Co-op Governance - Rules & Culture

Yes, trying to keep it simple enough so normal people can read and understand the rules is a problem not yet solved. Usually you cant get founder members to even read the proposed rules of a simple coop. Theres no real democracy then. No agreement on how we operate this joint venture. Ive seen coops of highly educated people where they 'make it up as they go along' in contravention of their registered rules. No hope for normal people.
How can we make it simple? If it isnt simple and intuitive, it isnt democratic. Only those witj a vested interest will study and often, game the rules. FC United of Manchester was taken over by a hostile clique by gaming the rules. Many other examples.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://study.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/Case%252011.5%2520Somerset%2520Model%2520%2528Critique%2529.docx&ved=2ahUKEwiDjLbOj-PfAhV1o3EKHYyRC7Q4ChAWMAB6BAgBEAE&usg=AOvVaw31mRdJR5IpCM2y7RafBhbV
Heres a critique of the Somerset Rules. I'll search for Alex's paper on Fuel Coop and post a link.

Governing documents are almost always going to be difficult things to read and understand as they are legal texts, and this is how the legal profession protects its interests. Having said that, there is nothing to stop the professional advisers of cooperatives from producing plain language commentaries that explain the rules in terms that ordinary people can more readily grasp. Once again it is case of ensuring that the members are effectively educated.

I think it is näive to think that matters can be resolved by expressing in simplified language what are essentially complex legal relationships. Everything works for as long as it works, but as soon as you hit a problem then all the complexities kick in. Questions of trust and solidarity are as important as member education. Understanding the legal issues is in essence very similar to getting your head around computer code and takes quite a lot of effort to do well.
What I feel is a more significant underlying problem is that we can get too caught up in the minutiae of business law and ignore the fact that the overall economy within which we swim is fundamentally flawed and that we need to act politically to change this. Market socialism, self-management and the case for workers' co-ops - Darrow Schecter is quite a good discussion of the problems which arose with co-operatives in Yugoslavia:
"The most subtle and imaginative social engineering in the world could not compensate for the foundation of social solidarity and strong sense of community that underpins the cooperative economy and militates against the exploitative and divisive forces of market competition. This is a fundamentally important point, for as the picture elsewhere shows, without structures and traditions of a solidaristic Civil Society operating in the background, market forces will tend to create virtually insuperable problems for workers' co-ops."

We're trying a combo of access to the rules themselves and urging people to read them, plus summarising, plus extracting the bits which involve practical action and which tell you about the powers of the members. https://work.equalcare.coop/the-bylaws All very much a work in progress. Anyone interested in helping out is obviously very welcome!!

Andy, am I right that RRFM14 has no provision for the appointment of Directors? Could it be adapted for a Society that isn’t fully mutual?

I don't think anyone here is näive nor do they think that expressing in simplified language what are essentially complex legal relationships resolves matters, but I do think it's fair to say that it's a really useful start.

This is really cool @emmaback - very impressed with the Git strategy and your efforts to make the 'simple version' of the rules and that you are clearly trying to make them so accessible. Top work.

I particularly like the circles bit... what I am starting to wonder is if, for example, one also included a basic formula for decision making, and a few other 'pointers' on purpose etc, whether a set of simplified rules like this could be used to define the entire DNA of a 'chaordic' co-op:

--- COPIED FROM Eccoo's Circles page ---
Eccoo runs on self-governance using a hierarchical structure of semi- autonomous, inter-linking Circles which are responsible for policy decisions within their areas of responsibility.

Each Circle is guided by input from the more general circle it is linked to and co-operative members through the Circle thread in the main Equal Care Co-op Forum on Loomio.

Every Circle has: 

    Aim - A description of its purpose

    Domain(s) - The work areas and tools it has control over  

    Term - how long will the Circle run for?

    Membership - the people who are part of the Circle and how to join

    Work Roles - the roles the Circle creates to fulfil its aim

Circles are linked to one another in a hierarchical structure. Broader Circles set or affirm the aim and domain of more-focused Circles within the broader Circle’s domain.

Linked Circles have overlapping members: The Leader and the Delegate. These shared members form a link between broader Circles and their more focused Circles, so that influence may flow in both directions (in hierarchical terms, both top-down and bottom-up). Because Leader and Delegate are also Full Circle Participants of the next broader Circle, they have to be confirmed by that Circle.

Except where confidential or sensitive information is being discussed, all Circle Meeting Records are visible to all Members of Equal Care Co-op.

Caution!
There's a real danger in creating simplified versions of your governing document.
1) They can diverge over time as the original governing document is amended and the lite version is not updated.
2) I've seen the lite version become the version that the co-op use and amend with the original forgotten.
3) I've seen contradictory documents - where does that leave the co-op?

My advice is always to have one document and make it as clear as you can. I tend to use the Co-ops UK and Radical Routes model docs. and don't think that they can be much clearer without becoming ambiguous.

I find that people ignore the governing document before they have even attempted to engage with it, rather than giving up after trying to understand it. It's like only reading the instructions once you can't get the new gadget to work - it's cultural.

Yes exactly

Thanks Oli! Can't take any credit for this though - it is all sociocracy through and through. Just about to embark on a year long sociocracy academy course with Jerry & Ted so will be continuing to develop our approach via that lens. My experience has been that co-operativism has been fabulous with the core legal / governance practice but falls short when it comes to decision-making & equivalence in the day-to-day. That site will be evolving quite a bit over 2019 - there will certainly be more pictures appearing in it!