Appendix 6
DECISION MAKING
STRUCTURE FOR THE CREATION OF EALDORMERE
The Crown has delegated the responsibility for setting up
the political structure of Ealdormere to the Council of Ealdormere. The
Council, as specified by the Charter 1S both too large and too small. It is too
large to make up all the rules, ceremonies, procedures and decisions, and it is
too small to be fully representative. Organization theory, and practical
experience, teach us that such enter- pr1ses are best cone through a series of
committees, with an agreed structure in place for consultation and decision
making.
The Council, and ultimately the Lieutenants of Ealdormere
are responsible to the people of Ealdormere and the Curia for producing a
mutually acceptable, workable, principality within two years. We need to get a
fast, but sure, start. The following proposal has been submitted to us by Lady
Susanna the Unyielding, who has worked for a number of years with federal
parliamentary committees. This proposal is based on her experience with these
procedures (and as we all know, parliamentary committees is where the real work
gets done!). I have added some suggestions of my own, based on my own work as
an organization analyst, and my committee experience.
I offer this as a starting point, which can be modified or
strengthened as the Council sees fit.
Why this Process will work
This process works because it meets the necessary criteria
of:
• allowing wide and ongoing consulation with everyone in
Ealdormere
• leaving the final1 decisions completely 1n the
hands of the Council
1 "Final" in the sense that these decisions go to
Curia for approval
• delegating specific tasks to specified small committees I
who will do the actual work
The committee can be held accountable to the Council for
work done or not done.
• providing for conflict resolution in all situations I
SOME OF THE FIRST DECISIONS FOR THE COUNCIL
1. The decision making process.
This scheme, or a similar one should be agreed on.
2. A fund for Ealdormere should be set up. One Council
member should be in-charge of collecting and disbursing money from the fund.
(This would be the Exchequer.)
3. An organization for liaison throughout the principality
must be set up (se below under decision making structure).
4. The Council must know on what areas the principality can
act and where it is governed by the bylaws and Corpora of the SCA, or the law
of the Middle Kingdom
5. the groups of Ealdormere must be informed on the decision
making process, and the kinds of committees required
6. there needs to be vehicle for conveying this information (eg.
principality newsletter, Council minutes)
DECISION MAKING STRUCTURE
Figure 1 illustrates a proposed structure for the Council.
Solid lines show responsibility for decision making. Dotted lines show
responsibility for information exchange.
There are four distinct entities shown:
the Council
committees
sub-committees
liaison officers
To them I would add the Lieutenants.
A summary of these entities follows, and the committees,
sub-committees and liaison officers are discussed in more detail under separate
headings.
NB: ONE individual, including Council members, should only
be allowed to hold ONE position in the decision making process, that is, EITHER
liaison officer OR committe member.
Lieutenants
Susanna's proposal does not cover the role of the
Lieutenants. As I see it, Aedan and I are responsible for seeing that this all
gets done properly, and for submitting the decisions of the Council to Kingdom
Curia. We would ensure that the process is fully consultative and that it
conforms to Middle Kingdom law, the Corpora and bylaws, but also that the
process continues expeditiously. It would be a mistake for us to become deeply
involved in the content of the laws, ceremonies, procedures etc. because of our
committment to the process. (Like anyone else we can always bend the ear of a
liaison officer when we have good ideas).
In the case of a dispute in the Council, I would expect the
Lieutenants to adjudicate.
Nothing should go to Curia without having been signed by the
Lieutenants and the Crown Principality seneschal.
All official submissions and and representations to Curia
must go through the Lieutenants.
This protects the
Lieutenants and the seneschal, who are held responsible for what comes out the
Crown Principality, and ensures they are fully aware of all developments. This
protects the people and Council of Ealdormere from being misrepresented.
Council
The current composition of the Council is defined by the
Charter. We could decide to add to it. Some further break- down of responsibilities
within the Council, for reporting and administrative purposes, may be useful.
Committees
The Council defines the number and functions of the
committees, and how the membership and chairmen are to be appointed.
Committees are created with a specific mandate, eg. writing
the laws, determining the arms, etc. The committee structure should cover every
aspect of what is needed to ensure Ealdormere becomes a principality.
All committees need to be given hard and fast deadlines. 2
Committees need not all be appointed at once.
A final committee to coordinate the various drafts into one
coherent document is desirable.
2. Deadlines should be treated the way you do in a
responsible mundane job. You keep them, or you bring up problems and negotiate well
in advance of a deadline.
Sub-committees
Subcommittees are useful where the main task can be broken
down into meaningful sub-tasks. They should always be smaller than the main
committee.
Liaison Officers
Each group should designate a liaison officer (and alterinate)
to transmit Council and committee information to their group and send all
reactions, suggestions and ideas back to the Councilor committee.
