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XR UK Constitution

The Self-Organising System

Guiding & Empowering The Rebellion

As updated 8 June 2026

We pursue great demands, but we sometimes make mistakes. We are all crew together, but we often disagree. We want to spread power, but it’s hard to do this and stay coherent as a movement.

This Constitution provides a set of agreements to guide us in making decisions
when we don’t know how.
It is a modest tool in pursuit of immodest goals.

Self-organising keeps us agile — able to draw on collective wisdom,
but free from unnecessary interference.
It cannot guarantee success, but it reduces the chances of us falling out.

This Constitution will not lead us to heaven;
but we hope it may continue to save the movement from hell!

Rebels gather among mulit-coloured XR flags

Contents

A. Introduction
B. Basic Principles
C. The Self-Organising System

  1. XR UK Organism
  2. Roles Within A Circle
  3. Sub-circles
  4. Policies & Domains
  5. Choosing Role-Holders
  6. Joining A Circle & Asking People To Leave
  7. How To Make Decisions
  8. Meetings
  9. Record-Keeping

D. Definitions of Key Terms
E. External Resources

Rebels listen, some smiling and clapping, to a speaker or performer out of picture

A. Introduction — What this is, who it’s for, and how it changes

  1. This document defines the Self-Organising System for XR UK.
  2. To achieve our demands and see real progress in tackling the climate and ecological emergencies, we need our movement to work rapidly and effectively. The Self-Organising System replaces traditional ways of organising. It empowers rebel teams to make decisions independently within agreed parameters. Through this system the movement entrusts groups with the responsibility to make the best decisions they can so that we can all be successful.
  3. The Constitution was created using many of the principles of Holacracy, and has been gradually revised since it was first adopted in March 2019. This update was prepared by the SOS circle in response to feedback from the movement, and adopted by The Rebel Hive (often known as The Hive) on 8 June 2026.
  4. The rules in this Constitution apply to everyone in the same way — there are no privileged classes, no exceptions.
  5. The rules appear in bold text, explanations and recommendations in plain text.
  6. All circles and roles contained within The Hive and its sub-circles are bound by the XR UK Constitution. Other groups are not bound by the Constitution, but may choose to adopt it, or parts of it, if they wish to.
  7. It’s not complete or perfect. It’s always a work in progress, which will evolve as needed.
  8. If you have any feedback about how the Self-Organising System is working in XR UK, or you need training or support with using the System in your group or circle, then do please message the XR UK Self-Organising System circle on Mattermost or via email.
  9. Minor changes to this document may be made by the SOS circle. Any significant changes must be approved by both The Hive and the SOS circle, using the Integrative Decision Making Process.

B. Basic Principles

  1. The Self-Organising System is designed to enable groups to act quickly and be responsive to fast-changing situations when needed, and at the same time integrate the wisdom of multiple perspectives when helpful.
  2. The System is based on distributed authority — groups and individuals within groups are given the authority and the responsibility to make decisions and do things by clear mandates that are created and agreed upon by the wider team.
  3. This means that we only use group decision-making when it’s needed, and not for everything. (Group decision-making can take a lot of time and energy.)
  4. The design of the System ensures that everyone can see who is doing what, and it promotes communication between related teams so that we can work with a common purpose across a large number of groups.
  5. By distributing authority through the System, we create a hierarchy of purpose, instead of a hierarchy of power. Each team has its own purpose, delegated from a broader part of the organism. By following the rules of the System, these purposes add together, so the work of the different parts can serve the purpose of the whole.
  6. The System helps us embody two of our Principles and Values: that we are based on autonomy and decentralisation; and that we actively mitigate power.
  7. Distributed authority depends on relationships of respect and participation. The processes in this Constitution will not on their own remove existing inequalities. We need to follow them in ways that help reduce traditional barriers to participation, such as those based on race, gender or ability.
  8. Building trust is key to sustaining our work. How we relate to one another determines how well we can collaborate to realise our Demands. We have agreed to follow our Ways of Working together as we implement the rules of this Constitution.

