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02/06/2025: How to prioritize submitted proposals

Post-Vote Overview

 Proposals are submitted by some deadline before a given Spokescouncil meeting. Between that deadline and the Spokescouncil meeting, Spokes review proposals and indicate which ones they think are the most important to discuss.

How to Prioritize Submitted Proposals

Person or group submitting

Frankie

Proposal History

  • Submission Date: 2/6/25
  • Vote date: 2/6/25
  • Vote result: Pass

Friendly Ammendments:

  • Setting agenda in advance important
  • Debate over voting as individuals or having WG reps vote
    • voting as individuals makes fewer meetings necessary for the WG reps
    • Impetus for individuals to vote may force ppl to read proposals
    • large WGs may have more sway
  • Visuals: Pins, stickers, markers on proposal to prioritize proposals
    • Counting dots of everyone can be arduous v reps
  • Need clear description of who can vote on this at Woodbine

Motivation

To make the Spokescouncil truly participatory, Spokes must have a way to introduce proposals and prioritize which proposals get discussed. Creating a structured and transparent process for prioritizing proposals will help the Spokescouncil discuss the things most important to the various Spokes.

Proposal overview slightly less tiny summary here

Proposals are submitted by some deadline before a given Spokescouncil meeting. Between that deadline and the Spokescouncil meeting, Spokes review proposals and indicate which ones they think are the most important to discuss.

Details

Background info

Groups this affects

All Spokescouncil participants

Work required

  1. Set a clear deadline for proposals to be submitted
  2. Create + maintain a way for Spokes to indicate their priorities
  3. Ask + remind Spokes to indicate their priorities
  4. Announce the selected proposals

Some work will vary depending on which flavor of proposal is selected below.

Individual or group doing labor

Volunteers from Spokescouncil Planning group

Money required

Probably free (?)

Proposals

First, I'll propose the outline of the process. Then there are different flavors below suggesting different methods for carrying out the process. We can choose between flavors, or combine them.

The process:

  1. People submit proposals for a given Spokescouncil meeting before a deadline
  2. Once the deadline arrives, Spokes review proposals and decide which N (probably 3) proposals they want to prioritize discussing
    • Note: The Spoke is not deciding which N proposals they support. They are deciding which they want to discuss.
  3. Spokes share their priorities with the broader Spokescouncil
  4. The top N most prioritized proposals are the ones that will be discussed at the next Spokescouncil meeting. These are announced to all Spokes before the meeting.
  5. Between announcement and the meeting, Spokes can discuss the prioritized proposals among themselves. Spokespeople can come to the next meeting with synthetized decisions or questions from their Spokes.

A) Spokes submit preferences via Google Form (or equivalent non-Google form)

  1. Spokes submit the form, indicating which Spoke they are and which proposals they are prioritizing.
    • Proposals are listed in a multi-select in the form; submitter can only choose N
    • If two people independently submit for the same Spoke, Spokescouncil Planning Group reaches out to the Spoke, sorts it out.
  2. Results are visible to any / all participants (not just Spokespeople or the Spokescouncil Planning Group)
  3. After the prioritization period ends, Spokescouncil Planning Group announces the proposals that will be discussed in the Signal group for Spokescouncil stuff

B) Spokescouncil Planning Group solicits preferences via Signal

Members of Spokescouncil Planning Group ask individual Spokes for their preferences. They tabulate most-prioritized proposals privately, then announce the results in the Signal group for Spokescouncil stuff

C) Spokes submit preferences in person at Woodbine before Spokescouncil meeting

We have some sort of ballot box where Spokes can submit paper slips indicating their Spoke + preferences. Spokescouncil planning group looks through the results after the prioritization deadline and announces the selected proposals before the next Spokescouncil meeting.

D) Spokes submit preferences in person at the beginning of the Spokescouncil meeting

Spokespeople come to the Spokescouncil meeting ready to relay which proposals their Spoke selected. During the Spokescouncil meeting, facilitators count up the votes and then move to discussion of the most-prioritized proposals.

Comments

  • briar: if all woodbine members voted independently, the working groups would only need 1 meeting instead of 2
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