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11-4-2025 Spokescouncil Planning meeting

Agenda

2 hrs

5:30-7:30 pm

Quick Checkins (5 min)

Roles: fac, notes, timer (5 min)

Review action Items from spokes meeting

  • The spokescouncil meeting has been conflicting with the writer workshop meeting for a while

Spokescouncil meeting overhead tasks (30 min):

  • Agenda for next meeting - need volunteer to do this and highlights for the agenda asynchronous

    • Agenda announcements to add:

      • “Day in the life” of our group to show people what we work on

      • we are opening up for observers to attend spokescouncil meetings + post to community - add to agenda as announcement and make a post  

      • Review the announcements from the last meeting and see if we should boost them (5 min)

        • Spokes planning: we need help

        • Need volunteers for bake sale 

  • assign roles: facilitator, notes, timer, stack 

  • Brief discussion on how meetings have been going and any notes on how to make them better and what’s working well already


Steering/strategy discussion (1 hr):

  • in what ways are the admin committees actually held accountable to the spokescouncil (10 min)

  • the branding task force "hired" a designer pro-bono to create an entire brand package for RC without input from the broader community and it's just about finished (10 min)

Break (5 min)

Steering/strategy discussion continued (1 hr):

  • consider how to increase engagement w/ planning & spokes meetings (20 min)

    • better orientation docs for the structures of the space

    • re-naming these meetings to invite people to join in strategy discussions, bracketing out future meetings for overhead tasks dedicated to the meeting and strategy/steering conversations

    • Reminder during the next big meeting of why we are here. It's up to us to shape this structure in our image. Do it for the rev! Consider a question response format to get ppl actively engaged 

    • More ideas?

      • Discussion if we should open up spokescouncil to observers who aren’t in working groups: Orientation fair at meetings/before or after for observers

      • Add ppl to the planning chat before they attend the meeting > regular clean up later v barrier to entry

      • GOOD SNAX + music 

      • Pets 

      • Cute Flag for stack, antics 

      • Promote the big monthly spokescouncil meetings in community announcements 

      • Allowing non delegates to talk

      • We are experimenting, bring suggestions 

  • How can we share the labor of this group more fairly:(20 min)

    • Are folks in this chat having trouble coming to these meetings and taking on tasks? If so, why? What can we do to help?

      • Start time at 6:30 

      • 6-8 basement

      • Ask chat

      • Offline work

    • monthly checklists of tasks for this group to do (cadence for reminders, send meeting announcements more effectively than "hey here's a 12 page document of notes from the meeting!")

    • monthly roles: we could consider every month, assigning roles to ppl in this group so we can swap tasks and spread the labor more evenly. someone to be the chat poster/reminder/calendar dom, someone to write the agenda, someone to facilitate, etc. asking for volunteers seems to not work well. We may need to assign roles randomly and people can say no if they can’t do it. Also offer to collaborate on tasks like facilitation or agenda writing. 

      • Chore wheel for spokescouncil planning chat 

      • Roles:

        • Facilitator 

        • Agenda writer

        • Calendar dom + post monthly checklist dom, meeting reminder 

        • digest/highlights esp requests for help

        • Document updater - explainer 

        • Feedback roundup/orientation 

Action item roundup (5 min)

  • Proposal voting - asynch - iris 

  • Update explainer, add documentation as needed - Paul

  • Figure out meeting cadence with writers group - iris

  • Breakout chat for General Assembly - proposal - post into announcements chat - ash/shannon -Suggestions for groups to have in chat asynch votes for proposals in WGs 

  • SNACK ROLE for next meeting - shea will coordinate to find someone

  • “A day in the life of an admin committee” template - shea

  • “Chore wheel”  for randomized roles online for spokescouncil planning chat  - Ash asks LP

  • make an account with the wiki - Help with authenticating accounts first - Everyone, Paul

  • Posts to make:

    • we are opening up for observers to attend spokescouncil meetings + post to community - add to agenda as announcement and make a post  

    • Announcement for spokescouncil planning needing help - add to agenda and invitation flyer/post

  • Next meeting:

    • Discuss further absentee voting idea

    • Discussion name of this group and differentiate it from spokescouncil meetings + invitation 

    • Rewriting charter to be more open 

    • Facilitator training/skillshare

    • How to revoke point person process  

    • Hang outs /social time 

    • Internal calendar to coordinate tasks for regular admin tasks  

    • Collective agenda writing  for big meetings-  submissions model 

Notes

  • Iris and Paul need to leave around 7

    • Potential to end the meeting by 7

    • Review and address proposals asynchronously

  • Bake sale needs volunteers 

  • Scheduling Spokes to not conflict with Writing Workshop

  • Review action items from spokes meeting

    • Draft Spokes Agenda

      • Iris will make a pass at drafting the agenda

      • Draft to working groups chat for review and suggestions

    • Drop role assignments prior to the Spokes

      • Shae can invite people to volunteer/shadow in with the announcement

        • Notes, time, stack

          • Exception - facilitation which benefits from familiarity with the agenda

        • Post to the internal announcements chat (vs. the public announcements chat)

          • Possibly after the GA consider opening more

    • Need someone to being snacks

  • Reflection on meetings, to date

    • Orderly, time efficient

    • General trust toward the admin committee

    • Improved communication between moving parts in the space

    • Delegate class seeming to form - less communication outside that group

      • Exception is pantry, they have a lot of people

      • Actively trying in come groups to not establish these structural roles

      • Seems like there is less engagement in decision making among all groups than we would hope

        • Delegates making decisions on their behalf

        • Proposal feedback does not need to be collected in person, maybe more focus on giving them the opportunity to contribute

      • Current proposals have been largely uncontroversial

        • Potentially more controversial items coming up - e.g. branding, dues

    • Request for absentee voting for delegates

      • Asynchronous

      • Does it make a difference that this probably only works for blanket approvals

    • People are a little bit tentative about participating

      • Assume more comfort over time

  • Admin Committee accountability 

    • How does this work?

