Structure Group Report 2011-02-28

STRUCTURE GROUP REPORT 28th February 2011 http://freegle.it/Structure

This is a summary of discussions since our last report of 31st January 2011, covering messages 7227 to 7590. Our membership stands at 72 (a decrease of 2 since last month).

The topics we have discussed this month are below.

Review of Adjudication Procedures

Task 51, Priority 3

The Reps, Carol, Panel Members and Ombudsmen were invited to submit their comments about the process of the recent Panel, with a view to making improvements for the future. Comments received were put on a googledoc and discussions have now commenced about the various points raised.

Polls have been held on the group to establish feelings about changing two basic ways the Ending Terms of Office Procedures work. The first asked : "Should the Reps be able to remove, rather than suspend, one of their number from office by a majority vote?" The result was 'Yes' 16 (76%), 'No' 5 (23%). The second asked: "In future, should the Ombudsman/Deputy Ombudsman chair all Panels" The result was 'Yes' 19 (95%), 'No' 1 (5%).

We are now progressing to more detailed discussion about the process of both the Adjudication and Appeals Panels based on these majority votes and other issues raised. Amended procedures will be presented for discussion to Central when this task is complete, but we would welcome more people to contribute to the discussions on the group.

Ombudsman and Returning Officer Roles

The possibility of extending roles to include more people is being discussed, along with a slightly different suggestion of joining the four current roles (leads and deputies) into a loose team to provide more equable support and conditions.

Central Mods Guidelines and Remit

Task 50, Priority 2

After a short discussion it was clarified that the membership criteria for Central should be "eligible to vote, eligible for Central". Other discussion about the necessity of Central polls for Central Mods guidelines concluded that most items could be decided by Reps, with the usual fall back of a 10% poll for any dissent, but that any decisions made should be clearly communicated.

Election Participation

Analysis of non-confidential elements of the recent election was suggested as a method of increasing participation in the future. It was concluded that volunteer time and effort should instead be used to encourage wider participation in central work and to make the organisation as friendly and inclusive as possible.

Task List Our Task List can be viewed at http://freegle.it/StructureTasks

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If any of the above topics interest you, or if you have proposals about the structure of Freegle to suggest, please do join our group.

The spokespeople for this group are Jacky (Great Yarmouth) and Edward (Rep, Edinburgh). Owners are Wendy (Woodley) and Jacky. This report was posted on Central as a Special Notice 28th February 2011

Back to Freegle Structure or Structure Group Report 2011-01-31 or forwards to Structure Group Report 2011-03-24