C. The Self-Organising System

1. XR UK Organism — How it all fits together

  1. XR UK is a movement of groups and teams working autonomously on different inter-connected projects to support the achievement of our three demands.
  2. Throughout this document we use the word circle to refer to any collection of rebels who are bound by this Constitution and work together in a group or team with a common purpose. (This is sometimes called a Working Group.)
  3. Representatives from circles come together in broader circles, to share information and coordinate activities. And any circle can also create sub-circles to which it can delegate some of its work. The result is a series of circles sitting within one another like a set of Russian dolls.
  4. For example, The Hive is currently the broadest UK-wide circle. It contains representatives from the regional and national circles of the UK. It has delegated some of its work and responsibility to the Operations Circle, which in turn has delegated some of its work and responsibility to the Media & Messaging Circle. You can see what this looks like in the overall picture of circles.
  5. Each circle must have its own mandate which will be defined by:-
    • a purpose — the reason the circle exists / what it is working towards, as a smaller part of the purpose of the whole organism; and
    • some accountabilities — the ongoing work that the circle does, what tasks the circle is responsible for; and may also include
    • a domain — the resources or processes that the circle is responsible for, and which may not be changed or used without their permission.
  6. The mandate defines what the circle is expected to do or create, and the scope that it must operate within.
  7. Advice on how to write mandates can be found in How To Write Mandates, together with some examples.
  8. Each circle is self-governing within its mandate. This means that it’s up to them how they work within their area of responsibility.
  9. A sub-circle is also a part of the broader circle. This means they are accountable to that circle for the work that they do, and will need to prioritise their activity as requested.
  10. A member of each sub-circle attends meetings of the broader circle. This is to ensure that information flows in both directions and that issues are addressed at the appropriate level.
  11. All XR UK rebels can view a map of the XR UK organism on The Communications Hub (often known as The Hub).
  12. All decision-making authority sits with the broadest circle until delegated to the mandate of another role or circle.
  13. Projects may emerge which don’t easily fit into the existing system; for example, a project which involves people from multiple circles. In this case, it is recommended that one role takes the lead on the project, and creates an ad-hoc project group to do the work with people from wherever relevant.
  14. A project group can decide itself how it is going to be organised, or a broader circle can specify this. Since it doesn't have a formal mandate, it can only make decisions through the existing mandates of its members, or by making a proposal to a broader circle.

