Objection testing
[Note: this guidance is referred to by the XR UK Constitution (Section C.7).]
Objection testing is usually undertaken by a facilitator asking questions to determine whether the objection is valid.
Integrative Decision Making aims to integrate all valid objections to a proposal.
To be valid, an objection must meet all of the following criteria, which can be addressed in any order.
| Criterion | Valid | Not valid |
|---|---|---|
| The proposal causes harm - where harm is defined as degrading the ability of the circle to achieve its mandate | Is your concern a reason the proposal causes harm, or… | …Is your concern that the proposal is unneeded or incomplete? |
| The proposal limits the objector from achieving the mandate of one of their roles. | Would the proposal limit one of your roles, or… | …Are you trying to help another role or the circle in general? |
| The objection is created by the proposal and does not exist already. | Is the harm created by this proposal, or… | …Is it already a concern, even if the proposal were dropped? |
| The objector is reasonably sure the harm will happen or doesn’t consider the proposal safe enough to try. | Would the proposal necessarily cause the impact, or… | …Are you anticipating that this impact will occur? (If "Yes," ask next question.) |
| Could significant harm happen before we can adapt, or… | …Is it safe enough to try, knowing we can revisit it at any time? |
If the grounds for objection are that the proposal goes against a policy of the circle or its broader circles, or breaks a rule in the Constitution, or clearly violates XR’s Principles and Values or Volunteer Agreement then the objection is automatically valid.
Facilitating Integration
- It is up to the proposer to see if they can find a way of integrating a valid objection.
- They can ask the objector for help with this: “What can be added or changed to remove that issue?”
- Or ask for contributions from anyone to resolve the issue.
- With each suggestion, the question for the objector is “Would this resolve your objection?”, and the question for the proposer is “Would this still address your tension?”
[Note: Parts of this text are derived and adapted from the Governance Meeting Process published by HolacracyOne.]