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A new structure for the campaign - proposals welcome!
Posted on: Tue, 22/04/2008 - 13:56
 
A new structure for the campaign - proposals welcome!
A large part of the last mass meeting was spent discussing a new democratic structure for the campaign. It was thought that the structure of mass meetings were quite vague, that decision making was quite hard and that it wasn't easy to get involved in. Everyone is invited to propose a new structure, or ideas for structure for the campaign, especially how mass meeting should be held. The deadline for proposals, so that everyone can have a read through them prior to the mass meeting on Thursday, is 5PM on Wednesday. Proposals can be submitted in this discussion topic. |
E.N.S. CAMPAIGN STRUCTURE
Standard Roles:
Any meeting organised by ENS should have:
1. A chair that is appointed at the beginning of that meeting. Any proposal that will be voted on should be clearly restated by the chair before the vote.
2. A minute taker that is responsible for taking notes as to what discussion takes place and which decisions are made. They should send the notes out to the ENS mailing list as soon as possible after the meeting.
Decision-making and meetings:
The mass meetings are at the heart of the ENS campaign’s decision making. The two meetings will be:
1. To tell everyone what is happening in the campaign, the university and the country in relation to marketisation of Higher Education in the form of talks with question and answer at the end.
2. To discuss further and decide in greater detail what could not be talked about in full detail at the other meeting.
Sub Groups:
To allow for smaller tasks to be undertaken by smaller groups (i.e. Communications and Research groups will sub-groups to the mass meetings):
1. Communications
To communicate through any way (i.e. Flyers, banners etc.) about what is happening at the university/ENS. Anyone interested in design of materials should attend this meeting.
2. Research
To research any information that will further the campaign. A newsletter may come out of this group with articles on the campaign and issues surrounding it.
Structure of meetings:
1. Confirmation of Agenda:
- People have the opportunity to suggest items for the agenda.
- People have the opportunity to propose changes to the order of the agenda
2. Feedback: any new information or news in completed actions
3. Discussion: mostly open discussion though this will be dependent on the Agenda and current situation.
4. Action Points: what the future holds for the campaign, how to be effective.
Proposed Structure of the ENS Campaign
Decision Making Body - Mass Meeting
Sub-Groups
- Leaflets/Poster Production
- Internet Working Group
- Research/Updates
- Media
Descriptions of these sub-groups can be found under '3. Sub-groups'.
1. Decision making and meetings
At a mass meeting last term it was decided that from now on the Thursday mass meetings would be the new main planning and organisational body with decision making capacities. Thus far this has not been overturned by another mass meeting, so the Thursday mass meeting should still be at the heart of the ENS campaign.
No meeting other than the mass meeting, unless it has been delegated by the mass meeting has decision-making power. The original Communications and Research sub-groups are hereafter disbanded, and are replaced by the aforementioned Leaflet Production, Media and Research sub-groups which are accountable to the mass Thursday meetings. Any further sub-groups are also accountable to the mass Thursday meetings.
Structure of Thursday Meetings:
1) Updates on campaign by Updates/Research Committee + any Guest Speakers (20 Mins Max total)
2) Other Subcommittee Reports (no discussion), to be kept short.
3) Discussion - an open discussion about the campaign
4) 10-Minute Break - Last-minute motions arising from the discussion must be presented to the Chair in written form by the end of this break. All motions should then be collated by the chair, with motion titles displayed on the projector and read out when the meeting resumes. The final motion order should be ratified by the mass meeting by majority vote.
5) Decisions, with all motions visible in full through a projector, with any amendments also visible. Each motion should go through the following procedure:
Motion (displayed in full on projector)
Discussion (& amendments)
Vote
The result of each vote should be reviewed at the end of this section.
6) Chair for next meeting is selected
2. Delegates
Any meeting organised by ENS should have at least:
- The chair can be recalled during the meeting by a majority vote.
The chair is responsible for maintaining a queue of who wants to speak, of ensuring that discussion stays on topic and for summarising and calling for proposals and voting at appropriate times.
The chair is responsible for ensuring that a proposal contains dates, times, places and delegations where appropriate.
Any proposal that will be voted on should be clearly restated by the chair before the vote.
The chair is expected not to take part in the discussions and decision-making of that week's meeting.
At the end of each mass meeting, a volunteer is appointed to chair the next mass meeting. Meetings of sub-groups appoint a chair at the beginning of their respective meetings.
The chair for the next mass meeting is responsible for creating a thread on the website from which all involved can submit motions. It is the chair's responsibility to collate these motions, and bring them to the next mass meeting.
- A minute taker volunteers at the beginning of the meeting and can be recalled by a majority vote.
The minute taker is responsible for taking notes as to what discussion takes place and which decisions are made.
They should send the notes out to the ENS mailing list as soon as possible after the meeting.
The minute taker is also responsible for typing up the motions and their ammendments (so they are visible on the projector) for motions proposed during the break (see below)
Any further delegates who volunteer at meetings are equally recallable through majority votes.
3. Sub-groups
Sub-groups are also delegates from the mass meeting, and, having volunteered for their roles, are responsible to the mass meeting for following them through.
Everyone who is part of the campaign has the right to be part of one of these sub-groups, so that a few activists are not responsible for the success/failure of the campaign. We suggest the following sub-groups, and more can be created by the mass meeting:
1) Leaflet Poster Production
This should produce leaflets/posters as delegated and bringing them to the Mass Meeting or other space to enable their distribution.
2) Media
This should produce articles for Badger and liaising with other media should the need arise
3) Internet Working Group
This would be responsible for maintaining the website.
3) Research/Updates
This should monitor progress of campaign, and monitor any other issues pertinent to campaign and produce reports on these issues for the rest of the campaign.
4. Transparency & Democracy
If passed, this proposal should be available on the website in a section dedicated to democracy/transparency.
As any other piece of ENS policy, this structure can be changed through motions passed at the mass meetings.