Board Proposal Template
Contents
Board Proposal Template Proposal
- Proposer
- John Coggeshall (@coogle)
Summary
This document serves two purposes: It is a proposal to the Board of Directors to adopt a new approach to how ideas and considerations should be presented to the board by the general membership, and also an example of the implementation of this proposal.
My suggestion is that we create a process as follows, to serve as the way the membership formally proposes an idea to the Board of Directors:
1) One or more of these proposal templates be created (i.e. one for general proposals, one for floor plan proposals, etc.)
2) A public listing of all proposals in their various stages be created for the membership to see
2) Proposals can be created by any member and serve as the primary touch-point for a new idea for the space. Can be used in e-mails, slack, etc. and modified over time until it's completed.
3) Proposal should completely document the scope and impact of the idea, include feedback from other important members (such as Zone Coordinators, etc), data, etc. to make the case in support of the idea
4) Proposals can be brought to the attention of a board member, who upon review is willing to bring the matter up for a vote
5) The adoption of the proposal is added to the agenda of a board meeting to be voted on by the Board as a Motion, referencing the proposal
6a) The measure is passed, and the proposal is adopted
6b) The measure is rejected
6c) The measure is tabled, due to concerns of board members who require more information or clarification on the proposal. In such a case, these concerns will be communicated and the matter tabled until the next board meeting
7) The vote of the board is recorded in the proposal document for future reference, with a link to the attached meeting where it occurred
What Problem This Proposal Attempts to Solve
i3 has struggled from a leadership perspective to be transparent in it's decision making process, due in large degree to the informal approach taken to making decisions. This has created numerous points of tension and frustration for all, as it creates the impression a small often unelected few with the best relationships or loudest voices make decisions for the entire membership at large. In addition, Board of Director meetings historically tend to have been run more as forums for debating immature ideas, rather than being a body to decide on a fully formed idea. This leads to frustration as well, as not all members have an opportunity to even be aware of what has happened before the decision has been made. The Board has the authority to approve any measures it sees fit within the context of the by-laws, but in the interest of the membership it also has a responsibility to give those members an opportunity to share their concerns before the decision is made. With this in mind by adopting this process as the rules of consideration for Board matters, I hope to address in whole or part multiple issues:
1) Streamline the Board Decision Process, by changing the rules so that the Board only considers well-considered and vetted proposals in a consistent format
2) Improve transparency for the Membership, as proposals will exist on a public wiki page they will be available for all to review. This gives the entire membership the ability to understand what's going on, what the idea is, and help improve on that idea before it is ultimately presented to the Board
3) Provide a single document of record for a new, potentially complicated, proposal where references to other documents, data, etc. can all be placed to reduce confusion and misinformation in the membership
Potential Negative Implications Of This Proposal
This proposal about using proposals is a meaningful shift away from the current status-quo of the way the board operates, and to be effective must be willingly supported by the board to succeed. I also expect that there will be push back from those members who are generally opposed to what is perceived as unnecessary bureaucracy and instead argue that the 'do-acracy' continues to serve the space well.
Education of the Membership on this process would also need to take place, as well as work in creating and keeping up the proposal templates to an optimal state.
Supporting Information, Details and/or Diagrams
N/A
People and Resources Required
In order to execute this proposal, at least one person will be needed to create the first version of at least one proposal template Wiki page and a reasonable way of cloning that page by any given member so they can draft their own proposals be devised. These proposal templates will need to be modified from time to time, based on the requirements of the board and membership.
In addition, the Secretary of the Board of directors alongside the Chairperson of the Board of Directors would be given the responsibility of making sure proposals are properly recorded and added to the Agenda of the Board:
1) Moving the status of a proposal from Draft/Feedback/etc to Approved/Rejected at the appropriate time, recording the vote of the Board and a link to the appropriate meeting minutes as well
2) Reviewing proposals "ready" to be placed on the Agenda by the Chair who will ensure each proposal has a Board-member sponsor, then scheduling its adoption vote.
Finally, someone familiar with the workings of the Wiki would need to install this plugin that will allow members to clone a proposal template to a new page proposal:
There will be no cash cost or other equipment required
