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content/wiki/cooperative-foundations/peer-support-playbook/session-guides/session-5-coop-structures-and-governance.md
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@ -8,17 +8,11 @@ parentDocument: Session Guides
outlineId: f317905f-1ee1-4412-89c6-6b12e007b7d4
createdBy: Jennie R.F.
---
> **Session content:** See [Session 5: Coop Structures and Governance](/doc/session-5-coop-structures-and-governance-DxoDQCtL66) for the full curriculum.
## Pre-session
If you are the presenting PS for this session, prep a **15-20 minute** case study from your studio covering:
This session is facilitated by Jennie and eileen. Your role is to observe your studio during the session and prepare for this week's studio support meeting. Review the Studio Operating Framework Template (SOFT) in Miro before the session so you're familiar with its sections.
* How your studio makes decisions now
* What you tried that didn't work
* One example of governance helping resolve a real issue
## **What happens in session**
## What happens in session
Studios learn about:
@ -26,81 +20,78 @@ Studios learn about:
* governance models (collective governance, advice process, sociocratic circles, board + membership, DisCOs)
* member management (adding, departing, removing members)
A PS presenter shares a 15-20 minute case study on their studio's governance journey. We also introduce Community Rule as a tool for documenting governance in plain language. We focus on *making governance visible*, designing structures from the patterns noticed in Session 4, and distinguishing between governance practice and legal incorporation.
We introduce the Studio Operating Framework Template (SOFT) in Miro as a tool for documenting governance visually and in plain language. Studios do a breakout activity connecting their Session 4 Informal Hierarchy Check-In observations to governance design choices. We focus on making governance visible, designing structures from the patterns noticed in Session 4, and distinguishing between governance practice and legal incorporation.
### :eyes: **Your role during session**
### 👀 Your role during session
* If presenting: deliver your case study
* Observe how your studio responds to the governance models – what resonates? What causes confusion or resistance?
* Observe how your studio responds to the governance models: what clicks? What causes confusion or resistance?
* Listen for whether they connect their Session 4 Informal Hierarchy Check-In observations to governance design choices
* Note how they react to the member removal discussion. It's an uncomfortable topic.
* During the breakout activity, sit with your studio and take notes on what comes up. Don't steer, just listen.
* Note how they react to the member removal discussion – this can spur avoidance.
### 👆 **Your role after session**
### 👆 Your role after session
* Make sure your studio has access to [Community Rule](https://communityrule.info/)
* Confirm they understand the homework: start a Community Rule draft with you, discuss financial sustainability, and do a personal reflection on financial access
* Make sure your studio can access the SOFT template on their Miro board
* Confirm they understand the homework: work on their SOFT draft with you, discuss financial sustainability, and do a personal reflection on financial access
* Note which governance model(s) they're gravitating toward
## **This week's Studio Support Meeting: Community Rule Drafting**
## This week's studio support meeting: Studio Operating Framework drafting
### **📚 Materials**
### 📚 Materials
* [Community Rule](https://communityrule.info/) tool
* Studio Operating Framework Template (SOFT) on the studio's Miro board
* Studio's Informal Hierarchy Check-In observations from Session 4
* Notes on which governance model(s) interested them
### :world_map: **Context**
### 🗺️ Context
This is a working session. You're helping the studio start documenting their governance in plain language using Community Rule. They don't need to finish – the goal is to surface where they already have answers vs. where they need more conversation. This will be a living document.
This is a working session. You're helping the studio start documenting their governance using the SOFT template. They don't need to finish: the goal is to find where they already have answers vs. where they need more conversation. This is a living document.
### **👆 Before the session**
### 👆 Before the session
* Familiarize yourself with the Community Rule interface and fields
* Open the SOFT template and familiarize yourself with the sections
* Review the studio's Informal Hierarchy Check-In observations
* Have the governance models overview handy (collective governance, advice process, circles, board + membership) in case they need a refresher
* Have the governance models overview handy (collective governance, advice process, circles, board + membership, DisCOs) in case they need a refresher
### **🌊 Session flow**
### 🌊 Session flow
#### **Check-in (5 min)**
#### Check-in (5 min)
"What governance model stuck with you from the session? Did anything click, or feel wrong?"
#### **Community Rule walkthrough (10 min)**
#### SOFT walkthrough (10 min)
Open the tool together. Community Rule works as a modular builder – you assemble your governance from pre-made or custom building blocks.
Open the template together.
Start with the basics: Name your studio and write a short summary of its structure.
* Purpose: values and goals (short-term, medium-term, long-term). These should connect to the values work from Sessions 2 and 3.
* Decision Making: how the studio makes decisions (consensus, consent, majority/democratic, delegation) at the studio level and the project level. These might be different.