      • Might be useful to have a template for admin committee reports back

        • What are they doing?

        • How are they doing?

      • Suggestion that it be made “What have we done in the past” “What did we do this month” “What are we planning”

      • Further discussion on potential to open SC meetings to observers who are looking to learn more about RC

        • Reports back could serve as a point of entry into collective work

    • Revocable if seen by the SC as not filling their role

      • Process doesn’t exist yet

      • Having it clear makes it more likely people can utilize it

      • Someone could take time to draft some language

    • Better notes at the Sunday Admin meeting

      • Share them out for transparency 

      • Invite feedback and follow up

    • Inviting more people from WGs to join Admin committees

    • Need more people to be more engaged with Admin

  • Hang out more

    • Visit everyone’s cats

    • Visit Meatball

  • Branding

    • Desire expressed for coherent branding

    • Group chat formed, Eros contacted to create a brand package

      • Had hoped this would be put forward as a proposal

      • Won’t be ready for November

    • Suggestion that it be ready for December

    • This will probably be a pass/fail

    • Question about why it needs to be coherent

      • Can there be a library of options that includes various vibes and aesthetics

      • Reminder that this is a tool you can use to help but WGs can always make their own stuff

      • More options rather than less

    • Is there an issue with people having done a thing that impacts everyone?

      • Pro bono work

      • Should this have been a proposal?

      • Option vs. mandate

        • Anyone else can submit pro bono branding

      • Context for the announcement of the branding committee

        • Open call, took the initiative

      • They are planning to begin work on building the templates for social media

        • Do we need to ask them to wait for the SC meeting to make the proposal

      • Potential concerns about the vibe of the materials

  • Library 

    • Going to begin moving through formal channels to build stewardship committee

  • Steering strategy discussion

    • Increase engagement with planning and spokes meetings

      • Better orientation

      • Renaming meetings to invite participation

      • Reminder about why we are here - vision

      • Open call for ideas

        • Observers at spokes meetings

        • Orientation faire either before or after the spokes meeting

      • Look at meeting timing for increased participation

      • Consider adding people to the SC Planning chat before they come to a meeting

        • Regular chat clean ups

      • Vibes

        • Snacks

        • Pets

        • Music

      • Whimsy

        • Libby’s stack flag

        • Games

      • Post in Community announcements - promote the SC meeting

        • More proposals

        • More transparency

        • Potential for driving engagement for newcomers

        • Straw poll - everyone in favor of bringing this suggestion to the WG thread

    • Sharing the labor

      • Allowing non-delegates to talk in the meetings

        • This is good for vibe

        • Reserving the right to table things

      • Reinforce the spirit of experimentation

      • Are people having trouble coming to these meetings?

        • Timing is an issue for some

          • Basement usually free 6-8

        • Support for keeping Tuesdays because of open co-working

      • Monthly check lists of tasks

        • Sharing info from meetings

          • Notes from the agenda in the announcements chat

          • Reminders

            • Reminders about proposal deadline

            • Reminders to review proposals

              • List of proposals

            • Reminder about SC Planning meeting

            • Reminder about SC meeting

          • This can happen offline

            • Android phones can pre-schedule signal messages

        • Suggestion to assign and rotate roles

          • Ongoing tasks

            • SC planning

              • Planning meeting Facilitation

              • Agenda writing for SC Planning

            • Posting on the chat

              • Calendar Dom

            • SC 

              • Facilitation

                • If new facilitators, ensure attendance at the SC Planning meeting prior to the SC

              • Announcement summaries

              • Digest

              • RC Ambassador 

                • Feedback collection

                • Orientation

              • Documentation/explainer updater (Paul is interested in this)

          • Chore wheel!

            • Posts to the chat

            • Is there a digital option?

          • If people can’t do the work that week, potential to invite new people into the chat

        • Facilitator training should still happen

    • Review announcements

      • Come to the next spokes planning

      • Volunteers needed for bake sale and markets etc

    • Previous meeting made a point of clarifying how this experiment came together and that we need to collaborate to make the space work

    • Language could use clarification to make it more accessible and less repetitive 

      • Steering and coordinator admin is clearer

      • Less clear is strategy role

    • Selection bias around participation in the SC makes it harder for the Planning committee to respond to larger strategic or philosophical issues with the model 

      • People who don’t accept the model aren’t participating

      • Hosting the GA will probably provide material for proposing bigger changes

    • We want to have a general assembly 

      • Proposal is dates

      • Proposal to solicit agenda items/discussion topics

        • Suggestion: This is not a decision-making body

          • Clarifying past challenges and future excitement

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