9528103 Binder The IETF is a part of the successful evolution of the Internet and its fundamental role in the evolving National Information Infrastructure. The IETF activities are an outgrowth of efforts started by the US Government during the late 1970s to manage the evolution of the Internet. Under a Cooperative Agreement with the National Science Foundation, the Corporation for National Research Initiatives created and provided a functioning IETF Secretariat, and has been helping to organize and support these activities which involve thousands of individual participants and contributors from the US and abroad. To ensure the continued evolution of the Internet and its contribution to the emerging NII, CNRI proposes to provide the IETF Secretariat for a period of three years. The continuation of the Secretariat with US Government funding will provide stability and continuity to the IETF during important transitions of the Internet involving significant architectural change and increased commercial activity. CNRI also proposes to create a Planning Group, inclose consultation with the Government and the IESG (IETF Steering Group), to develop a plan for generating long-term IETF Secretariat funding.
