Proposed Revision to the ARIN Policy Development Process [Archived]

Posted: Friday, 25 April 2008

On 8 April 2008, at ARIN XXI in Denver, Colorado, Scott Bradner presented a proposed policy development process to replace the current Internet Resource Policy Evaluation Process (IRPEP). We invite the entire community to review and comment on the proposed new PDP. The presentation can be found at:

http://www.arin.net/meetings/minutes/ARIN_XXI/ppm.html

and the webcast can be found at:

http://www.arin.net/meetings/minutes/ARIN_XXI/ppm.html.

Please post any comments no later than 5 PM EDT, Friday, 9 May 2008 to arin-ppml@arin.net.

PRINCIPLE

ARIN’s Internet Resource Policies are documented community decisions that directly determine the rules by which Internet numbering resources are managed and administered by ARIN. Internet Resource Policies are developed in an open and transparent manner by the Internet community.
Anyone may participate in the process - ARIN membership is not required.
The Policy Development Process (PDP) described in this document defines how policy is established in the ARIN region.

The ARIN Board of Trustees adopts proposed Internet Number Resource Policies recommended to it by the ARIN Advisory Council (AC) if the Board determines that the PDP has been followed, that support and consensus for a policy has been reached among the community, and if the proposed policies are consistent with ARIN’s Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws and with the applicable laws and regulations.

It is important to note that Internet Resource Policies are distinctly separate from ARIN general business practices and procedures. ARIN’s general business practices (including fees) and procedures are not within the purview of the Policy Development Process. (The ARIN Consultation and Suggestion Process can be used to propose changes in non-policy areas.)

OVERVIEW

The proposed PDP is intended to bring forth clear, technically sound and useful policy; reduce overlapping policy proposals; require both staff and legal assessments before discussion; give adequate opportunity for discussion prior to each public policy meeting; and provide a means of review prior to possible adoption. The proposed PDP empowers the ARIN Advisory Council by shifting its scope from a policy advisory body to a policy development body while providing checks and balances and maintains an open and transparent process.

THE POLICY DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

1. Proposal. [15 Days, maximum]

a. Submittal. Policy proposals may be submitted at any time.
Anyone in the community, except a member of the ARIN Board of Trustees or a member of ARIN staff can originate a policy proposal. Policy proposals must be sent to the policy email address at ARIN. Proposals can be submitted at any time but only proposals received more than 70 days before a Public Policy Meeting (PPM) can generate a draft policy for consideration at that meeting.

b. Clarity & Understanding. ARIN staff works with the proposal originator to ensure there is clarity and understanding of what is being proposed. The staff does not evaluate the proposal itself at this stage, their only aim is to make sure that they understand what the proposal is proposing and believe that the community will as well.

If understanding is reached the proposal is announced to the community via the ARIN Public Policy Mailing List (PPML) and forwarded to the AC.
The proposal is dropped if the staff and originator cannot reach an agreement on clear and understandable text.

In this case, the originator may make a Submittal Petition and send the proposal to PPML and request community support to have the proposal forwarded to the AC for review. There is no AC action in this phase.

2. Draft Policy. [30 Days, maximum]

a. Development & Evaluation. The AC assumes ownership of all proposals. The AC develops and evaluates proposals to only bring forth technically sound policies that make a positive contribution to the Number Resource Policy Manual. The AC may rewrite, merge, abandon, etc.; for example, they may use a proposal as an idea to generate a draft policy.

If the AC intends to move a draft policy forward, it must first submit it for staff and legal review (10 days max to perform). The AC must understand and address staff and legal comments before a proposal may go on. These comments may cause the AC to revise a draft policy.

b. Selection. The AC selects the draft policies that will be published for discussion and review by the community on the PPML. The relevant staff and legal comments will be published along with each draft policy.

If any member of the community, including a proposal originator, is dissatisfied with the AC action on a policy proposal they can initiate a Discussion Petition to move this particular proposal to the PPML for discussion as a draft policy.

A successful petition may result in competing versions of the same draft policy. Staff and legal review will be conducted and published for successful petitions.

3. Discussion and Review. [25 Days, minimum]

Only draft policies selected by the AC or successfully petitioned are open to community discussion and review on PPML. The text of all draft policies is frozen at 10 days prior to the Public Policy Meeting. The text remains frozen until after the completion of the Public Policy Meeting so that a single text for each draft policy is considered at the meeting.

4. Public Policy Meeting. The AC presents draft policies at the Public Policy Meeting; the successful petitioner presents theirs. Competing proposals, if any, will be discussed together. Discussion and votes at the meeting are for the consideration of the AC.

5. Consensus.

a. Discussion Evaluation. [30 Days, maximum] At the conclusion of the PPM the AC owns all draft policies, including those that were successfully petitioned. The AC reviews all draft policies and, taking into account discussion both on the PPML and at the Public Policy Meeting, decides what to do with each draft policy. The AC may rewrite, merge, abandon, send to last call, etc. The results of the AC’s decisions are announced to the PPML. Draft policies that are not abandoned or sent to last call are placed on the AC docket for further development and evaluation.

If any member of the community, including a proposal originator, is dissatisfied with the AC action on a policy proposal they can initiate a Last Call Petition to move this particular proposal to the PPML for last call.

b. Last Call [10 Days, minimum] The AC selects draft policies that have support both in the community and the AC itself and sends them to a last call for comments on the PPML.

The last call period will be for a minimum of 10 days. The AC may decide that certain draft proposals may require a longer last call period of review, such as those that were revised based on comments received while the text was frozen. If the AC sends a draft policy to last call that is different from the frozen version, then the AC will explain and justify changes to the text.

c. Last Call Review [30 Days, maximum] The AC determines consensus for each draft policy by reviewing last call comments, revisiting its decision (the AC may rewrite, merge, abandon, etc.), and determining readiness for consideration by the Board of Trustees. If the AC modifies a draft policy, it will be sent for another round of last call or may be placed back on the AC’s docket for further development and evaluation.

If any member of the community is dissatisfied with the AC action on a policy proposal they can initiate a Board of Trustees Consideration Petition to move this particular proposal for consideration by the Board of Trustees.

The results of the AC’s decisions are announced to the PPML. The AC forwards the draft policies that it supports to the Board of Trustees for consideration.

6. Board of Trustee Review. [30 Days, maximum] The ARIN Board of
   Trustees reviews and evaluates each draft policy presented to it. The Board examines each draft policy in terms of fiduciary risk, liability risk, conformity to law, development in accordance with the ARIN PDP, and adherence to the ARIN Articles of Incorporation and bylaws. The Board may adopt, reject or remand draft policies to the AC. Rejections will include an explanation. Remands will include an explanation and a recommendation. The Board may also seek clarification from the AC without remanding the draft policy. The results of the Board’s decision are announced to the community via PPML.

7. Implementation. The expected implementation date of the policy is announced at the time that adoption of the policy is announced. ARIN staff updates to include the adopted policy into the Number Resource Policy Manual and implements and publishes a new version of the manual.

REMINDER: COMMUNITY REVIEW REQUEST

We invite the entire community to review and comment on the proposed new PDP. The presentation can be found at:

http://www.arin.net/meetings/minutes/ARIN_XXI/ppm.html

and the webcast can be found at:

http://www.arin.net/meetings/minutes/ARIN_XXI/ppm.html.

Please post any comments no later than 5 PM EDT, Friday, 9 May 2008 to arin-ppml@arin.net.

Raymond A Plzak
President and CEO
American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN)