Decision making at Stirling G8 camp
Submitted by Lazlo_Woodbine on Jul 25 2005 13:30
I never went -- what did people wo stayed there think about how the place was run? The aim was to have a self-organised space. Did this work?
I paste below a discussion document launched by the people who were in the facilitation team for the camp.
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A critical look at Decision-making at the Hori-Zone Stirling July 2005
One of the aims of the Hori-zone was to set up a zone of resistance to the G8 based on self-organisation, horizontal decision making, ecology and autonomy. It was a fantastic chance to experiment with self-organisation on a large scale. The facilitation group tried to work out a consensus based way of making decisions that would involve the thousands of people living on site.
Now is the time for a critical look at this aspect of the convergence.
Here's a quick outline of the decision-making process on site:
The Hori-zone was split into three meeting-types:
BARRIO (NEIGHBOURHOOD) MEETINGS
To organise life within the barrio and make decisions on policies/actions.
Meetings once or more a day, time set by the individual barrios, attended by
people from the barrio. Barrio meetings send one or two spokespeople each to
the site co-ordination and action spokescouncils.
SITE CO-ORDINATION MEETINGS
To co-ordinate the practical aspects of the overall camps, such as food,
compost, greywater, site security. Usually 9am attended by spokespeople from
site working groups (such as grey water, kitchens) and from each
neighbourhood.
ACTION SPOKESCOUNCILS
To co-ordinate actions. Attended by spokespeople from each barrio/affinity
group/action working group as well as individuals.
Site co-ordination meeting and action spokescouncils tried to use consensus
decision-making as did many barrios.
We want to find out how well we achieved our aim of organising in an open and participatory way and what we should have done differently. We are hoping to hear from as many groups, barrios and individuals as possible. Please find a couple of minutes to fill in the questionaire or send us your free style reflections. If you are continuing to meet as a group, it'd be great if you
could make this part of your debriefing process and send us your collective
response.
Please post your responses to:
Facilitation Group
c/o Dept 29
22 Beswick St
Manchester
M47 HS
or email: actiontraining@linuxmail.org
Cheers!
Facilitation/Process group of the Stirling Hori-Zone convergence space
Questionaire about decision-making at Hori-Zone.
Yes, there are a lot of questions - it'd be great if you could answer them
all, but don't worry if you can't or don't feel like it. Some you can just
tick, others we'd love to read your own words. All responses appreciated. Ta!
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About you:
01. Are you: (please delete)
an individual a group
02. If an individual did you come as (please delete)
an individual part of a long-term group part of a
group formed for the G8
03. Did you experience difficulties in understanding what was said in
meetings? Please delete!
Yes, always Often Sometimes Never
04. Why was this (could be hearing difficulties, accustics, English not your
first language etc)
---------------
Your overall impression of the decision-making on site:
1. Were you aware of the decision-making process in place on site? Please
delete or write something
Yes No Vaguely Only towards the end
2. How well did it work?
3. What could have been better?
4. Did you feel included in the process? Please delete or write something
Yes Sometimes Not at all
5. How easy was it to get involved in the process? Please delete or write
something
Very easy Easy OK Only when trying hard Difficult
6. Were others included in the process? Please delete or write something
Yes, everyone Yes, lots Most
Some Only a few
7. In your opinion, how important was it for everyone to get involved in the
process? Delete or write!
Vital Important Medium Important Not
important A waste of time
8. How could the process have been improved? Please ramble...
9. Did you have a good understanding of consensus/spokescouncils before you
arrived? Delete or write!
Yes, lots Some in practice In theory
Heard of it Never heard of it before
10. And by the time you'd left? Delete or write!
Yes, lots Some in practice In theory
Heard of it Never heard of it before
-----------------------
Barrios:
11. Which barrio did you camp in?
12. (Roughly) how many people were in your barrio?
13. Were you kept informed about barrio meetings? How?
14. How often did the barrio meet?
15. How many of the meetings did you go to?
16. How many people came to each barrio meeting?
17. How easy was it to get involved with the meetings? Delete or write!
Very easy Easy OK Only when trying hard Difficult
18. Why was it easy/difficult to get involved?
19. Did you understand what was happening?
20. What decision-making process did you use in your barrio? Please delete:
Consensus Voting Leaders decide Other (Specify):
21. Did you have facilitators/chairpeople for the meetings?
22. Did you rotate them or was it always the same people? Please delete:
Always different people some different people
Always the same people
23. Did you have spokespeople at the site co-ordination meetings and action
spokescouncils? Please delete!
Always Most meetings Some meetings None
24. Did you rotate your spokespeople? Please delete!
Always different people Some different people Always
the same people
25. How well did the barrio meetings relate to (feed into and out from) the
site co-ordination meetings?
Great Good Ok Not too
well Bad
26. How well did the barrio meetings relate to (feed into and out from) the
site co-ordination meetings?
Great Good Ok Not too
well Bad
27. What was good about your barrio meetings? Please write something...
28. What could have been better? Please write something...
------------------------------
Site meetings
29. Did you know when/where the site-coordination meetings were taking place?
30. Did you go to any of the site meetings?
31. Was this as (Please delete!)
an individual a spoke?
32. How accessible were they?
33.How well were decisions/information relayed to barrio meetings? (Please
delete!)
Great Good Ok Not too
well Bad
34.What was good about the site co-ordination meetings?
35.What could have been better?
------------------------------------------------------
Action spokescouncils:
36. Were you part of an affinity group when you arrived? Please delete!
Yes No
37. Did you join/form an affinity group on the site? If so, when during the
week? Please delete!
No Yes
38. Was your affinity group made up from people within a single barrio? Please
delete!
Yes No
39. Did you know when the spokescouncils were taking place? Please delete!
Always Mostly Sometimes Never
40. Did you go to any action spokescouncil? Please delete!
Yes, all Some One None
41.If so, as Please delete!
a spoke an observer from a group as an individual?
42. How accessible and transparent did you find them?
43. How could they be improved?
44. Where there any action spokes meetings that didn't work very well? Why?
45.Where there any action spokes meetings that worked particularly well? Why?
Please post responses to: Facilitation Group, c/o Dept 29, 22 Beswick St,
Manchester, M47 HS
or email: actiontraining@linuxmail.org
Cheers!