2. Roles Within A Circle — Creating responsibility for getting things done

3. Sub-circles — Increasing effectiveness and de-centralisation

  1. When you have too many people attending meetings of a circle, it may be more effective to divide the work between sub-circles.
  2. All decisions to create a sub-circle, amend its mandate, move or dissolve it, must be made by the broader circle using the Integrative Decision Making Process.
  3. The mandate of a sub-circle must form part of the existing mandate of the broader circle, and cannot form part of the mandate of another circle.
  4. To create a new sub-circle —
    • The broader circle must define and consent to the sub-circle’s mandate.
    • The broader circle may also delegate part or all of a domain it owns to the new sub-circle.
    • The broader circle will then elect the new Internal Coordinator of the sub-circle and ask them to determine what roles will be needed and how to fill them.
  5. To achieve its mandate, the broader circle has a responsibility to support the work of its sub-circles to ensure they are functioning healthily, and also to review their work and hold them accountable.
  6. If there is disagreement between two sub-circles over how to manage something, they must take the issue for resolution to the broader circle they both belong to.
  7. Sub-circles are accountable for delivering their work within the limits of their mandate, and have authority to decide how they do so. They must align their work with the priorities set by the Internal Coordinator of the broader circle and the XR UK Strategy. The Internal Coordinator may prioritise one aspect of the work of a sub-circle over another, but they may not indicate how that work should be done.
  8. If, in order to fulfil its purpose, a sub-circle wants to act outside its accountabilities, it must seek authority from anyone who has an existing mandate with accountabilities that cover that work. (If no mandate already exists, then it may be helpful for the broader circle to create one.)
  9. The External Coordinator of a sub-circle must regularly attend meetings of the broader circle (unless they have the agreement of the broader circle's Internal Coordinator to follow its work in some other way). They must share the strategy and work of the broader circle with their circle~~,~~ (so that the work of the sub-circle aligns with that broader strategy).
  10. It is recommended that the broader circle reviews a sub-circle’s purpose and accountabilities periodically.
  11. The mandate of a sub-circle may only be changed by the broader circle. As a member of the broader circle**, t**he sub-circle’s External Coordinator will be included in the decision.
  12. If the broader circle feels that a sub-circle is not fulfilling its mandate, the first step will normally be to offer feedback to the sub-circle’s External Coordinator. If this doesn’t resolve the issue, then a meeting between representatives of the two circles may be appropriate to move things forward.
  13. A sub-circle may be dissolved by the broader circle. As a member of the broader circle**, t**he sub-circle’s External Coordinator will be included in the decision.
  14. If a sub-circle is dissolved its mandate will return to the broader circle, and its members will no longer have roles or mandates. The broader circle may wish to draw on the experience of some members of the sub-circle, by inviting them to join the broader circle, but there is no obligation to do so.
  15. Sometimes it may be necessary to move a sub-circle into a different broader circle. (This will not often be appropriate, as the mandate of a sub-circle must always be a delegated part of the mandate of its broader circle.) When it is appropriate to do so, the correct procedure is to move the sub-circle and its mandate into the broadest circle from which it can then be devolved into its new position (using the Integrative Decision Making Process).

4. Policies & Domains — Preventing it all falling apart

  1. A system which only has authority distributed to circles and roles could easily create chaos and fragmentation, if there was nothing to constrain the distributed authority and create alignment when needed.
  2. A policy is creates this alignment by specifying a shared way of doing things which either grants or restricts authority beyond the mandates of roles and circles.
  3. For example, The Hive has created a policy that all Coordinators within XRUK must be trained to use this Self-Organising System.
  4. Policies must be adopted using the Integrative Decision Making Process, and be communicated to all sub-circles that they affect.
  5. A policy that is created by a circle applies to all people, work and roles within that circle and any of its sub-circles, but not outside of that circle. For it to apply outside of the circle that created it, it would need to be adopted by a broader circle.
  6. Where there is a conflict between two policies that have overlapping scope, the more recent policy will override the earlier one.
  7. The Constitution overrides any previously existing policies that conflict with it, and may not be over-ridden by a new policy, but only amended in the way that is specified in A9 above, unless agreed by The Hive, with the consent of the SOS circle.
  8. A domain gives control of a resource or process to a particular role or circle. It may refer to something tangible, like a sound system or a bank account, or to a procedure, like posting to a social media page or liaising with the police.
  9. Domains are powerful. It is recommended that they are created sparingly, and only when harm would be caused without one.
  10. A domain only constrains the circle that creates it, and its own sub-circles. If you want a domain to apply to all of XRUK, then you will need to ask The Hive to delegate it through the circle structure.
  11. A broader circle may take back from a sub-circle any delegated domain.
  12. Within the scope outlined in 4.10 above, role-holders and circles need to get permission to impact the domain of any other role or circle.
  13. Domains form part of the mandate of a role or circle, and must be posted on The Hub, where rebels can see them.
  14. Any creation or delegation of a domain must be communicated to all the circles that may need to be made aware.

5. Choosing Role-Holders — Who has power and how to challenge them

  1. The simplest way to decide who fills roles within a circle is to let circle members volunteer for the roles they want to fill. Where this option is used, the facilitator must check that there are no objections to the appointment from other members of the circle (see the Integrative Decision Making Process). The circle must consider whether or not an individual has the skills and capacity to fulfil the mandate safely before appointing them.

