Sociocracy - Dynamic Governance

Awhile ago I came across a new governance tool called Sociocracy, luckily enough I met Lyndall Parris of SCEV- Sydney Coastal Eco Village initiative. Lyndall has been to the cohousing conference in the U.S and in one of our discussions she mentioned her interest in it.   

Last Week I've participated in a presentation about Sociocracy given by Lyndall which was very intriguing.

The Consensus decision making tool adopted by most cohousing groups can be at times very long and tiring process. in order to resolve and improve decision making process many groups are searching for various governance models that can help them create a more efficient working system. Recently Sociocracy also known as Dynamic Governance, is being widely explored and adopted as a new form of a decision making tool which helps groups run their meeting in a more efficient manner.

Adopted from the corporate world Sociocracy simplifies the decision making process by adopting a circle structure which is “a semi-Autonomous unit that has its own aim/ role. It makes the policy decisions within its domain; delegates the leading, doing and measuring functions to its own members...” (Villines, S.& Buck, J. 2007, P.75). 

The important decision that requires the majority consent, are then brought to the group in the main circle for final voting. In this stage there is a round of response where each member can comment, agree or object. What makes this process efficient is that no additional response is permitted, hance a member can response once without further discussions. The intent is that all discussions and promotions of ideas would be done prior to the decision making working meeting. As a result groups are able to achieve their visions, missions and aims in a more efficient and harmonious way. It would be interesting to explore. 

Image at ‘We the People Consenting to a Deeper Democracy’ by (Villines, S.& Buck, J. 2007, p.74)

sociocracy john buck

Sociocracy / Dynamic Governance 29 min - 1 Oct 2009 www.veoh.com