Consensus Definitions [was We ditched consensus | <– Date –> <– Thread –> |
From: Sharon Villines (sharonsharonvillines.com) | |
Date: Sat, 14 Sep 2013 07:31:26 -0700 (PDT) |
On Sep 14, 2013, at 10:03 AM, Racheli Gai <racheli [at] sonoracohousing.com> wrote: > The "revolutionary" term was applied, I believe, to deciding on GM agendas > directly by the membership, rather than by a team or committee. This can be > a democratizing (and so can majority voting) when consensus doesn't work. Not sure what the GM is but here it becomes a problem when teams are the only way to get an item on an agenda. We have some teams who just won't sponsor an item they don't care about or think is a problem. Another opinion is that nothing should come to a meeting unless it is a formal proposal. Many issues could be resolved if we could just have a discussion. We don't need a policy; we just need more awareness and more eyes on the issue. I think anyone should be able to bring up an issue for discussion. That's what agenda setting in meetings is supposed to be -- agenda's don't have to be set in stone before the meeting. If there is time to consider other issues, or the group decides that another issue is important, why not discuss it? Attendance at meetings might be better if the meetings were more open. Why go if you don't care about the items on the published agenda? > Can one play chess when the players use different sets of rules? Can one do > consensus when there is no agreement what the basic rules are? We worked for several years on a written process for consensus. When the process was very detailed, some people complained it was too complicated. If we made it simple others said it wasn't clear. We finally reached consensus on definitions, which in a sense are rules. The heat went out of needing a more formal statement of process. We do clarifying questions, concerns, resolution of objections, and consent. Standing aside is really a "soft" consent. It's a no opinion or a concern that is there but not strong enough to object. We have people who feel that "consent" means active support, not just letting things go forward. So they insist on standing aside. I recently stood aside because I thought a decision would be counter-productive in terms of building engagement in the community, but the issue didn't affect me personally and I couldn't give evidence on it. Our majority vote policy is in the bylaws. Anyone can call for a vote at anytime, and the vote takes place in the next meeting. It's never been done, though one person a couple of times a year says I don't understand why we don't just vote. There is silence in the room. Finally the facilitator says, I don't think people are with you. And it ends there. Our Definitions: Our definitions are: Decision-Making Definitions Takoma Village Cohousing Clarifying Questions are asked to obtain more information about the proposed decision. For example: Does this include … ? Concerns are expressions of uneasiness about the possible results of a proposed decision. For example: I’m concerned about the effect on…. A Friendly Amendment is one that is perceived by all parties as an enhancement to the original proposal, often as clarification of intent. Consensus means that all members participating in the decision have consented to it. Eligibility for participation in decision-making is defined in the Decision-Making Authority and Accountability Policy and in the Bylaws. Consent means a member has no objections that would prevent them from complying with the decision. An Objection means a member believes that the proposal is not in accordance with community policies and agreements. The objector must explain the objection so it can be understood and resolved. An objection must be resolved before a decision that requires consensus can be made. Resolving an objection is the responsibility of all members, including the objector. Community Policies and Agreements include the Declaration, Bylaws, Policies, Guidelines, Mission, Values, Vision, community practices, and any other statements approved by consent of the Membership. A Stand-Aside means a member: (1) has an unresolved concern but will allow the proposal to go forward and will comply with it, or (2) is neutral because they want to avoid a potential conflict of interest, or because the policy will not apply to them, or (3) has insufficient understanding of the issue to consent. The number of members standing aside and their reasons for standing aside must be recorded in the minutes with the decision. Unresolved Objections (sometimes called “blocks”) are those that remain after strategies for resolving them seem to have been exhausted.
- Re: We ditched consensus, (continued)
- Re: We ditched consensus Racheli Gai, September 12 2013
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Re: We ditched consensus Sean Davey, September 13 2013
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Re: We ditched consensus Sharon Villines, September 13 2013
- Re: We ditched consensus Racheli Gai, September 14 2013
- Consensus Definitions [was We ditched consensus Sharon Villines, September 14 2013
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Re: We ditched consensus Sharon Villines, September 13 2013
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