Womanshare - How it works - Decision Making Structure

DECISION-MAKING STRUCTURE

The Coordinating Committee was the original body that was the hub of Womanshare's administrative work. Its initial function was to deal with the logistics of keeping Womanshare humming. For example the committee devised a monthly calendar of events that was included in the monthly mailings.

It soon became apparent that different points of view and attitudes needed to express themselves as Womanshare continued to grow. At one point a member developed a survey and it revealed that half of our members considered community building as important as trading with each other. Some were particularly interested in the political aspects of alternative economics within which Womanshare had taken its place.

From the beginning the coordinating committee decided that members were invited to either come and sit in on the meeting and, if they chose, to bring an issue they felt was not being recognized or addressed. Such questions as; could members use their credits to buy services as gifts for people outside the Womanshare community? Would it be possible for Womanshare to sponsor political agenda such as the Abolition 2000 campaign to abolish nuclear weapons or The Right to Choose movement. Could our budget include the purchase of books and tapes on alternative economics?

As could be expected in the process of any evolving organization, a few members believed that the coordinating group was elitist and that this special group of members were making all the decisions. Remarkably, despite the issues and, some times, hard feelings the coordinating committee functioned well throughout the first 6 years of Womanshare's existence.

In 1997 when after calling a series of Town Meetings, Womanshare decentralized and created the Council as the form of Womanshare's decision making body.

Coordinating Committee (CC)

The Coordinating Committee consisted of both founding members of WS, and 5 Members-at Large who were elected by the membership.

Function and Role of the CC

1.	Emergency decision-making "response team" for situations that arise between Business Meetings and that are not appropriate to be handled by standing committees or task forces.
2.	Maintain overview of WS organizational functioning, standing committees and task forces.
3.	Recommend tasks and/or issues not already being addressed by a committee or task force to the most appropriate one for handling.
4.	Recommend and initiate the formation/or dissolution of committees and task forces.
5.	Maintain direct, frequent communication between CC and all standing committees, task forces and WS administrator. (This is to insure accessibility to and an open relationship with the CC and prevent the CC from becoming insular.)
6.	Communicate the activities and decisions of the CC to individuals, committees, and task-forces. This will be done through scheduled reports at Business Meetings and periodically inserted into mailings to MSG, as well as telephone conversations when appropriate.
7.	Maintain schedule overview of WS activities and events to prevent unintended duplicate scheduling.
8.	Receive requests for presenting at Business Meetings and develop the Agenda.

Womanshare Council
(our current form for decision making)

The Womanshare Council meets every other month before the potluck. The council is empowered to make all decisions for Womanshare. Since all members in good standing are entitled to attend Council meetings as full participants, the full membership has decision-making power. No quorum is required and decisions are made by 2/3 of individuals present by consensus. Rotating facilitators prepare the agenda and facilitate the meeting.

COMMITTEES