Change Protocol

What to cover

• Who may propose adding, changing, pausing or removing a rule, role, document or way of deciding?
• Where is a proposal submitted, and who makes sure it reaches everyone?
• Which documents and sections does the proposal have to name as affected?
• Which decision type and which decision path from our Decision Matrix does the proposal have to name — and so who decides it?
• What must every proposal say about its purpose, its reach and its known risks?
• What must it say about its effective date, any transition period, what happens to existing roles, agreements and records, and how it would be undone? (How long it is reviewed, and what happens in an emergency, are their own questions.)

Examples

Any Full Member may propose adding, changing, pausing or removing a rule, role, document or decision structure by filling in the proposal form in the proposals folder and telling the facilitator. The form names the documents and sections affected, the decision type and path from our Decision Matrix, what the change is meant to do, how far it reaches and its risks, the effective date and any transition period, what happens to existing roles, agreements and records, and how it would be rolled back. Incomplete forms are returned before discussion starts.

Examples, not recommendations. Your answers will be your own.

What to cover

• For each decision type (for example Operational, Strategic, Constitutional): what kinds of change fall under it?
• Which changes are always Constitutional — such as anything touching our purpose, our scope, the commitments we said would never change, or how we govern ourselves?
• How do we tell a permanent change from a time-limited experiment, and where is that written on the proposal?
• When it is unclear which type a proposal is, which type applies, and who settles a disagreement about it?

Examples

Wording fixes and formatting are Operational: the document keeper makes them and lists them at the next circle. Changes to how members join, decide, share costs or hold roles are Strategic. Anything touching our purpose, our scope, our non-negotiable commitments or the way we govern ourselves is Constitutional and goes through the Constitutional decision process. A proposal with a fixed end date is filed as an experiment; everything else is permanent. If we disagree about the type, the higher one applies.

Examples, not recommendations. Your answers will be your own.

What to cover

• For each decision type: what is the shortest time a proposal must be open for discussion before it can be decided?
• Where does the discussion happen, so that members who are away, ill or busy can still read and respond?
• For Constitutional changes, how long is the ratification period after the vote passes, and what can members do during it?
• If some small changes need no waiting period, how can members still see them and ask for a proper review afterwards? (Urgent changes are their own question.)

Examples

Operational changes need no waiting period but are posted in the changes channel for 7 days, during which any member can ask for a full review. Strategic proposals stay open for at least 14 days, including one general meeting, before a decision. Constitutional proposals need at least 30 days of discussion and, after the vote passes, a 14-day ratification period in which any Full Member may call for a second vote.

Examples, not recommendations. Your answers will be your own.

What to cover

• Once a proposal passes, which steps follow, in what order, and within how many days?
• Who is responsible for updating the affected documents and adding the Version History entry? (What the entry contains is its own question.)
• How are all members told about the change, and what does the notice include?
• From when does an adopted change apply — and can it ever apply before it is published?
• What happens if a change was agreed but never written up — does it count?

Examples

Within 7 days of a change passing, the secretary updates every affected document, marks the old wording as superseded, adds a Version History entry and moves the proposal to the passed-proposals folder. All members then receive an email with a summary and the effective date. The change applies from the effective date named in the proposal, or from publication if that is later. A change that has not been written up this way is not in force, however clearly people remember agreeing to it.

Examples, not recommendations. Your answers will be your own.

What to cover

• Where is a rejected proposal kept, together with its decision record, and within how many days is it filed?
• Is the proposer told why it was rejected, and by whom?
• Can the same proposal come back — after how long, or only with new information?
• Who decides whether a returning proposal is really new, or the same one under a different name?

Examples

Within 7 days, a rejected proposal is filed in the rejected-proposals folder with its decision record and a short note of the main reasons given. Nothing in our documents changes. The same proposal may come back after six months, or sooner if the proposer shows new information that was not available during the first discussion; the facilitator decides whether a returning proposal is substantially the same.

Examples, not recommendations. Your answers will be your own.

What to cover

• How do we recognise a change as high-impact or hard to undo, and who decides that it is?
• For those changes, how much longer is the discussion, and what higher threshold do they need?
• How are the risks written down and acknowledged before the decision?
• How much notice do current role holders and members get before a change affects them?
• Can a change reduce the rights existing members already have, and if so, what does it take?
• What happens to records and agreements made under the old rule — are they left as they were?

Examples

A change counts as high-impact if it affects money, housing or membership rights, or cannot easily be undone. Such changes get twice the normal discussion time, need a two-thirds majority instead of a simple one, and include a written risk section that members acknowledge before voting. Affected role holders are told at least 30 days before the change takes effect. Existing members' rights are never reduced without their consent or a Constitutional vote, and records made under the old rule are not altered.

Examples, not recommendations. Your answers will be your own.

What to cover

• How and when do we check whether an adopted change is working as intended?
• What signs mean a change needs revising or reversing — such as harm, instability, or decisions gathering in fewer hands?
• Who may ask for a change to be revised or reversed, and what do they have to show?
• Which decision type and process does a reversal use?
• When choosing between ways to solve a problem, how do we favour the one that is easier to undo?

Examples

Every adopted Strategic or Constitutional change is reviewed six months after it takes effect: the stewardship circle reports whether it caused harm, confusion, or put decisions into fewer hands. Any Full Member can ask for a change to be revised or reversed by giving written reasons that were not considered the first time. A reversal uses the same decision type as the original adoption. When two options would solve the same problem, we choose the one that is easier to undo.

Examples, not recommendations. Your answers will be your own.

What to cover

• What situations count as an emergency — and what makes waiting for a normal decision impossible?
• Who may make an emergency change, alone or together with someone else?
• What can never be changed in an emergency, such as our purpose or the commitments we said would never change?
• How quickly must an emergency change be reported, and to whom?
• When is it reviewed, and by when must it be confirmed through the normal decision type — or does it end automatically?

Examples

The two safety coordinators together may make an emergency change only when immediate action is needed to prevent harm to people or loss of the building, and a members' meeting cannot be held in time. An emergency change can never alter our purpose or core commitments. It is reported to all members within 24 hours, discussed at the next meeting, and lapses after 21 days unless members ratify it through the decision type the change would normally need.

Examples, not recommendations. Your answers will be your own.

What to cover

• Who may propose an experiment, and which decision starts, extends, changes or ends one?
• What must every experiment state — what changes and what stays the same, how long it runs, its check-in points, and the signs of success or failure?
• What triggers a rollback, and how is it carried out?
• What may an experiment never touch, such as our core commitments or the way decisions are made?
• How is an experiment labelled in every document it affects, and what fixed end date does it carry?
• If an experiment causes harm, pressure on people or a safety risk, who may stop it at once, and how is that reviewed afterwards?

Examples

Any Full Member may propose an experiment of up to 12 months; starting, extending or changing one takes a Strategic decision. The proposal states what changes and what does not, a midpoint check-in, signs of success and failure, and how to roll back. Every affected document is labelled "Experimental until" its end date. Experiments cannot change our core commitments or skip our decision rules, and they end on their date unless renewed by a new decision. Any two stewards may halt one immediately if it causes harm, with a review within 14 days.

Examples, not recommendations. Your answers will be your own.