Decision Making Process

PURPOSE

The purpose of the Committee is to start the course of documenting a QAC process for a better decision-making that involves consensus and collaboration. This was a recommendation made at the Feb 17, 2019 Community Meeting and discussed with Fr Tim Kenney on Feb 24, 2019.

WHAT PROBLEM ARE WE TRYING TO SOLVE

Better Decision Making for QAC.  Today, our decisions are brought to the Community Coordinator, placed on the next community meeting agenda, and voted on.  The result is a majority rule with little collaboration or consensus building around the decision, leading to Winners and Losers with input typically only from the small number of members attending the community meeting.  Minority views, and views of those not at the Community Meeting, even if they are potentially good for the community, tend to be marginalized.

PROPOSED SOLUTION

Make adjustments to our Steering Committee so they are a true Leadership Team, that works for the good of the Community, and is charged with using more deliberate outreach and transparency, as well as collaboration and blending of ideas, to build consensus around important QAC decisions.  Below are the proposed changes to the current Operatiing Procedures:

MEETING MINUTES

TOWN HALL PRESENTATION

DECISION MAKING EVALUATION RESULTS

We received approximately 60 responses out of approximately 170 community members for a 35% return.  From the 60 responses, approximately 10% were against, approximately 22% are neutral, and approximately 68% were in favor with varied degrees of passion.  Generally the pros for using a consensus model is making sure that everyone is informed and that community members voices are heard.  On the other hand, consensus building may not be efficient nor sustainable and may take too long. The comments are provide below in the spirit of transparency.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Does every decision need to use this process?  No.  This process is only to be used when decisions are significant enough that we need to get as much input from the Community as possible.  We expect the Leadership Team to exercise discretion. Having said that, all decisions should reflect the spirit of outreach to consider as many views as practical, to collaborate and compromise, and to move forward with the good of the broader community in mind.

How will communication happen throughout the process and before a decision is made? There will be a focus on transparency and accountability. The intent is to get information to everyone in a variety of ways and to allow members of our community the opportunity to share their perspectives. It’s also important that we keep the communication going by providing periodic updates throughout the decision making timeline.

Will the Leadership Team change the result of the consensus?  We don’t see this happening. We need to trust that throughout the decision making process, the committee will develop a clear and precise approach to the issue at hand so that when presented to the leadership team, the leadership team can either “bless” it, or they return it to the committee to rework it so that it allows for better consensus. This is the main reason why we put accountability and transparency in the process.

What does Consensus mean?  Consensus in this process means to “satisfice” the situation. We know that one hundred percent agreement among the community will rarely happen by the virtue of all of us being individuals. The responsible committee (standing or ad hoc) will work toward an acceptable answer to the problem within the time and manpower limitations they have, taking as many views as possible into account.