Network ReVisioning Spokes Council
Regular updates & discussion on the Network ReVisioning process
ReVisioning Implementation Updates:
Participatory Democracy
We recognize the importance of self-governing capabilities for the Network to support itself and to provide clear pathways for members of our Network to help shape its future. - ReVisioning Recommendation
Our Direct Democracy Workshop series is live, with three workshops completed so far. This series teaches the practical skills necessary to enable shared group decisionmaking.
- Workshop 1: Creating Shared Goals with Emergent Strategy
- Workshop 2: The Art of Orienting: Building Relationships and Moving as a Group
- Workshop 3 Upcoming on April 26: Working with Power and Difference
For decisions that our Network benefits from making together (e.g. adopting governance procedures, selecting locations for important events, weighing in on national actions) we recommend that our yearly Brigade Congress serve as an assembly where key decisions can be made (for both in-person and virtual participants). We will also consult organizations that do this well and pilot new approaches to grassroots governance. -ReVisioning Recommendation
- Brigade Congress planning is starting. We’re still working on the committee structure and will be announcing details in the next few weeks.
- Open Proposal Process planning and piloting is also beginning. This is a framework to allow the Network to make project suggestions to staff - and to see what staff are working on. This is a work in progress, but you’re welcome to try it out at the GitHub repo here.
Brigade Support Structures
As a network, we need more resources, guidance, and frameworks on identifying and responding to community needs – locally and nationally. This will also require additional human resources, financial resources, and new mechanisms for distribution of those resources that reflect our priorities and values. We aim to pilot new democratic decision-making practices within the Network, and create new fundraising streams through models of Network membership and partnership. - ReVisioning Recommendation
Central to our objective of supporting Brigades as they adapt to a partnership-first model is the development of the Brigade Organizer Branches. These are supportive structures intended to resource & support Brigade leaders. Branches are still in development, but a key element of branches will be incorporating existing Network infrastructure and committees (like the Brigade Congress committees) into relevant branches.
National Action Teams
We are formalizing structures we’ve explored in the last year, by creating clear pathways for local and national organizing. All brigade partnerships and decision making will continue to be managed locally. National Action teams (which will also house priority action areas), will be managed centrally. - Revisioning Recommendation
We’re continuing to build out our separate and complementary organizing structure of the National Action Teams. This month, we undertook a reorganizing of the structure and staffing of the National Action Teams. We’ll be sharing more at an upcoming Community Assembly and will link to the relevant materials when they are ready.
Communities of Practice
Communities of practice are a mechanism to organize and support talent and relationships at scale. It is also a primary mechanism for making the principles and practices of Code for America widely accessible. We will formalize and resource these communities, and develop new ones as the need and practice demands. - Network ReVisioning
The development of the curriculum, format, and structure of the Community of Practice are currently in development and the strategy is being finalized.