Dear all, This week, you will have seen an invitation to join the Executive Board at an Open House on Requirements and Expectations of Board Members and Candidates. I want to provide some context on why we are having this meeting and how your input can help the Board. There are several reasons why we feel that now is the right time to discuss the expectations that the RIPE NCC membership has of its Executive Board members, not least the fact that we are responsible for the good governance of the RIPE NCC. And while the members will always elect the Board, we want to look closely at the formal requirements for Board members to make sure those elected will be able to carry out the role effectively and play their part in the good governance of the RIPE NCC. We recently strengthened the processes around board candidacy by making amendments to the Articles of Association, which were approved by the membership. But we have seen recently in other RIR regions that there have been concerns raised about candidates for executive boards. This has made us pay extra attention to our own processes around board candidacy and membership. The responsibilities of the Board are also much greater now than they were five, ten or 20 years ago. The Board has oversight of an organisation that manages important and valuable resources for 20,000 members. It must deal with highly complex issues such as the impact of war and sanctions on the membership and the Internet, as well as ensure that service delivery is provided effectively and fairly across an incredibly diverse service region. Financial oversight is a big part of our governance, as demonstrated by the recent discussions about the RIPE NCC Charging Scheme. And we are also effectively responsible for the well-being of all the excellent staff who work hard to meet your needs. To add to this, an independent investigation was carried out into allegations of bullying and harassment of a RIPE NCC staff member by a Board member. The investigation found no evidence of a breach of the RIPE NCC Code of Conduct and the Board will respect the findings of that investigation. But this did force us to look at our current structures and ask ourselves how we could handle such a situation should something similar arise again, and whether having new requirements or restrictions in place would help. At our Board meeting in March, we discussed these issues and focused on whether there should be any new requirements, restrictions or expectations for those who sit on the Executive Board. The discussion covered many areas, including whether there should be restrictions on having more than one Board member from the same organisation or country, and whether it’s appropriate for Board members to sit on the boards of other Internet organisations. This discussion is noted in the minutes from our recent board meeting: https://www.ripe.net/about-us/executive-board/minutes/2023/minutes-165th-exe... Although we had a good discussion on these issues, we did feel it would be better to consult directly with the membership about these topics. Following this discussion, the Board could then propose changes to the Articles of Association affecting the make-up of the Board. Such changes would have to be voted on by the membership. At this stage, what we are looking for is your input and your ideas to help make sure that the Board of the RIPE NCC is set up to effectively represent your interests. So I ask you to please register for the Open House where we will present slides with topics for discussion and then open the floor for members’ input. https://www.ripe.net/participate/meetings/open-house/ripe-ncc-open-house-req... Best regards, Ondřej Filip RIPE NCC Executive Board Chair RIPE NCC Executive Board - Functions and Expectations: https://www.ripe.net/about-us/executive-board/ripe-ncc-executive-board-funct... Executive Board Liability: https://www.ripe.net/about-us/executive-board/executive-board-liability Current Call for Executive Board Candidates: https://www.ripe.net/participate/meetings/gm/meetings/may-2023/announcements...