A member of the Council can be appointed for help that group
designate liaison officers and them if they miss too many deadlines (ie, one
missed deadline, since this could really hold things up).
A liaison coordination committee should be set up to coordinate
the efforts of the liaison officers.
THE DECISION MAKING
PROCESS
Liaison officers should be appointed as soon as possible.
A liaison coordination committee should be appointed
immediately to coordinate the efforts of the liaison officers.
A committee to report on the areas in which the principality
can act should be appointed immediately (Susanna).3
3. This may have been taken care of already by Baron Aedan.
If this committee needs to be a continuing one, it would most likely have a
close relationship to the Lieutenants, part of whose job it is to see that we
stay within the proper bounds
The decision making process starts like this:
1. The liaison
officers explain the process to their groups and solicit ideas on the decision
making process, the kinds of committees, funding. They take written
applications for committee positions.
2. The liaison coordination committee sorts out the above
information and the Council decides the number and functions of the committees
and how the membership and chairman are to be appointed
3. Once a committee is operating, they contact the liaison
officer to broadcast their mandate and ask for suggestions from the general
populace.
4. The liaison officers send written suggestions to the
chairman of the committee and the committee sorts them out and decides how to
proceed.
5. When the committee has a draft document, they send it to
the Council who may ask for revisions I
6. When the council is satisfied with this draft edition,
they return it to the committee who in turn send it to the liaison officers
7. The liaison officers consult extensively with their
group, probably requiring written submissions at this stage. They then send all
suggestions to the committee.
8. the committee reviews all suggestion and incorporates
those they feel are useful, and then sends a revised draft (the proposed edition)
to the Council
9. The Council reviews the proposed edition, may ask for
changes and then approves the "final" (called "preliminary"
below) edition
10. the preliminary edition is submitted to Kingdom Curia,
who may ask for changes the document would go back to the commitee, then
11. In the event of changes, to the Council, and then back
to Curia
12. the approved final edition is printed in the
principality newsletter.
NOTE:
1. ALL THE ABOVE STEPS SHOULD HAVE DATES FOR COMPLETION.
2. All drafts, minutes, and other documents that are passed
around must have a publication status. This protects us from any individual
misunderstanding, or any publication circulating, the status of whose contents
are unclear.
Possible statuses are:
DRAFT- What the committee circulates to itself or to liaison
officers for general public consultation. A document may go through 2 or 3
drafts.
PROPOSED- What the committee submits to the Council for
approval after it has incorporated suggestions from the populace and Council
PRELIMINARY- What the
Lieutenants submit from the Council to
Curia
FINAL- What the Curia has approved. What the principality
newsletter prints as law, policies, etc.
Recommendations on Committee Membership
1. Small committees work best. 5-7 members is considered an
optimum number.
2. Council appoints the chairman of each committee, not
necessary from Council membership.
3. The membership of each committee is selected by the
chairman from the WRITTEN applications collected by the liaison officers.
Selection is subject to final approval by Council.
Applications for committee membership should list the
applicant's qualifications and experience, both mundane and SCA
By asking for WRITTEN applications (not simply filling out a
form), we should be able to avoid many of those who volunteer, but don't work.
The applications will also give the chairman and Council a good idea of who
would be most useful where.
4. It should be made clear to everyone by the liaison
officers, that a committee membership can entail considerable travel, at the
personal expense of the committee member, and other costs such as telephone and
copying, and postage expenses.
5. Membership should come from all areas (but we must balance
travel and time considerations).
6. Membership should be for the duration of the existence of
the committee, except for resignation or prolonged absence, or a vote of the
Committee, or a decision of the Council.
7. If a member misses more than 2 (3?) meeting, they are
considered to have resigned, and the chairman, after consulting the other
members informally may appoint someone else.
8. In cases where the committee ceases to function due to
procedural conflicts or personality clashes, the Chair- man is to make every
effort to effect a resolution of differences. If this cannot be done, the
Council must adjudicate, including replacing members.
Recommendations on Committee Procedures
1. Every committee should have a specific mandate, and I
should stick to that mandate. If there is a grey area, the chairman should
consult the Council.
2. The Council should prescribe some basic procedures every
committee must follow. Failure to follow these procedures could lead to
disbanding the committee or removing the chairman and appointing replacements.
3. Every committee is to have a recording secretary, a
vice-chairman (to replace the chairman in the chairman's absence), and if any
money is used, an exchequer
4. Susanna advises that chairman should follow Robert's
Rules of Order when adjudicating procedural disputes. Copies are available in
most second hand bookstores.
5. Hopefully the committees will operate by consensus. If
not the Council must establish if the committee can make decisions based on a
simple, 1/2 or 2/3 majority.
6. A quorum should be established (3 is recommended).
7. Vague resolutions will not get the work done. When a need
is identified, an action item should be defined, with a person who is
responsible for the delivery, and an action date.
