Governance

This is a deep dive of information and agenda suggestions for successful house meetings.

Meeting Agenda

It’s useful to have a standing agenda, typically in a “Meeting Minutes” linked digitally somewhere for anyone who misses the meeting to review later. Specific agenda items should be filled out ahead of time, giving members the opportunity to propose discussion items ahead of time. Add an estimated time to each section and use a timer to keep on track with the agenda. Lastly, capture and highlight action items in red to denote who is responsible and the due date for their item. Transfer to your project tracking system as needed (i.e. Asana, Airtable, etc.) 

Below is a standard agenda we recommend, and here is a template you can use with some examples.

1. Check-ins – Go around and have each person say a quick check-in, or gratitude for the house. Can be a single word or a few sentences each. What do you need to say or release to be fully present at the meeting?
2. Review of Agenda – Quick overview of the time commitment and structure of the meeting. Identify who is facilitating, who is keeping notes, who is keeping time. Answer any logistical questions. 
3. Announcements – Informational announcements, distinct from proposals (e.g. “I will be hosting a brunch here on Sunday, you are welcome to join”)
4. Updates from Previous Meeting – Accountability for previous tasks or projects that were decided on last meeting (e.g. “John committed to organizing the pantry, please give an update”). Someone to pull up project management system to review.
5. Proposals and/or Decisions / Problems with Solutions – Proposal for specific items with space for feedback and voting (see Proposal Process section below). Pods present findings or proposals on specific items they have been researching.
6. Problems Without Solutions / Hopes & Dreams – Space for issues, challenges, hopes, and intention that don’t require decisions or deliberation (e.g. “I have a hope and dream that we can host more inspiring events here”). A way to productively complain, and not always try to “fix problems.”
7. Check-outs – (optional) Something fun or connecting to close out the meeting. 

Meeting Roles

Having roles for meetings helps them run smoothly.  These roles should shift over time to prevent funky power dynamics.

• Facilitator – This person is empowered to run the meeting, manage the agenda, and hold the overall meeting process. They typically also serve as time-keeper, making sure the meeting keeps to the schedule as best as possible. 

• Scribe – Someone to take notes and action items for each meeting (usually in the Meeting Minutes and  project management system.)
• Space holder – This person is tuned in to vibe, energy, emotional space of the meeting, and is empowered to pause the meeting to make observations on this front.  The serves a way to balance the energy of the room. This can be the same person as the facilitator or someone different. 

Meetings Tips

• Set up a regular frequency and consistent times for your meetings. Every 2 weeks (biweekly) seems to be the norm for most communities.
• Attendance is typically strongly suggested but not required. Some communities track attendance and only allow a certain number of absences per quarter or year.
• Proposal should be made in a previous meeting or online (via Slack) to be decided upon during the meeting. 
• Take notes and send out to all members of the house as a record
• Related Resources: see Robert’s Rules of Process

Proposal Process

Below is a sample proposal structure that we recommend for making and working through specific proposals:

1. Content – what background information is relevant for this proposal?
2. Proposal – what is being proposed – in detail?
3. Clarifying questions – avoid responses or feedback from members, just clarifying questions
4. Reactions/Suggestions – members respond to what they think about this proposal
5. Modified proposal – for efficiency, proposer does their best to modify the proposal to address questions and reactions, without responding to them
6. Decision-making – if there is an absolute objection, the proposal does not pass.  If there are none, then the proposal passes.

Proposal Process Recommendations

• Proposals should be added to the meeting agenda at least 24 hours in advance of the meetings so that those who cannot attend can comment and vote prior to the meeting. 
• Some communities require major proposals be made and discussed in one meeting, but not decided on until the next. This gives time for people to digest and provide feedback between meetings.
• Smaller proposal can often be decided online. It’s good to set a time period (e.g. 48 hours) for all responses. People can either a) vote, b) forgo their vote by not responding, or c) flag it as an important decision that needs to be made in the next meeting. 
• If a proposal expands into a large discussion that is not headed towards a clear or timely resolution, it can be helpful to designate a small task force to further develop the proposal offline. Typically there are a few people who are particularly passionate about a subject, and it can be more effective to let them work it out outside the meeting process, often soliciting feedback from other residents, and then come back to the group in the next house meeting to present the updated proposal.