* Structure: which governance model the studio is leaning toward. They can tag more than one if they're still deciding.
* Membership: requirements for joining and benefits of membership. The tags here (intensity, frequency, responsibility, resources, financial, individual growth, creative development, safety) are prompts, not categories they have to fill in order.
* *More sections will be added after each upcoming session.*
Then explore the module library together. There are four categories:
* **Culture** – values, norms, purpose, solidarity, diversity
* **Decision** – how decisions get made (lazy consensus, do-ocracy, vote, ranked choice, etc.)
* **Process** – how policies are implemented and evolve (accountability process, delegation, transparency, dissolution, exclusion, etc.)
* **Structure** – roles and internal entities (board, council, membership, ownership, roles, committee, etc.)
Drag in the modules that feel relevant. Each one can be configured with key-value pairs – for example, a "Membership" module might have configuration like "Eligibility: active worker-owners who have completed a 3-month trial period." You can also create custom modules for anything the library doesn't cover.
Don't try to build everything at once. Start by browsing the categories and noticing which modules the studio can configure easily vs. which ones lead to blank stares.
Start with whatever section has the most energy. For most studios that will be Decision Making or Structure since those connect directly to what they just learned.
Prompts:
* "Which of these are you already doing without naming it?"
* "Where is there genuine disagreement or uncertainty?"
* "What's missing from the library that's specific to how you work?"
* "Which of these sections can you fill in right now without much discussion?"
* "Where is there disagreement or uncertainty?"
* "Does your decision-making process differ between studio-level and project-level decisions? Should it?"
#### **Draft together (20-25 min)**
#### Draft together (20-25 min)
Start filling in what you can. Focus on the modules where there's energy or alignment. When you hit a field where there's disagreement, note it and move on. Don't try to resolve everything today.
Start filling in what you can. When you hit a section where there's disagreement, note it and move on. Don't try to resolve everything today.
#### **Close and gaps list (5 min)**
Pay attention to the Membership section. Studios often breeze through Purpose and Decision Making but slow down or avoid Membership. That's where the harder questions live (requirements, what you get, what happens when someone leaves). If they skip it, gently bring them back: the session content on adding and removing members is still fresh.
* Make a list of areas that still need discussion
#### Close and gaps list (5 min)
* Make a list of sections that still need discussion
* "What's the most important unresolved question?"
* "Who's going to take a first pass at writing up what we decided today?"
* "Who's going to take a first pass at filling in what we decided today?"
### 👉 **Also this week**
### 👉 Also this week
#### **Financial sustainability conversation**
#### Financial sustainability conversation
Session 5 homework asks each person to reflect: *What does financial sustainability look like for you personally? What would you need from this project?*
@ -109,37 +100,34 @@ This is prep for Session 6 (Equitable Economics). Check in during the week:
* "Has everyone spent some time thinking about the financial sustainability question?"
* "And the personal reflection: what financial information have you never been allowed to see at work?"
These don't need to be discussed as a studio yet – just make sure individuals are reflecting.
These don't need to be discussed as a studio yet, just make sure individuals are reflecting.
### :star: **Tips**
### ⭐ Tips
If they want to pick a governance model immediately:
* "You don't have to commit today. Start with collective governance or advice process – you can add complexity as you learn what you actually need."
* "You don't have to commit today. Start with collective governance or advice process, you can add complexity as you learn what you actually need."
If Community Rule feels bureaucratic:
If the template feels bureaucratic:
* "You're already doing governance – this just helps you name it."
* "You're already doing governance, this just helps you articulate it."
If they skip over membership/removal:
* "This is the part that matters most when things get hard. Even a rough sketch now saves a lot of pain later."
If one person is doing all the talking about governance:
* "Governance designed by one person is just management with extra steps. Everyone needs to shape this."
### **🏁 After the session**
### 🏁 After the session
* Note where the studio has clear alignment vs. where they got stuck
* Note any tension around membership/removal – these conversations will deepen
* Note any tension around membership/removal: these conversations will deepen
* Remind them about the financial sustainability reflection for Session 6 prep
* Bring the draft status to your PS check-in
## :triangular_flag_on_post: **Red flags to watch for**
## 🚩 Red flags to watch for
* A studio that resists documenting anything – "we just know how we work" (exactly the problem)
* A studio that resists documenting anything: "we just know how we work" *(exactly the problem!)*
* Governance designed around one person's strengths or preferences
* Avoiding the membership/removal conversation entirely
* Confusing governance with incorporation – "we're not a real coop yet so we don't need this"
* Confusing governance with incorporation: "we're not a real coop yet so we don't need this"
* A draft that looks perfect on paper but doesn't match how the studio actually operates

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content/wiki/cooperative-foundations/session-content/session-5-coop-structures-and-governance.md
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@ -8,12 +8,9 @@ parentDocument: Session Content
outlineId: 8b0da5a8-3838-4e2f-af48-ead5f3d800dc
createdBy: Jennie R.F.
