AGM 2011 Start Report

START WORKING GROUP

After the launch of Freegle in September 2009 it quickly became apparent that Freegle needed to have a way of dealing with enquiries on how to open a Freegle reuse group or transfer one from another network. An Interim Group Assessment Team was therefore created which eventually became the Group Affiliation Team (GAT).

The Start Working Group was formed in September 2009 in order that Freegle Volunteers could discuss and recommend the principles and procedures that would be used by the Group Affiliation Team (GAT) for making decisions on whether groups should be listed or delisted. Recommendations by the Working Group are made by consensus or Yahoo poll and ratified by the Reps and Freegle UK Central.
Twenty three members joined Start initially. By September 2011 there were sixty one members. There have been approximately 2,780 messages. Monthly reports and policy decisions are recorded in the Wiki. A Task List is maintained. The GAT and Start Wiki pages are currently being redrafted.
Discussions in the first few months centred around identifying the issues and priorities that would be have to be addressed in the short and long term. Full volunteer polls held in October 2009, November 2009 and January 2010 helped GAT and Start to decide how discussions could proceed in a democratic way.
In February 2010 the Statements, Principles and Procedures for applications to open new groups were published. Updates to these have been made since that time and include decisions on:

• New groups being set up by existing owners
• Boundary issues
• Order of applications
• Transfer of groups from other networks
• Defining inactive groups
• Suitability of applicants
• Starting neighbouring groups
• Consultation with local groups
• Leaving or change of ownership
• Merging or splitting groups
• Specialist groups
• Providing support to new and existing groups
• Area guidelines

It is gratifying to look back at the contribution Start has made over the last two years. Undoubtedly the Working Group will continue to debate the above topics. As time progresses though the emphasis may well move to how best groups can be supported. This topic is the focus of current discussion in the Working Group. We would be very pleased to start the new Freegle year with some more members.
September 2011

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