Re: [lac-discuss-en] [ALAC] Some thoughts on ALS Criteria & Expectations Taskforce

To: Beran Dondeh <berandondeh@xxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: [lac-discuss-en] [ALAC] Some thoughts on ALS Criteria & Expectations Taskforce
From: Holly Raiche <h.raiche@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sun, 9 Aug 2015 18:19:41 +1000

Thanks Beran

I don’t think any of us started our life with ALAC knowing what was going on.  
And I think your suggestion is a very good one - having those with experience 
of ALAC mentor the new comers.  Because, yes, it is a challenge all of have 
faced, and the more we can do to help out, the better

Holly
On 9 Aug 2015, at 6:05 pm, Beran Dondeh <berandondeh@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> As an ICANN fellow coming into AT large and eventually ALAC within a space of 
> year it was a big challenge for me. I struggled for the first six months and 
> played catch up a lot. Missing my inaugural ALAC meeting didn't help matters 
> as well. 
> 
> I coped by identifying an ALAC member (Tijani)  and attaching myself as a 
> Mentee. This really helped me get up to speed and stay involved as well as 
> contribute where I could. 
> 
> I believe ALAC members as well as ALSs are expected to hit the ground running 
> once they enter the fold but not enough is done to perhaps help them stay in 
> the fold.
> 
> My mentorship with Tijani helped immensely and I think it's an approach worth 
> considering.
> 
> Regards 
> 
> Beran
> "There is nothing more difficult to arrange and more dangerous to carry 
> through than initiating change..." Machiavelli 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone
> 
> On 9 Aug 2015, at 00:18, Carlton Samuels <carlton.samuels@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> 
>> Alan,
>> I hear you. I can also agree we could indeed categorise and I have no 
>> problem with the ones you have defined.  We can also agree that a variety of 
>> motivations to serve will bring varying performance.
>> 
>> Like you, the thrill from air travel is long gone for me as well. I do what 
>> I must. These days after 4 days elapsed time, I'm usually ready to go home. 
>> I have only two pleasure trips left in me; taking that Trans Siberian 
>> Express train from Moscow to the Russian Far East and Vladivostok, a trek 
>> thru Mongolia. Anyone wants to hand me a travel benefit then those are the 
>> only ones that will count!
>> 
>> As to that 3rd group you staked out, it is indeed irksome they show up, 
>> short on even intention to assist in the heavy lifting.  I paraphrase that 
>> eminent philosopher Forrest Gump; 'representatives are like a box of 
>> chocolate, you never know what you will get'.  A few ne'er-do-wells will get 
>> thru our processes time and again. I see this as a price you pay for 
>> voluntarism; what I call uneven results and performance. 
>> 
>> Its like the ICANN Fellowship programme.  I can't tell you how many Fellows 
>> - some of whom I have recommended - we have tried to engage after the 
>> fellowship trip that simply ignore us. For some the fellowship week 
>> experience was overwhelming; too much packed in days that are too long. They 
>> wonder how I find the time to do ICANN with all my other commitments and 
>> interests they know about. A few have even asked me directly if I'm getting 
>> paid 'under the table'!  But we harvest a few for the long haul. Again, 
>> let's manage expectations. We must expect uneven results and performance. 
>> 
>> -Carlton 
>> 
>> 
>> ==============================
>> Carlton A Samuels
>> Mobile: 876-818-1799
>> Strategy, Planning, Governance, Assessment & Turnaround
>> =============================
>> 
>> On Fri, Aug 7, 2015 at 5:58 PM, Alan Greenberg <alan.greenberg@xxxxxxxxx> 
>> wrote:
>> Carlton, I think that there are three distinct categories of people here, 
>> and we are merging them together.
>> 
>> 1. There are the dedicated hard workers for whom the travel may or may not 
>> be a "perk" at some level. I put you and me in that category. I have logged 
>> close to 2 million flying miles (that is, actual flown miles, not frequent 
>> flyer miles), and to quote an old song I am fond of "The thrill is a long 
>> time gone". I find it hard to consider a trip half-way across the world, 
>> where I may get 6 hours sleep, put in a grueling 7-10 days, and fly out 
>> again without seeing anything other than a hotel, perhaps 1 or 2 restaurants 
>> and the airport a perk or reward. 
>> 
>> On the other hand, on rare occasions, I do tag some vacation onto an ICANN 
>> trip and from that perspective, it does add a bit of a personal benefit - 
>> generally giving me an opportunity to see a place that I might not have done 
>> on my own.
>> 
>> 2. There are volunteers who are not among among our heavy lifters (really 
>> dedicated workers), but want to get involved. They are the ones that our GAs 
>> and summits should be targeted at. They are at the meetings to learn, and 
>> try to stay involved after.
>> 
>> 3. The latter ones come to meetings, perhaps attend some meetings, enjoy the 
>> local offerings, and go home and forget about us until the next trip. THOSE 
>> are the ones that I have a real problem with.
>> 
>> Of course, there are also some who straddle several categories. BUt when 
>> they go into option 3, I have a problem.
>> 
>> Alan
>> 
>> 
>> At 07/08/2015 01:55 PM, Carlton Samuels wrote:
>>> I participated in this morning's call and wanted to level the playing field 
>>> by enunciating some principles and a framework for our discussions.
>>> 
>>> Let's start with some principles.  
>>> 
>>> 1) The At-Large is a volunteer-led and fueled organisation and whatever we 
>>> do MUST be informed by unassailable facts we know of voluntary 
>>> organisations plus the psychology of voluntarism.
>>> 
>>> 2) Individuals make the worthwhile contributions, not organisations.
>>> 
>>> 3) There is a wide range of motivations for voluntarily contributing and 