---
# Session 5: Coop Structures and Governance
> **Peer Supports:** See [PS Guide: Session 5 — Coop Structures and Governance](/doc/ps-guide-session-5-coop-structures-and-governance-3cJzhzQ53D) for your role during session and this week's studio support meeting.
## Welcome
## ==Welcome==
* Slide: Tag Yourself
@ -35,7 +32,7 @@ You don't need to incorporate in order to practice governance. But the structure
---
## Coop vs Business - 8 min
## ==Legal Landscape - 8 min==
Before we talk about governance, let's quickly cover the legal landscape. You don't need to incorporate right now, but understanding the options helps you design governance that fits your eventual structure.
@ -46,7 +43,7 @@ Before we talk about governance, let's quickly cover the legal landscape. You do
| sole proprietorship | One person | That person | That person |
| Partnership | partners (often unequal shares) | usually based on ownership % | based on ownership % |
| corporation | shareholders | board (elected by shareholders) | shareholders (via dividends) |
| worker cooperative | workers (equal or near-equal) | workers (one member, one vote) | workers (based on labour, not capital) |
| worker cooperative | workers – equally | workers (one member, one vote) | workers (based on labour, not capital) |
### What makes a coop legally distinct?
@ -62,7 +59,7 @@ Three things:
In a corporation, if you and two friends start a studio and one person puts in more money, they might own 60% and control major decisions. If you hire employees later, they're workers – not owners. If you sell the company, the original shareholders profit.
In a worker co-op, every worker-owner has equal (or near-equal) say regardless of when they joined or how much they invested. If someone leaves, they don't keep ownership. New members buy in and become full owners.
In a worker co-op, every worker-owner has equal say regardless of when they joined or how much they invested. If someone leaves, they don't keep ownership. New members buy in and become full owners.
What aligns with your values and how you want to work together?
@ -84,7 +81,7 @@ The patterns you establish now, how you make decisions, how you handle money, ho
*By emoji reaction or in chat:*
* How many of you have worked at a studio where you had no say in major decisions?
* How many of you have been in a workplace where you had no say in major decisions?
* How many have had equity or ownership in a company before?
*no need to discuss - just noticing where we're starting from*
@ -92,7 +89,7 @@ The patterns you establish now, how you make decisions, how you handle money, ho
---
## Why cooperative structures? - 8 min
## ==Why cooperative structures? - 8 min==
*Will you choose your governance structure together or let it emerge by default?*
@ -115,7 +112,7 @@ We want you to start making deliberate choices about how you'll work together, k
---
## Governance Models Overview - 12 min
## ==Governance Models Overview - 12 min==
### Small studios (3-6 people): Collective Governance
@ -169,7 +166,7 @@ But it's insufficient to just elect a board and call it democratic, if decisions
### Large studios alternative: DisCOs (Distributed Cooperative Organizations)
Developed by Guerrilla Media Collective, drawing on feminist economics and the solidarity economy tradition. The distinction between productive, care, and love work comes from decades of feminist labour organizing that made invisible work visible.
Developed by Guerrilla Media Collective, drawing on care-centred feminist economics and the solidarity economy tradition. The distinction between productive, care, and love work comes from decades of feminist labour organizing that made invisible work visible.
Gamma Space uses an adapted version of this model!
@ -185,7 +182,9 @@ Hot tip: Begin with collective governance or advice process, even if you think i
---
### Decisions to clarify - 10 min
==The following two slides can be cut if we are tight on time.==
### Decisions to clarify
*==\[The accountability and removal complexity material can be touched on here but we will go into it more fully in Session 7 (conflict resolution).\]==*
@ -197,7 +196,38 @@ Whatever model you choose, clarify:
* How do you document decisions and studio knowledge so it's not concentrated in one person?
#### How do you add or remove members?
---
### Decisions under external pressure
*==\[if the session is running long, skip and let it come up naturally in studios.\]==*
What happens when a publisher wants an answer in 48 hours? When a grant deadline lands during a conflict or crisis? When a platform opportunity requires a yes or no right now?
Think back to two weeks ago when we went over two scenarios and how you would make a decision as a studio. The focus was on returning to values. Governance can make sure you're structuring that essential values work.
The urgency of external pressure can break down democratic processes. OR, you might discover you never planned for this situation!
Some things you could do:
* Delegation with parameters
* for opportunities under $x or commitments under y weeks, \[person/role\] can decide. anything bigger comes to the full coop.
* Emergency consent
* we'll make a decision with whoever's available, then confirm or revisit at our next full coop meeting
* Defined response
* we tell external parties we need \[x days\] to decide collectively. And if they can't wait, it's not the right fit
It comes back to V A L U E S! And having a plan in place you've all agreed to ahead of time.
