Cohousing-L Mailing List: 10D Proposal from JPC

[Fleck (foam4u]

Dear Coho Folks,

Here's an idea we use at Jackson Place in Seattle. Maybe you have something
like it and can share it with Coho.org. We've found that this method saves a
lot of the extra energy and time we used to spend in large meetings and
makes "getting things done" easier.

10 Day Proposal. This is a proposal from an individual or small group
regarding a small project they want to get done. In most cases it doesn't
need money from the larger group and is not a budgeted item. What anyone can
do is put one of these out on our internal list serve. A hard copy must also
be put in a wall pocket in the common house for everyone to read.

The proposal includes a start date and a close date. If by the end of the 10
days there is no objection that hasn't been resolved the proposal passes.
The form we use has spaces for:
1. A definition of the proposal (end product)
2. The scope (what it will take to get it done)
3. Source of funds (how much & from whom - usually a donation)
4. Contact Person
5. Who's actually doing the work
6. What the timeline is (start & finish)
7. Details (reasoning, assumptions, etc.)

If there is an objection that can't be easily resolved then it gets "bumped"
to an appropriate team for advice and refinement. (We've got teams like
Landscaping, Finance, Kitchen, like most Cohos do.) If the team can't deal
with it, then it goes to the whole group at the next business meeting. This
doesn't happen very often.

For example -
I had three different colored gallons of really good paint left over that I
thought would be perfect for painting the Kids Playroom. I talked to several
parents first to see if they thought getting something better than the cheap
flat stuff we had would be something they'd be interested in. Everyone I
talked to thought so.

I put up a 10D Prop. I got 3 people who volunteered to help me do it and 1
person who wanted to see samples of the colors (sort of a minor objection).
The thing passed and next weekend we'll start painting the wall we want to
put permanent shelves against first. My Ace-In-the-Hole was that I'm a good
painter and everyone's seen my work in my own house. The Kids Room will be
soft yellow, mint, and peach.

I also have a 10D Prop to install community-wide rain barrels (Yes, in
Seattle which got 2" of rain in the last 24 hours). This one has been bumped
for reasons like placement, visual "appeal", installa-tion concerns, etc.
We're slowly working thru this.

We've used 10D Proposals for gardening changes, security improvements,
Common House enhancmenets, process ideas, and lots of other stuff. It let's
everyone know what's happening in a timely manner, makes the proposer think
the whole thing thru, and allows lots of feed back. It doesn't usually stop
the creative process or the abundance of energy some people possess. We also
seem to get lots of cool projects done.

Hope this helps,
Anne Fleck

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