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After an extensive review of recent developments in the RFC Editor function, 
the IETF Administration LLC (IETF LLC) and Association Management Solutions LLC 
(AMS) have agreed that the IETF LLC will assume management of existing RFC 
Production Center (RPC) staff, under an Employer of Record arrangement with 
AMS, the employer of the RPC team.

# Background to the RPC

The RPC is the team of professional editors that prepares and publishes the 
output of the Editorial, IAB, IETF, IRTF, and ISE Streams, which make up the 
RFC Series. Once Internet-Drafts are approved by the various streams, the RPC 
editors format and edit the documents, and then work with the authors to 
produce publication-ready RFCs per defined policies and guidelines.

The RPC has been hosted at several organizations since it began, including 
ISI/USC, CNRI, and most recently AMS on contract to the IETF LLC.

# Need for change

The RFC Editor function has been going through a period of major developments 
for the last two to three years, and this is likely to continue for at least 
another two years. These developments include the introduction of XML, the new 
RFC Editor model in RFC 9280 that introduced the RSWG/RSAB and removed the RSE 
role, the RPC tools modernisation, the ongoing requests for GitHub and Markdown 
editing, and the need to develop a new SLA. 
These developments have brought the RPC closer to the IETF community by giving 
it more responsibility for editing decisions, more direct contact with 
community members who want different services, and more direct community 
reporting requirements.  Ultimately, these developments acknowledge the 
integral and vital role of the RPC, but they have put the RPC leadership in a 
difficult position as arms-length contractors. 

# Changing how the RPC is managed

After an extensive review, the IETF LLC and AMS have concluded that the best 
way to address these issues is for the IETF LLC to assume management of 
existing RPC staff, under an Employer of Record arrangement with AMS, the 
employer of the RPC team.  This arrangement will allow the IETF LLC to directly 
manage RPC strategic direction, evolution, training, and resource allocation, 
while ensuring that RPC staff retain the stability of the AMS home which they 
have enjoyed over the past 15 years. This employment arrangement is in line 
with how most of the LLC staff are employed, including the Executive Director, 
not as direct employees of the LLC but contracted through a professional 
services firm. 

This will provide the RPC with the alignment and authority needed to address 
these developments and so help to ensure the RFC Series continued evolution and 
stability while providing management oversight and appropriate resource 
allocation. 

While the IETF LLC and AMS were conducting this review, AMS was also reviewing 
the internal management of the RPC and the distribution of the increased 
workload.  AMS, the IETF LLC, and the staff concerned have agreed to introduce 
a new management structure for the RPC, starting at the same time as the 
transfer. This sees the role of Director, RFC Production Center split into two; 
Director of RPC Operations and Director of RPC Communications and Strategy.

# Change to cost structure

The new arrangement with AMS is forecasted to provide a cost savings due to the 
transfer of management responsibilities to existing LLC staff. 

# Implementation

The change is effective from Jan 1, 2025.

-- 
Jay Daley
IETF Executive Director
exec-direc...@ietf.org

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