*Think about past times when you've faced external deadlines. Who decided? Was everyone okay with that?*
---
## ==How do you add or remove members? - 10min==
This is often the hardest governance conversation. But you gotta have it before you need it.
@ -241,40 +271,17 @@ Exile – total severance from community, communication, and support networks
*you don't need to finalize these policies now. but you should know where your group is easily aligned vs. where you'll need more conversation.*
### Decisions under external pressure
*==\[This section does not have a dedicated slide; if the session is running long, skip and let it come up naturally in studios.\]==*
What happens when a publisher wants an answer in 48 hours? When a grant deadline lands during a conflict or crisis? When a platform opportunity requires a yes or no right now?
Think back to two weeks ago when we went over two scenarios and how you would make a decision as a studio. The focus was on returning to values. Governance can make sure you're structuring that essential values work.
The urgency of external pressure can break down democratic processes. OR, you might discover you never planned for this situation!
Some things you could do:
* Delegation with parameters
* for opportunities under $x or commitments under y weeks, \[person/role\] can decide. anything bigger comes to the full coop.
* Emergency consent
* we'll make a decision with whoever's available, then confirm or revisit at our next full coop meeting
* Defined response
* we tell external parties we need \[x days\] to decide collectively. And if they can't wait, it's not the right fit
It comes back to V A L U E S! And having a plan in place you've all agreed to ahead of time.
*Think about past times when you've faced external deadlines. Who decided? Was everyone okay with that?*
---
## Activity! From patterns to structure - 15 min
## ==Activity! From patterns to structure - 15 min==
### Distributed capacity
In Session 4 you noticed patterns through the Informal Hierarchy Check-In. So what governance structures would address what you noticed?
Use these questions to connect your observations to design choices:
Use these questions to connect your observations to design choices. For this breakout, just pick 2 to do a deep dive on; you'll have time later to explore the others.
@ -282,7 +289,6 @@ Use these questions to connect your observations to design choices:
* Did everyone consent to that? What structure ensures future defaults are chosen collectively?
2. What knowledge is concentrated in one person?
* What happens if they leave or burn out? How does your governance distribute capacity?
* =="Each historical moment of the organization should be carefully documented and archived... Investing in documentation also ensures that the power that comes from information is better distributed." --== [==Solidarity Economy Principles==](https://solidarityeconomyprinciples.org/)
3. Who can say no, and what happens when they do?
* Does your structure make dissent safe and productive?
4. What rhythms and speeds does the group assume?
@ -303,25 +309,35 @@ Come back together. Quick share: what came up in your breakout that surprised yo
*\[take 2-3 responses. Don't need to resolve anything here, just get an idea of the threads.\]*
We've set up a Miro template for documenting your governance structure. Your Peer Support will walk you through it this week. Use it to map what you've decided so far and where the gaps are. It's meant to be a living document, not a final product.
A Miro template — called SOFT (Studio Operating Framework Template) – will be added to your boards for documenting your governance structure. Your Peer Support will work with you at your meeting to start filling it out this week. Use it to map what you've decided so far and where the gaps are. It's meant to be a living document, not a final product. New sections will be added to it over the next couple of sessions.
---
## Closing - 5 min
You'll be drafting your governance structure based on what you've learned about your decision-making patterns. But governance doesn't exist in a vacuum. It shapes and is shaped by how you handle money.
You'll be drafting your governance structure based on what you've learned about your decision-making patterns. But governance doesn't exist in a vacuum. It shapes and is shaped by how you handle money. 💰
Next session we dig into equitable economics: transparent finances, compensation models, and profit-sharing. The governance you're designing will help you make those financial decisions together.
Next session we dig into **equitable economics**: transparent finances, compensation models, and profit-sharing. The governance you're designing will help you make those financial decisions together.
*This coming week, think about: what's one aspect of governance your team hasn't discussed yet?*
---
## Homework
## Takeaway Exercises
1. **Work on your governance draft in Miro** - During your PS session this week, use the Miro template to document what you've decided so far and where the gaps are. Bring questions to next session.
2. **Discuss financial sustainability with your studio** - What does financial sustainability look like for you personally? What would you need from this project? (Prep for Session 6.)
3. **Personal reflection** - What financial information have you never been allowed to see at work?
1. ==During your PS session this week==
1. use the Miro template to document what you've decided so far and where the gaps are. Bring questions to next session.
2. **==Discuss with your studio ==**(Prep for Session 6.)
1. What does financial sustainability look like for you personally?
2. What do you need financially to be able to continue to commit your time to the studio?
3. ==Pe**rsonal reflection**==
1. What financial information have you never been allowed to see at work?