  2. Where a role holds a lot of power, or needs meaningful expertise, or if there are more volunteers than are needed, any member of the circle may ask for the appointment to be made by election.

  3. The Internal and External Coordinators of a circle must always be appointed by election.

  4. There are two options for electing someone to a role:

    The steps that must be followed for each process are set out in the linked pages, which form part of this Constitution.

  5. Both options allow the whole circle to reflect on what is required and who would best meet the need.

  6. Before holding an election it may be helpful to resolve underlying questions or concerns that need attention. You can find advice on what to consider in Pre-Election Checklist.

  7. An appointment becomes effective once it is recorded on The Hub by the Group Admin.

  8. Role-holders must be appointed for fixed terms, which must be agreed before their appointment.

  9. Internal and External Coordinators may only serve a maximum term of 6 months, so that elections are held at least every 6 months for these roles. This ensures that authority within a circle is refreshed at regular intervals, and allows for fresh ideas to keep things from becoming stuck. A Coordinator may stand for re-election at the end of their term. This allows for continuity and gives people time to grow into their roles.

  10. The Group Admin of a circle keeps track of when re-elections need to be held.

  11. In some cases it may be appropriate for a single role to be filled by more than one person. Where this is the case, each role-holder is appointed to the role in their own right, independently of whoever they may share it with.

  12. To prevent undue concentration of power, the same person should not be both Internal and External Coordinator of a circle, unless there are no other acceptable candidates. If this is the case, the broader circle must be informed and may decide to take further action if appropriate.

  13. Any member of the circle may call for an election for any role-holder at any time.

  14. Calling for repeated elections without allowing some time to pass is unreasonable.

  15. With the agreement of the broader circle, the Internal Coordinator of a circle may attend a meeting of one of its sub-circles to call for an election for its Internal Coordinator, if the sub-circle is not fulfilling its mandate.

  16. With the agreement of the broader circle, the Internal Coordinator of a circle may attend a meeting of one of its sub-circles to call for an election for its External Coordinator, if they have not been fulfilling their role or are persistently preventing the broader circle from doing its work. They may do the same with a linked circle for a Link Role (see 7.27 below). They have the right to object to the person the sub-circle or linked circle elects (following the processes set out in 5.4 above).

  17. If a role-holder wants to step down before the end of their term, they must let their Internal Coordinator know, so that someone else may be appointed, or the mandate withdrawn.

6. Joining A Circle & Asking People To Leave — Keeping things healthy

  1. To be a member of a circle, all rebels must agree to act in alignment with XR’s Demands and Principles & Values and this Constitution. They must read and agree to our Ways of Working and our Volunteer Agreement, and have a mandated role within the circle.
  2. To join a circle, rebels must be invited by the circle’s Internal Coordinator on the basis of a clear fit between work that needs to be done and their skills and abilities. The circle must consent to the addition of new circle members.
  3. In this system authority is earned — people earn the right to be a member of a circle and attend meetings by actively filling a role and working on at least one project for the circle. This prevents meetings being clogged up by people attending and sharing their views about how things should be done when they aren’t actually involved in any work.
  4. The membership of a circle is defined by the list of current role-holders recorded on The Hub.
  5. When a role-holder comes to the end of their term, the role immediately becomes vacant until someone is re-elected to it. The former role-holder is no longer part of the circle, unless they hold another role within the circle.
  6. Conflict within circles can be difficult to manage. This can lead to people withdrawing from their work, or even the movement. Disagreement can sometimes also be a rich source of creativity and strength, if handled well.
  7. If someone has an issue with the way a fellow rebel is working or behaving, as set out in our Ways of Working it will usually be best to talk to them directly and privately. If that doesn't help, then the next step is to bring the issue to the Internal Coordinator of the circle the rebel is part of.
  8. If it becomes apparent to the circle’s Internal Coordinator that a circle member is:
    • not properly fulfilling their role’s mandate, or
    • not doing any work in the circle, or
    • violating XR’s Principles & Values, Ways of Working, Volunteer Agreement or this Constitution,
  9. Then the following steps must be taken:
    • The Internal Coordinator has a direct conversation with the circle member to attempt to resolve any issues and help them meet their accountabilities.
    • If that doesn’t resolve the issue, the Internal Coordinator brings it to the whole circle for feedback and review.
  10. The circle and circle member may agree to do one of the following:
    • hold a process to address the underlying issues, or
    • ask for an externally facilitated conflict mediation process, or
    • begin the Harmful Behaviour process where appropriate.
  11. If a resolution can’t be reached after two or more reasonable attempts have been made, the Internal Coordinator must ask the circle to vote on whether to exclude the circle member from the circle.

