Executive Director's Report to Council 29/10/04
Overview
Many of the seeds planted in the last year are popping their heads above ground and in a few cases we are picking the fruit already. As our staff and contractors come up to speed the secretariat is delivering more of the outputs the society is learning to expect. Our next three months will be the most intense and hopefully productive since I became ED.
Continuity
As many of you are aware I took this position with a fixed term to
achieve shift in the way InternetNZ is perceived, and its ability to
deliver outputs that match its vision. With a strategic plan in place,
the issues of the old Domain Name business settled, good governance,
and a strong secretariat, InternetNZ is driving the industry and being
accepted as the logical
place to some for guidance on Internet
matters. Therefore my job is coming to a close. To ensure continuity,
and to make sure I conclude the things that are in my sights, I will
finish as Executive Director coinciding with the AGM on July 30 2005.
The combination of my availability, the skills and knowledge of the
secretariat team, and the new Research Officer role will ensure my
successor does not walk into a vacuum. Provided we hit our targets, the
role of the new Executive Director will be different, and it is over to
the elected team to make the decision on the new role.
Staffing
Our team continues to develop, and it satisfying to see the levels of initiative and focus that is applied to the job of running the secretariat. To ensure that we develop our skills well, we are undertaking a range of training. Both Gale and Isabel have attended HTML and Dreamweaver training with the aim of becoming self sufficient in maintaining our web site. Isabel is shortly to have more Excel training. The whole team will have a first aid update in the next month. In conjunction with the other INZ groups, we are engaging an EAP service.
Projects
All projects are reported on separately. We continue to develop the PMO role and Gale is working with all project leaders to ensure that reporting and use of PM tools
Significant Events
Peering Study.
We have retained John Small of Covec to develop a report on the commercial aspects of peering. He has completed most of the research, and we should have a report available for the meeting. The outputs will be used to convince the CEOs of carriers to work within and develop the current peering structure. We will also promote peering as a public issue.
ICTUS/ICTNZ
Having engaged Jim Higgins for the ICTUS role we found that NZT&E had a similar plan. However they had been meeting without us (or several other significant organisations) and without producing action, and have accepted that we are already up and going. ICTNZ is being established and we are part of it. You will have the draft constitution to consider and decide to support. I will submit a fuller ICTUS report at the meeting.
NZ Portal
Jan Bieringa, and a group of people who wish to put more emphasis
on content are working with us to develop a way forward. This may
involve seedbedding a new content aligned organization. As part of
publicizing this we are working towards using the entries into existing
NZ awards to be promoted into the global WSA awards next year. Jan
should have a
report on this available for the meeting. There is a strong linkage between this effort and the ICTNZ/ICTUS initiative.
APTLD Secretariat
InternetNZ presented a bid to operate the APTLD secretariat from Jan 1 2005. On October 14 we were notified that our bid had been accepted. A small delegation will travel to the APTLD meeting in Perth to work with the current secretariat to facilitate the handover. Following that meeting we will work with Peter Dengate Thrush to ensure that the model we develop meets the needs of the elected body. The TBA Research Officer will have management responsibility for the secretariat.
Ministerial Briefing
I met with David Cunliffe on Thursday October 21. The briefing paper is attached. The outcomes from my notes are:
1) Broadband: The Minister accepts our position, and wishes us to
continue to work in this area, but to focus more on demand creation to
put pressure on Telecom.
2) Anti-spam code. The Minister indicated that it is unacceptable for
Telecom to be seen to draft the code. He confirmed with support from
Reg Hammond that InternetNZ will draft the code and TCF is to be part
of the review process
2) ICOP The Minister wishes to publicly support the ICOP ,(cheering it
on as it were) Telecoms objection is not seen as a road block. We are
to work with MED to map the code to the digital strategy. Reg Hammond
is happy with that.
3) Interop The Minister supports our position and applauds choice of
Christchurch for the lab. We did not ask for money at the meeting!.
4) Peering The Minister was largely unaware of the issue and wishes to
be brought up to date. MED will do this. He is keen to see John Small's
paper and I am to clear John Small to talk to the minister about the
work we have requested..
5) ICTUS/ICTNZ The Minister appreciates the benefits to govt, and
wishes to ensure there is only one organisation doing this. The
minister has requested that we have regular meetings, most likely two
monthly. We will form a small ministerial briefing tem of three people
to attend these meetings.
Press
We continue to gain good coverage of Internet issues in the press. We look forward to having a formal communication plan to support this effort
Broadband Issues
I have decided to pick off consumer access broadband as a quick win target.. The aim is to convince Telecom that they need to roll out unchoked DSL through direct and indirect channels as quickly as possible. The initial reaction was negative, but as the quantity and volume of support for our position has increased, we are now getting Telecom attention. I spoke to Teresa Gattung, who had read our press release, she agrees their approach is confusing, and I was asked to meet with her managers in that area to ensure we understand their position and to see if we can shift their perspective.
Conclusion
My apologies for not having all the components for the reports to council on time. You will receive project updates be email, and in hard copy at the meeting. In several cases we are at significant points in projects, and we felt that having the outcomes from these milestones would be of real benefit in supporting decisions the council meeting. The secretariat is in good shape, and enjoying the challenges thrown up as the society gathers pace.
