A design approach to a constitution - an assemblage of protocols

Here we describe how the meet.coop constitution with be generated, out of the design practice of commons.hour.

Updated: 19jul2021

Incomplete topic, to be expanded xxx

The Resource Centre https://www.resourcecentre.org.uk/information/constitutions/ notes:

It is important to try and get a constitution that actually reflects the way in which you want to do things. There is no point in lumbering yourself with a lot of bureaucracy you don’t want, or writing down loads of things you don’t intend to do, simply because you think they are what people expect.

Our intention is that the handbook should do this.

xxx A constitution as an assemblage of protocols - because the form of the handbook is essentially an assemblage of protocols

xxx Principles - A limited selection of core protocols - at an appropriate level of abstraction and specifically relevant to formal incorporation as a coop - will be abstracted as the basis of a constitution. These will be referred to as the principles of meet.coop.

Standard elements or categories of a constitution are outlined in Conventional outline of a constitution. This trial handbook has the structure below. In principle, we expect that a constitution can have more or less the same structure as the handbook. Alongside each section we identify where each of the standard elements is located.

• 1 Intentions - includes Name of organisation, Aims, Members

• 2 Political economy includes Finances

• 3 Social relations - includes Committee and officers

• 4 Assemblies and deliberations - includes AGM and other meetings, Rules of procedure, Changes to the constitution

• 5 commons.hour - the design project

• 6 Constitution - includes Rules of procedure, Changes to the constitution, Dissolution

• 7 Code of conduct - includes Rules of procedure

• 8 Terminology

• 9 Supporting materials