Foreign Policy For Change

Rules

 
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DECISION MAKING

On April 26, 2009, the Working Group agreed on the following management and decision making structure.  These took effect immediately; but will be reviewed in November.

  1.  Continue to be open and transparent.  We will report on meetings on the Working Group website and as well as the LCO Ning, MBO and by email.  Note the group website right now is http://www.artbyroeder.com/obamacampaign/ObamaHome.htm but per an earlier group decision will be ported over soon to a dedicated URL.  We will also retain space on Ning and MBO.  Aaron Etra volunteered to manage the Working Group services and this was agreed by consensus. 

  2. In order to grow our membership, we will advertise meetings in the normal way on MYBO and Ning and by group email, as well as look for other creative solutions, e.g. advertising in Local publications.  Tim Buchholtz, Chairman of LCDC (Loudoun County Democratic Committee) also agreed to provide advertising space for meetings.

  3.  Facilitators:  At our first meeting, Larry Roeder was elected Facilitator and at the third meeting Basant was elected co-facilitator.  They have been managing the working group with the help of the leaders of specific projects.  So that members can have an opportunity to revisit this system, the group endorsed by consensus those prior decisions and the current process of management, further that the system will be reviewed annually, starting in November, 2009.  That will also be a good opportunity to provide a report on group progress.  (Basant in May, 2009 changed position and took over the role as Captain of Civic Projects)

  4. Decisions by the group will require a quorum, which will be 25% of the listed members.  To make sure that the entire membership has an opportunity to drive or redirect the group’s direction, at each meeting, we will ask participants what they want to do, making sure that all ideas have an opportunity.  Decisions will be made by consensus whenever possible.  Such decisions might be to give some core group of people leave to do certain things, like run a project, e.g. the Somali project.  The exception to consensus decisions would be if the issues proved controversial, and then we will use voting, as was recently done through surveymonkey, an automated voting system.

  5. What is a member?  Up to April, it was anyone who signed up on Ning or attended our meetings (and asked to be a member) or contacted us by email and asked to be a member.   Now voting members will be limited to those who have attended four or more meetings, or performed a service (like running technical services or a project), or were accepted in by the group, (e.g. two members now residing in Europe and New York and can only participate remotely).

  6. Geographic Limitations:  We are not limited to Loudoun County. (For example, we might engage in a local project on Somalia or Afghanistan or some other area of interest in both Fairfax County and Loudoun County and Alexandria, with Americans, refugees or immigrants, any of whom might then join our working group.

  7. We also agreed to be independent and retain our current main purpose, to support Barrack Obama and his movement for change through discussions, papers and civic projects.

DEFINITION OF VOTING MEMBERS

Decision of Group  April 26, 2009:   Up until April, 2009, voting members were anyone who signed up on Ning or attended our meetings (and asked to be a member) or contacted us by email and asked to be a member.   Now voting members are limited to those who have attended four or more meetings, or performed a service (like running technical services or a project), or were accepted in by the group, (e.g. two members now residing in Europe and New York and can only participate remotely).  There was no intent to drop members who belonged to the group before April 26; but to use these metrics after that.  You do NOT need to be a member to attend meetings or participate in projects.

GUIDELINES FOR LARGER PROJECTS

On March 14, the group agreed to recommend the following Template as a guide or Larger Projects

  1. What is the Problem?    Keep it small, definable and something which a grass roots body can deal with.

  2. Define Goals.  These are objectives; but keep them few and well defined.  Sustainable change, something that makes a lasting change, in keeping with the philosophy of the Obama campaign, e.g. through helping a school.

  3. Resources and Constraints  People with drive and enough time, Available venues, Funds.  In the case of the Somali project, are there local Somalis with whom we can meet to discuss their goals?

  4. Strategy to use Resources and Avoid Constraints  More than one?  Which is best?

  5. Structure:  This is really important.  Who does what?  Budget?  Schedule?  Any Freebies?

  6. Monitoring:  By us, donors and the community.

  7. Evaluation:  What was the result?  Who benefited? As as example, who directly benefits from the Dulles pilot project.

  8. Media and Other Reporting.

  9. What next?  More of the same?  Something very different?

 

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(1) Photos (c) 2009 Larry Roeder  Left photo is from the last rally in the 2008 Campaign.  Photo on right is from meeting of the group in February, 2009.