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Mandates and Working Groups

Interacting Between Teams

Our 'SOS' structure is a series of circles within circles. Each circle contains the role of External Coordinator who attends the meeting of the wider circle. (and the EC of that circle will do the same, and in this way information is passed through the system.)

This applies to your Local Group External Coordinator (EC) attending Nation/Region meetings. But this also applies if you have a large local group and you want to create 'sub-circles' that feed in to your regular group meetings.

External Coordinators also feed FROM the wider circle back into your team.

Note: This should not be the sole interation between teams. It is recommended if you are working on something that overlaps or sits close to a team many circles from you, that you reach out to them directly. Your External Coordinater should be able to find their contact details.

Mandates

We use mandates to distribute power through the movement. They help us manage without managers, and make our organisation transparent and accessible, with no mysterious 'black boxes'.

Simply put, a mandate outlines your purpose within the system, what is expected of you and what you are responsible for.

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If you want to learn more about XR's Self-Organising System, then you can attend regular online training on this or request specific SOS training for Local Groups.

I THINK THE REST IS TOO MUCH, - should be in post - SOS training pages

It is typically split into the following:

  • Purpose Statement - Why does this Role/Circle exist, what is it for?
  • Accountabilities - What will this Role/Circle do, what can I expect of them?
  • Domain - What does this Role/Circle control, what do I need to ask them before I do?

Mandates are never set in stone; they are as dynamic as we need them to be. When you pick up a role in XR, you will likely be given a mandate with it. You can (and probably should) make this your own, either by handing back accountabilities that you don't feel you can meet, or by adding things that you think you can do to help.

To change a mandate, the desired change simply needs to be brought as a proposal to the meeting in which that role or circle sits. For example, if my role were to schedule trainings in the South West and I also wanted to do the scheduling for the Heading for Extinction talk, then I would propose that change in the SW Talks & Trainings meeting.

As part of its constitution XR UK requires that, "At a minimum, each circle must elect an Internal Coordinator, to be responsible for the healthy functioning of the circle, and an External Coordinator, responsible for liaising with the next broadest circle. The mandates for these roles can be found in Working Group Core Roles, along with other suggested roles that may be useful."

Want to know more? See Mandates in more detail (and how to write them).

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