Re: IETF Secretariat continues under new approach

Mirjam,

I understand the concern that caused this decision to be made, but I don’t understand how the resulting change will reduce this risk.   I fear that forcing people to move from working for AMS to the LLC might well have the opposite effect.   How does "by more direct, day-to-day management of employees” reduce this risk?   

Please explain.

Bob



> On Apr 13, 2026, at 10:46 PM, mirkuhne <[email protected]> wrote:
> 
> 
> Hi Alissa,
> 
> Thanks for your note. I’ve been delayed in responding as I’ve been on travel for the past few days. I am sorry if the blog post was not clear enough. We added some more explanations and context, but please also find answers to your questions below.
> 
> The Employer of Record (EOR) employment model is in line with how most of the LLC staff are employed, including the RFC Production Center (RPC), developers, and the Executive Director—not as direct employees of the LLC but contracted through arrangements with other EOR providers. The IETF LLC is responsible for staff management, including personnel recruitment and replacement, goal setting, and annual reviews. 
> 
> The Board considered several alternatives to moving to this approach from the previous RFP, service-based contract model—such as possibly two service contracts—and came to the conclusion that in-sourcing the functions and staff who are key to IETF operations would be most beneficial for all in the long-run. As noted in the blog post, the LLC Board recognized the critical value of the individuals involved and the accumulated knowledge possessed by the AMS team. We saw it as a major strategic risk for the IETF if we would lose those individuals (this was already explained in the blog post, but I would like to stress this here as this was really one of our main motivations for this change).
> 
> I would also like to note that the EOR model was not implemented due to legal issues around what defines a contractor versus employee. There have been no legal issues with using an association management company, such as AMS, to provide secretariat services to the IETF. Rather, the IETF LLC concluded that AMS staff, who hold critical institutional knowledge, should be employed under a person-based contract rather than a service-based contract. This means we can better align the services provided to the needs of the IETF by more direct, day-to-day management of employees.
> 
> This change does mean the number of LLC staff has increased. It comes after careful deliberation of how to best meet the IETF LLC’s responsibilities within the working principles set out in RFC 8711. We believe the move to this new arrangement ensures continuity and stability, and increases clarity in the short run. It also provides us with flexibility in the long run, should the IETF requirements change.
> 
> Thanks again for your note and I hope this answers the questions you raised.
> 
> Kind regards,
> Mirjam
> 
> 
> 
> On Thursday, April 9th, 2026 at 15:24, Alissa Cooper <[email protected]> wrote:
> 
>> Hi Mirjam,
>> 
>> I was just reading through this blog post and found it opaque. Are the Secretariat now LLC staff? I.e., are their performance reviews and compensation determined by the LLC? Is there any difference between their status as employees and the RPC staff, which the LLC also took over several years ago? These seem like the kinds of things that would have been straightforward to explain in the blog post. If these are the implications of the announced changes, it seems that the LLC now employs 30 people.
>> 
>> If it is the case that the Secretariat staff are now being managed by the LLC rather than AMS, that seems like a very significant change. It would be good to understand what the “major strategic risk” was that the LLC perceived, especially given the unique investment that AMS has made over decades to adapt to so many particular needs and wants that the IETF has expressed. When bidding out the contract, there was always a chance that AMS could take its business elsewhere, but presumably the process of the competitive bidding has functioned as an important check and motivator for AMS to deliver the services that meet the IETF’s needs. If the Secretariat staff are now LLC employees, that check is gone. Gone too are all the benefits to the IETF of the cross-pollination that occurred within AMS, as AMS staff support multiple different kinds of technical organizations and bring their knowledge of how other orgs do things to their work for the IETF. I always appreciated that broader perspective in my interactions with AMS staff. The IETF is a special place, but it can be incredibly helpful to learn from outside.
>> 
>> If this is the change that led to Stephanie’s departure, what a true loss for the IETF community!
>> 
>> Alissa
>> 
>> 
>>> On Mar 31, 2026, at 4:53 PM, IETF Administration LLC Board of Directors Chair <[email protected]> wrote:
>>> 
>>> As of 1 April 2026, the IETF Secretariat function will be staffed through an Employer of Record (EOR) arrangement rather than a service contract awarded through a Request for Proposal (RFP) process as it has been until now.
>>> 
>>> The IETF Secretariat provides important support for two key parts of the IETF:
>>> 
>>> 1. IETF meetings, and
>>> 2. Community & leadership groups (IAB, IESG, LLC Board) support.
>>> 
>>> The transition is being structured so as not to affect the kind or quality of support provided. IETF participants should see no difference when the changeover happens. For more detail, see:
>>> https://www.ietf.org/blog/secretariat-continuation
>>> 
>>> Sincerely,
>>> Mirjam Kühne
>>> Chair, Board of Directors
>>> IETF Administration LLC
>>> 
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> IETF-Announce mailing list -- [email protected]
>>> To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected]
>> 
>> 
> 
>