Draft IAB conflict of interest policy

[IAB Chair <[e-mail]>]

Dear Colleagues,

The IAB is considering adoption of the conflict of interest policy 
below.  If you have comments on this draft policy, please send them 
[e-mail] <mailto:[e-mail]>.

best regards,

Ted Hardie
for the IAB


      INTERNET ARCHITECTURE BOARD CONFLICT OF INTEREST POLICY

This policy covers the nomcom-selected Internet Architecture Board (IAB) 
members and ex-officio members (collectively, “Covered Individuals”). 
This policy has no impact on any other participants in IAB activities, 
for instance liaisons to and from the IAB or IAB program members.

In carrying out their IAB role, Covered Individuals must act in the best 
interest of the Internet community. Occasionally this duty may be—or may 
appear to be—incompatible or in conflict with a Covered Individual’s 
personal interests (including interests of their family members), or the 
interests of an organization of which the Covered Individual is an 
employee, director, owner, or otherwise has business or financial 
interest. If a Covered Individual has a conflict of interest for 
whatever reason, that individual must avoid participating in the work of 
the IAB that touches on the related matter.

The IAB does not directly deal with matters relating to contracts or 
finance. The IAB does, however, have a role in personnel decisions, and 
its decisions and outputs have a potential to indirectly affect 
contracts within the IETF system. IAB's technical decisions and outputs 
have also a potential to impact both work elsewhere in the IETF and 
businesses that employ or develop Internet technology.

Covered Individuals shall not use the IAB’s resources or decisions as a 
means for personal or third-party gain.


      Disclosure of Actual or Potential Conflicts

The IAB requires that all Covered Individuals disclose their main 
employment, sponsorship, consulting customer, or other sources of income 
when joining the IAB or whenever there are updates.

In addition, when a topic is discussed at the IAB, the Covered 
Individuals are required to promptly disclose if that topic constitutes 
a perceived or potential conflict of interest. Once disclosed, Covered 
Individuals may recuse from participation in discussions or decisions at 
their discretion.

The specific conflicts that may cause a perceived or potential conflict 
of interest are matters for individual and IAB judgment, but generally 
come in the following forms:

  *

    A personnel decision relates to the Covered Individual, a colleague
    that the Covered Individual's works closely with, or a family
    member. For the purposes of this policy, a "person working closely
    with" is someone working in the same team or project, or a direct
    manager or employee of the Covered Individual. And "family" means a
    spouse, domestic partner, child, sibling, parent, stepchild,
    stepparent, and mother-, father-, son-, daughter-, brother-, or
    sister-in-law, and any other person living in the same household,
    except tenants and household employees.

  *

    A decision or output from the IAB impacts a contract that the IETF
    enters into with a party, and that party relates to the Covered
    Individual, a colleague that the Covered Individual's works closely
    with, or a family member.

  *

    Activity on the IAB involves discussion and decisions regarding
    technical matters, mainly related to IETF activities. As an activity
    adjacent to a standardization process, it is often the case that
    Covered Individuals will have some (frequently non-financial) stake
    in the outcome of discussions or decisions that relate to technical
    matters. This policy does not require that Covered Individuals
    disclose such conflicts of interest as they relate to technical
    matters. However, Covered Individuals need to exercise their
    judgment and, in extraordinary cases be willing to disclose
    potential or perceived conflicts of interest even as they relate to
    technical matters. For example, if a Covered Individual's sponsor
    were in the process of entering a new market where there is an
    ongoing IAB discussion, then disclosure, or even recusal, might be
    appropriate, even if difficult.


      Disclosure Transparency

A person's recusal to participate in the discussion of a topic is always 
noted in the public IAB minutes. In addition, the IAB will maintain a 
repository of all general disclosures of employment and other 
sponsorship. It is expected that much of this repository is public, but 
there can be situations where some disclosures (such as customers of 
consultants) are private.



  <https://github.com/jariarkko/alternate-iab-coi-policy/blob/master/coi-policy.md#status>