8. Minutes must be kept for every meeting, even just to say
there was no quorum.
9. Minutes must contain the following items:
a.
attendance
b. all
decisions taken by the committee
c. action items, who accepted them
and the due date
d. subcommittees created that
meeting
e. what was delegated to a
subcommittee
f. a record of all votes ie. names
listed for and against
g. the time and place of the next
meeting
h. the reports from subcommittees,
appended to the minutes of the meeting when they are tabled in the main
committee
10. The secretary must send minutes of all committee
meetings to the Council in general or specified members thereof. This ensures
that the Council knows what the committees are doing.
11. There should be date by which minutes must be
circulated.
12. Committees should be given the power to ask liaison
officers to "liaise", whenever they wish to do so.
13. Committees should always agree to a time and place for
the next meeting before they adjourn. If they cannot, they should formally
assign the power to call the next meeting to the chairman, who should
informally canvass the members to determine a convenient time.
14. Meetings should be held, where possible in conjunction
with an event (eg immediately prior, the morning after) This allows more
efficient use of time and travel money.
15. All meetings should be CLOSED except where the committee
wishes to consult the general public--which isn't really necessary as that is
the job of the liaison officers. These committees are to be WORK committees.
16. Meetings should be held in all ends of the principality
Liaison Officers
1. Each group, established or incipient should designate a
liaison officer and alternate
2. This individual should not hold another group office, but
it may be convenient for the group to appoint the liaison officer to the executive
of the group for communication purposes
3. The liaison officer has no decision making power, but is
the core of the communications network.
4. The liaison officer keeps his/her group up to date on the
decisions and needs of the Council and committees, solicits suggestions from
his/her group, and feeds back to the committee secretaries, in writing on these
suggestions.
5. Liaison officers should consult the executive of their
group as to whether consultation should be done imme-diately after general
meetings (best) or they should call special meetings (for emergencies only).
6. any disputes are to be settled by the Council member who
is responsible for that area, and then if necessary, by the Council
7. All liaison officers should be told of the following BEFORE
they accept the job.
• the deadline requirements
• the amount of paperwork (vast)
• the possible postage and
photocopying expenses they I may have to underwrite
• the total lack of decision making
power
• no committee membership possible
• the number of people who may
criticize their work
8. Liaison officers need only be affable, diligent willing
to forgo committee memberships.
Subcommittees
1. It may prove
sensible for a committee to delegate some tasks to a subcommittee of two or
three people/
2. Subcommittees should always be smaller than the main
committee.
3. Each committee should have not more than three
subcommittees as responsibility becomes two diffuse with more.
4. Each subcommittee should be chaired by a member of the
main committee.
5. The membership of
the subcommittee should be chosen by the main committee.
This membership could be drawn from the general populace.
Main committees should only consider manning the subcommittees from their own
membership when the de- legation of tasks ensures that the main committee will
be dormant until the tasks are completed.
6. The liaison committee of the Council should be able to
help with suggestions on committee membership
7. Subcommittees must keep the same kind of minutes as
committees
8. The minutes should be tabled at the next meeting of the
main committee
9. Subcommittees cannot create further subcommittees.
10. Subcommittees report SOLELY to the main committee who
may or may not accept their recommendation.
11. Subcommittees may not contact liaison officers-only main
committees may do so.
12. Subcommittees exist solely at the pleasure of the main
committee who may create or disband them as it pleases.
13. Subcommittees may appeal procedural disputes or
personality clashes to the main committee which adjudicate the problem as it
sees fit. There is no appeal to Council on subcommittee problems.
Miscellaneous Concerns
1. There should be a policy on what gets printed in the Principality
newsletter, what gets circulated only in the minutes, and what should be
printed in the group newsletters. This policy should take into account the
desire to make the principality newsletter the official policy organ, and desire
to be consultative, and to keep the citizens of Ealdormere as fully informed as
possible on the progress towards principality.
2 . Distribution of written information:
The more people we can send information to the better. If
the money is available, all members should receive updates, Susanna thinks.
This would entail each group drawing up a list of members.
Alternatively we could ask people to subscribe to the above
information and cover our costs that way. Responses should still be given directly
to the local liaison officer. Either suggestion would require a mailing
committee.
3. The Council, each
committee and every liaison officer should have a postal address printed in all
(sic Susanna) newsletters frequently.
4. Council members are inevitably going to end up as informal
liaison officers. Susanna thinks they should be ruthless about this. ("Don't
tell me, tell X, your liaison officer".) Or alternatively, just pass on
suggestions they feel are important.
5. Liaison officers should be instructed to bend over back-
wards to consult as widely and extensively as possible with every member of
their group who looks even faintly interested. The hope here is that everybody
will be so sick of being consulted that by the end of two years, they will gratefully
accept the final decisions of the Council (ultimately, Kingdom Curia) with
relief.