>>> these must be fed for sustaining worthwhile contributions
>>> 
>>> 4) Results matter but volunteer contributions across the board shall always 
>>> be uneven
>>> 
>>> So now, the framework for discussions. There are structural issues as well 
>>> as political issues that must be embraced for any viable solution to 
>>> emerge.  The ICANN/RALO MOU is the source of the first 
>>> structurally-generated challenge.
>>> 
>>> While it recognizes individuals as the providers of policy advice, it 
>>> locates individual actions in organisations called ALS. And by so doing 
>>> suggests that value be given to the organisation.  Some RALOs, like NARALO, 
>>> have developed rules that recognize individual contributions but have 
>>> shoehorned valuation for contribution into an ALS structure.  I'm not now 
>>> sure what the answer should be but I know what we now have is not fit to 
>>> purpose and objective.
>>> 
>>> Another structural issue.  An individual coming to the ICANN policy 
>>> development ecosystem is going to become a worthwhile contributor by virtue 
>>> of mental acumen, penchant for hard work and time in place. Time in place 
>>> is the common criteria for success.  So current arrangements give extra 
>>> value to experienced volunteers.
>>> 
>>> At the same time, new blood is required to sustain the flow of worthwhile 
>>> contributors. Here's the thing. Face-to-Face (f2f) ICANN meetings are the 
>>> best platforms to learn and to become familiarized with this complex beast 
>>> called the ICANN ecosystem.
>>> 
>>> The effectiveness of a volunteer in policy development is directly related 
>>> to serial opportunity to participate in ICANN f2f meetings.  It is no 
>>> accident that the most impactful groups in ICANN are a) those that get to 
>>> f2f meetings as 'volunteers' engaged in compensated work b) Those who have 
>>> the wherewithal to self-fund attendance at ICANN f2f meetings. 
>>> 
>>> The task is to develop a framework that strikes a balance which takes into 
>>> account the need for experienced volunteers with capacity to deliver 
>>> worthwhile contributions even as we build capacity in newer 
>>> less-experienced volunteers to sustain the At-Large participation agenda.
>>> 
>>> The current funding model for attendance of At-Large volunteers to ICANN 
>>> f2f meetings assist ALAC representatives, liaisons from ALAC to qualified 
>>> SOs/ACs plus named RALO leadership. This construct seemingly presumes a 
>>> direct line of inheritance from RALO leadership thru ALAC representation. 
>>> We know it is a presumption without merit, especially if worthwhile 
>>> contributions to policy discussions is the objective for the At-Large in 
>>> ICANN.   
>>> 
>>> It is always wrong to think of travel funding to ICANN f2f meeting as a 
>>> benefit to a volunteer!  It is not and cannot be!
>>> 
>>> ALAC representation compels attending three (3) f2f meetings per annum. 
>>> They are coincident with the ICANN meetings.  In this context, travel 
>>> funding is purely part of the infrastructural cost to fulfill an 
>>> obligation. Otherwise it is like working for a company that has business 
>>> far removed from my place of domicile and expect performance without 
>>> provisioning the tools that enable that performance. 
>>> 
>>> It rankles me personally when my contributions in both time and treasure to 
>>> the ICANN enterprise is neither accounted or valorized.  Then insult is 
>>> added to my injury when some goof equates a trip sitting in steerage for 
>>> upwards of 17+ hours [the flight time from Chicago to New Delhi] as a 
>>> benefit!
>>> 
>>> I travel by air a lot for work; the miles are now counted in millions. In 
>>> the years I sat as an ALAC member + the incumbent Secretariat for LACRALO 
>>> and as a senior staffer at The University of the West Indies, I contributed 
>>> my vacation time of 3 weeks to ICANN for attending f2f meetings. This does 
>>> not count the average 20+ hours per week I normally dedicate to ICANN 
>>> matters. Nor my personal spend of a minimum of US$500 to attend said 
>>> meetings!  These all contribute to ICANN having a real opportunity to 
>>> record it is indeed multi-stakeholder, is fulfilling its AoC obligations 
>>> and has contributions from end user representatives to its policy 
>>> development.
>>> 
>>> Back in time, I was roundly criticised by some of my At-Large colleagues 
>>> for my position in dealing with so-called ALAC 'tourists'.  This matter 
>>> came to the top in India; LACRALO representatives to ALAC were accused of 
>>> abandoning ALAC business for a tour of Indian tourist sites.  This still 
>>> haunts the At-Large in ICANN circles. My firm stand against any sanctions 
>>> or additional criteria applied for travel support funding was interpreted 
>>> as 'protecting' the members accused from sanctions for inattention to duty. 
>>>  That was never my objective and it still is not the case today. I just 
>>> cannot accept the notion that travel funding is a benefit to the volunteer. 
>>> I shall, on principle, oppose any such notion, howsoever derived or 
>>> configured.
>>> 
>>> Finally, in the chat we heard talk of a 'reviewer' being appointed. While 
>>> the roles and responsibilities of such a person/actor is not yet outlined, 
>>> let us be clear to ring fence and give specific instructions as to what we 
>>> are trying to achieve here.  We must recognize from principles that 
>>> volunteers give as much as they can to the cause.  The contributions in 
>>> time and treasure of a Olivier Crepin-Leblond or Cheryl Langdon Orr cannot 
>>> be used as a benchmark for either engagement or indeed, worthwhile 
>>> contributions. 
>>> 
>>> Best,
>>> -Carlton 
>>> 
>>> ==============================
>>> Carlton A Samuels
>>> Mobile: 876-818-1799
>>> Strategy, Planning, Governance, Assessment & Turnaround
>>> =============================
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>>>  )
>> 
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