Personal tools
You are here: Home → Internal & Annual Reports → Internal Reports → Executive Director's Reports → Archive → 2005 → Executive Director's Report to Council 04/03/05
Navigation
 

Executive Director's Report to Council 04/03/05

Executive Director's Report

February 2005
Peter Macaulay

Overview

The projected high work load announced in my last report came to pass, and the InternetNZ secretariat had the most intense period of work since I started in January 2003. Our team performed exceptionally and with a true combination of top individual effort and the synergy of a top team, we generated outputs for which we have been widely praised, and we are proud of.

Significant work done by the secretariat:

  • Published the working papers for the Internet Code of Practice
  • Submitted the review of the Telecommunications Act
  • Released the RFP for the proposed CMS solution
  • Shortlisted the CMS vendors
  • Supported the submission of the Apricot 2007 bid
  • Prepared and delivered the Bid presentation to the Apricot Board
  • Arranged and supported the visit of Bill Norton
  • Attended NZNOG in Hamilton
  • Coordinated the InternetNZ team and attended Apricot 2005
  • Successfully set up and took over the APTLD secretariat
  • Prepared and administered the APTLD AGM in Kyoto
  • Not least- business as usual!

People

  • Jordan Carter joined us just in time to take up the load in several areas. We are fortunate that Jordan's experience of InternetNZ as a former councillor and employee of the DNC allowed him to take up the yoke smoothly and quickly. Jordan is accountable for the operation of the APTLD secretariat, and the research function for the InternetNZ secretariat. If that is not enough Jordan also stands in for the ED in his absence.
  • Gale Blikshavn starts her maternity leave on February 25 and will be temporarily replaced by Milly Tamaki who will have an overlap week to pick up the traces. We wish Gale well in her new responsibility, and look forward to welcoming her back at the end of her leave.
  • We are creating a new permanent role which will have more emphasis on committee support and project management. This will be advertised in early March.
  • Isabel Carberry continues to do sterling work in managing the Society accounts, and working closely with Chris Streatfield she is delivering a service that other not for profits are envious of. Isabel is also picking up some of Gale's tasks.
  • Stuart Meiklejohn has almost concluded his assignment to deliver the draft InternetNZ Internet Code of Practice. Stuart's work is of the highest quality, and has made the President and ED's role almost one of rubber stamping. Stuart has shown great initiative in tackling the issues that arose, and quietly demolished any obstacles. The Draft Code will be ready for review on March 7, and we sadly lose Stuart as he takes up a permanent role in a government department. On the basis of the work Stuart has done for InternetNZ we expect to hear more of him in whatever area his career takes him in the future.
  • The Telecom Act Review was a frustrating and tough project. We were fortunate to have Kath Moran heading it. Kath had just left ITANZ after 6 years and is going to complete her law degree this year. Kath went beyond the call of duty in delivering an excellent result. We thank her for her effort and wish her well in her studies.
  • John Vorstermans continues to deliver stable operations for the IT requirements of the secretariat. With his depth of experience John is also a source of knowledge which we tap into regularly.
  • As we start the planning and work for ICANNZ06 Laura Virgo of Conference On Line will become part of the secretariat team and has joined the ICANNZ06 committee.
  • The secretariat is fortunate to be supported well by the officers and committee members who have significant operational input. I believe that a sign of a strong NFP organization is one where operational and policy people can work across each other's areas without creating tangles. We are a good example of that.

APTLD Secretariat

  • On the first week of January Jordan took over the operation of the APTLD secretariat. The transition went so smoothly we were very nervous. Ian Chiang visited us to assist in the transition, and in reality neither Jordan nor Ian had to make significant changes to deliver an excellent service. This has continued through to a smoothly run AGM and technical workshop at Apricot in Kyoto. Once the post AGM workload is done Jordan will review the APTLD processes and also have more time to take on new InternetNZ projects,

TACTR

  • The Telecommunications Act review is one of the surprises that we can't plan for. Yet it is vital that we respond well. We did.
  • Kath Moran and Michael Wigley (our legal expert) formed a formidable team which carved out the pieces of the review that we needed to action. Charging into action we engaged the telcos and had a remarkable response. We were invited to meet and share our responses to ensure that where we have common ground we did not duplicate effort. We were also better able to position our response by understanding the telco position. Even a year ago, we could not imagine sitting around a table with Telecom's lawyers, hammering out common positions. We also had good meetings with the Telecommunications commissioner and MED. InternetNZ should be proud of the work done by the TACTR team.
  • Now on to the cross submission phase.

Interop

  • At the end of 2004 we submitted a request for funding to NZT&E to allow the Interop project to go out to industry to win matching funds to get the InternetNZ Interoperability Laboratory at Canterbury University under way. As might be expected with the current climate on audit issues around government funded projects, our bid needs to be directed properly and will come under increased scrutiny. We are confident that we will achieve our funding goals, but it will take more time than we planned. Since we have used the InternetNZ project funds allocated, we are parking the Interop project until the funding application is approved. This is very frustrating for the team, but Hilary Carlile, Judy Speight, Simon Riley, John Houlker and the ED continue to meet to keep the light burning.
  • A separate report is provided on the Interop project.

ICTUS

  • A separate report is provided on ICTUS

Peering

  • The visit of Bill Norton has relivened the discussions around peering, and a separate report will cover Bill visit. Our own position on peering has been fortified by Bill and we expect to use this knowledge to keep pressure on for more and better peering.

ISP Support

  • With the workload from the TACTR and ICOP and the involvement of ISPs in these two projects, we feel it is safe to put the ISPAG formation slightly lower on the list. Once the draft COP is published we will raise the ISPAG priority. The next action is to define the ISPAG governance model and populate the founding board.

TUANZ

  • We are planning to have a joint executive meeting before the end of the second quarter, and the respective EDs will work towards this.

ICANN 2006

  • The project is under way, and Laura Virgo and the ED will meet in early March to set up contracts and a relationship guide to allow the real work to start.

Web Presence

  • With Gale's departure on leave we will need to bring in additional support to ensure we do not lose momentum, and to keep the site alive.
  • Shane Middlemiss is working through the CMS bids and we expect to announce the successful bidder. A contract to launch the project is planned to be signed before the end of March

Certification Authority

  • The reason the ED has apologized for missing this council meeting is that he is in the UK meeting with a Certification Authority provider. He will provide a separate report on this matter in the next two weeks.

Other Activity

  • The ED was interviewed as part of the Executive Appointment process to assess the remuneration level for the current ED role.
  • Prepared and delivered to NZCS Auckland a presentation entitled "Making the Internet a real and effective agent for improving life in New Zealand". The ED is available to present this to other organizations. Next scheduled presentation is for GreyNet
  • Supporting the antispam code of practice work with the Telecommunication Carriers' Forum and the Direct Marketing Authority

Conclusion

  • A tough couple of months for the secretariat, with many extra hours put in. This investment has paid off, with excellent results in every task tackled. We are getting good press and an increased level of respect from telcos and government agencies. It is vital that we keep this momentum flowing.

Signing off from Kyoto ---

© 2005 The Internet Society of New Zealand

Document Actions