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[802SEC] Plenary organization



Colleauges ?

Given the not inconsiderable workload that some working groups are attempting to tackle, I
feel it is worth re-visiting once again the question of how we organize our Plenaries to
maximize the time available for useful technical work (which I believe, when all is said
and done, is why we have these meetings in the first place). At present, with the existing
meeting format, I get 2 ½ clear days of Task Group meetings; that is rather less than we
need for effective progress. I am reluctant to move the closing 802.1 plenary to Friday
morning (as some WGs have done) with the present format, because firstly I doubt we would
get the right level of attendance to conduct effective business, given that there would
not be technical meetings that day, and secondly it would leave me with no time for
preparation for the closing EC meeting.

So how can this be fixed?

Firstly, Monday mornings at Plenary sessions are largely a no-op in my view. I don?t think
that the format of the Monday morning plenary meeting is useful to the majority of
attendees, and if it didn?t happen, I don?t believe there are many attendees that would
miss it at all. If it wasn?t there, we could start our WG opening plenaries before lunch
and in my case, we could be off and running with Task Group meetings by early-mid
afternoon. 

Secondly, we could make the radical move to take the opening EC meeting out of the
?working week? altogether, by holding it on the Sunday evening. We already have a Sunday
PM rules meeting; maybe putting the two together on the Sunday evening would help us to
crispen up both activities. Again, this would help free up Monday time for WG activity.

Thirdly, although for some EC members, holding the closing EC on Friday afternoon helps
with their travel plans, for others of us it creates a double whammy:

1)	We have to stay over until Saturday anyway, because even a 6PM close is too late
to get away on the Friday evening; and
2)	The fact that the closing meeting is in the afternoon makes it difficult to make
sensible use of Friday morning (see opening para - we need some time to prepare stuff for
the EC meeting following our closing WG Plenaries, and holding a short Plenary on Friday
morning is a guarantee of low attendance).

So I would advocate moving the EC meeting to the 7pm-midnight slot on Friday evening,
freeing up most of Friday for WG business ? finishing the WG closing plenary at (say) 3pm
would still allow us to get straight for the EC meeting, but would also give us an extra
morning or part-morning for task group work.

Any thoughts?

Regards,
Tony



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