Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: meeting agendas and policy development

[Lynn Nadeau (welcome]

>
>To: Developing cohousing - collaborative housing communities
>       <cohousing-l [at] cohousing.org>
>Message-ID: <6.0.1.1.1.20040427144153.02604eb0 [at] pop.efn.org>
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>Hi,
>
>I agree with nearly everything Lynn wrote, except one piece of the following:
.... refine what comes to your business
>>meetings to where it is about finishing touches on a proposal, rather
>>than hammering out basics.
>
.... However, for big items or major policy 
>issues, i assert that it's the basics which should be worked out in full 
>group meeting, and the finishing touches which should mostly be done in 
>committee.
....
>I think overall the most effective procedure on major policy items is to 
>take turns having the work done in an active committee (one that keeps 
>track of exactly how the policy is developing) and by the whole group 
>(sometimes through discussion in meetings and sometimes outside meetings 
>through polls, surveys, etc.).
Lynn chiming back in: I agree with Tree, and see how what I wrote could 
be taken otherwise. It's an alternation which we've found works best. 
Group identifies the issue, task force (committee or volunteer person/s) 
identifies major options (with additional  input from others) and/or 
recommendations, and while it's still early in the process, checks BACK 
with the group, via discussion circle, time on business agenda etc, to 
make sure the task force is still in line with the group, gets sent back 
either to polish or go back to square one, as needed. Sometimes there is 
time for a lot of discussion in large group meetings, and sometimes 
pressing  business items needing decisions take priority. But consciously 
monitoring your agenda and how issues get seasoned is still important, 
especially in the beginning years, when so many different issues are 
being tracked simultaneously. 



Lynn Nadeau, RoseWind Cohousing
Port Townsend Washington (Victorian seaport, music, art, nature)
http://www.rosewind.org
http://www.ptguide.com
http://www.ptforpeace.info (very active peace movement here- see our 
photo)