has had some experience with
> the [arrangements](https://www.ripe.net/ripe/mail/archives/ripe-list/2020-August/001945.html) mentioned above.
>
> Scope
>
> This document describes the principles of the RIPE community for
> remuneration of the RIPE Chair and Vice-Chair, and makes requests to
> the RIPE NCC in this regard.
>
> Principles
>
> The community wishes to be sure that the RIPE Chair and Vice-Chair are
> able to put in the necessary effort for their roles and to stay clear
> of undue influence, whether actual or perceived.
>
> The RIPE Chair and Vice-Chair will disclose to the community all
> potential conflicts of interest relating to their respective RIPE
> leadership role as they arise including how they address them. In
> particular they will disclose their significant means of subsistence.
> Nominees for either of these roles will make this disclosure to the
> RIPE Nominating Committee.
>
> The community requests that the RIPE NCC continue to reimburse the
> expenses incurred by the RIPE Chair and Vice-Chair in these roles.
>
> The community requests that, upon request by either or both of the
> RIPE Chair and Vice-Chair, the RIPE NCC provide appropriate
> remuneration for the time each individual spends performing their
> respective role.
>
> The community requests that the concrete arrangements for this shall
> ensure that the RIPE Chair and Vice-Chair can perform their duties
> without undue influence from the RIPE NCC and that the RIPE NCC inform
> the community how this is arranged.
>
> The community requests that the RIPE NCC Executive Board take
> responsibility for implementing these concrete arrangements.
>
> The community requests that the RIPE NCC continue to disclose the
> total cost of support for the RIPE Chair and Vice-Chair including
> expenses and any remuneration.
>
> Provenance
>
> The RIPE Chairs started working on this document in mid-2022, taking
> advice from the RIPE NCC. Daniel Karrenberg subsequently made a more
> concise draft on request of the RIPE Chairs.
>
> The RIPE NCC has indicated that it will consider the requests made in
> this document once the community reaches consensus on the final text.
>
> Historical and prospective timeline
>
> - 2017-11-25: [initial discussion](https://www.ripe.net/ripe/mail/archives/ripe-list/2017-November/001268.html) on RIPE Discussion List started by Erik Bais
> - 2018-02-19: [call for further discussion](https://www.ripe.net/ripe/mail/archives/ripe-list/2018-February/001334.html) by Nigel Titley
> - late 2022: preparation of draft proposal
> - 2023-03-07: initial draft released for community discussion
> - 202y-mm-dd: call for consensus issued
> - 202y-mm-dd: consensus declared
> - 202y-mm-dd: published as RIPE-nnnn
>
> Acknowledgements
>
> The authors gratefully acknowledge the encouragement, practical
> assistance, and valuable suggestions which we received from many
> members of the RIPE Community, including Joe Abley, Erik Bais, Randy
> Bush, Rob Evans, Nick Hilliard, Mirjam Kühne, Kurtis Lindqvist, Sander
> Steffann, Nigel Titley, Leo Vegoda, and Carolien Vos.
>
> We hope that we have not omitted to mention anyone to whom thanks are due,
> and ask their pardon in case we have.
>
> References
>
> - The RIPE Chair ([ripe-714](https://www.ripe.net/publications/docs/ripe-714/))
> - The RIPE Chair Selection Process ([ripe-787](https://www.ripe.net/publications/docs/ripe-787/))
> - 2020 RIPE Nominating Committee Report ([ripe-762](https://www.ripe.net/publications/docs/ripe-762/))
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------
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