Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Process Committees

[Elizabeth Rosenau (ejrosenau]

Hi Jerry,

This is a REALLY interesting thought.  I had been imagining the possibility of 
an oversight (or steering) committee as well as a process committee, but a 
governance improvement committee might be able to serve both functions in a 
more decentralized community.

At this time, we are far from decentralized, which is a legacy left over from a 
long period during the pandemic when we only had seven or eight families.  
We’re now up to twenty-seven, but a lot of the newer families are not involved 
at all at the committee level.  We are getting close to a time when we’ll start 
building and many decisions will need to be made.  I sometimes worry about 
workload issues for key players, but of course sharing the work would likely 
make for a more resilient community as well.

Thanks kindly for your feedback!!

With warmth,

Elizabeth 

> On Dec 19, 2022, at 6:53 AM, Jerry Koch-Gonzalez <jerry [at] 
> sociocracyforall.org> wrote:
> 
> An alternative idea to process committees is governance improvement
> committees. We use these a lot in communities that have adopted sociocracy
> instead of consensus. The aim is to support all committees in functioning
> effectively rather than having only a few star facilitators or suffering
> through a rotating system of very differently skilled facilitators, and
> along with this shifting as much decision-making out of plenaries and into
> the committees.
> 
> The governance improvement committee (in sociocracy we call it a circle)
> supports the overall standardization of meeting formats, decision-making
> processes and minute-taking so that everyone can be leader-followers - less
> burden on facilitators when everyone knows better how to effectively
> participate. The governance improvement circle can convene communities of
> practice or trainings to support capacity development among people holding
> certain roles, be it committee coordinators, facilitators, notetakers, etc.
> And members of the governance improvement circle can act as coaches of
> existing committees that could use a hand.
> 
> Sociocracy For All offers lots of resources and classes - see the website
> https://www.sociocracyforall.org/events/
> Jerry
> 
> Jerry Koch-Gonzalez
> To talk to me about sociocracy or NVC, go here:
> https://talktojerry.youcanbook.me
> Sociocracy: Effective Egalitarian Governance.
> Check out our website Sociocracy For All <http://sociocracyforall.org/> and
> join our mailing list <https://www.sociocracyforall.org/newsletter-signup/>.
> 
> 
>> On Thu, Dec 15, 2022 at 9:05 AM Elizabeth Rosenau <ejrosenau [at] gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>> 
>> Hello,
>> 
>> I am part of a developing community in British Columbia.  We have
>> twenty-seven equity members and we’ll have forty when we’re complete.  We
>> hope to start building soon, but need a few more members to please the
>> banks…
>> 
>> All of our growth has added a lot of complexity to the work of our
>> committees and some of us are starting to think that the addition of a few
>> more committees may help keep our group organized and running smoothly.
>> 
>> I understand that many communities have something called a “Process
>> Committee” and that there is a wide variety of mandates and tasks assigned
>> to these committees.
>> 
>> I would be grateful if this community could share your experiences with
>> Process Committees.  If you have one, what kind of work do they undertake
>> in your community?  Do these committees answer an important need for you
>> and your community?
>> 
>> I appreciate any thoughts you may have to offer.
>> 
>> With Warmth,
>> 
>> Elizabeth Rosenau, on behalf of Compass Cohousing. (Langley, British
>> Columbia)
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