7. How To Make Decisions — Moving things forward together

  1. The following ways of making decisions must be used for the following situations:-

— Decisions to create or amend policies or mandates for roles & sub-circles

  1. These decisions must always be made collectively in meetings, because the views of the whole circle need to be integrated when distributing authority. Collective decisions may be made at any formal meeting of a circle. There are no attendee or quorum restrictions, but all circle members must be given reasonable notice of the meeting and enough time to consider the proposal.

  2. Any member of the circle may bring a proposal. An invited guest may bring a proposal, with the consent of the circle.

  3. Proposals must explain the need that the proposal is seeking to address and how the proposal will help to meet that need. (A guide to writing proposals is contained in How To Write Proposals.)

  4. If the Internal Coordinator of the circle is not convinced that the proposal addresses a genuine need, or thinks that there may be a better way to address it, they may speak to the proposer before it is brought to a meeting.

  5. The facilitator must use the Integrative Decision Making Process. The steps that must be followed are set out in the linked page, which forms part of this Constitution.

  6. This Integrative Decision Making process will not normally be used to make operational decisions, as these will be made by the role-holders with the relevant mandates.

  7. As a last resort, if the process has been tried without arriving at a decision, and there is either:

    • a reason the decision needs to be made in the current meeting, or
      • if it has not been possible to reach a decision in two previous meetings,

    then the decision may be made by simple majority vote.

  8. If the vote is tied, then a casting vote is made by the circle’s External Coordinator. If the External Coordinator isn’t present, then the casting vote passes to the Internal Coordinator.

— Decisions where a role has been given a mandate

  1. All role-holders may make decisions about any issues covered by their mandate. These decisions are made outside of meetings.
  2. Where a decision is fairly straightforward, won’t significantly affect others, or needs to be made quickly, a role-holder may make that decision entirely on their own.
  3. A role-holder may not make a decision that goes against a policy of the circle or its broader circles, breaks a rule in the Constitution, or clearly violates XR’s Principles and Values or Ways of Working. They will need to get permission before impacting domains that they do not own (see C.4.12 above).
  4. Where a decision is likely to be more contentious or affect other roles or circles, and there is enough time to do so, a role-holder must consult other people who will be meaningfully affected, as well as those with relevant expertise.
  5. The idea is to create transparency, and collect input proportional to the impact of the decision, not require unnecessary delay or a burdensome number of meetings. The precise balance of how much or how little feedback to seek is up to the role-holder to decide.
  6. Once they have heard all the advice and perspectives they have received, the role-holder decides on what they believe to be the best course of action. The point is not to create a watered-down compromise that accommodates everybody’s wishes, it is about accessing collective wisdom in pursuit of a sound decision.
  7. More information on how to use this Advice Process can be found in The Advice Process.

— All other decisions

  1. In most cases, if a circle is set up correctly with clear role-holders, there will rarely be anything that doesn’t fall into the two categories above. For any other decision which falls within the circle’s mandate and is not covered by a specific role, the facilitator may decide which decision-making process to use. For example, they may:
    • delegate the decision to a circle member, or
    • simply seek agreement from circle members, or
    • ask for consent from circle members on the basis of ‘safe enough to try’, or
    • test for levels of support by show of hands, or
    • use any other decision-making tool, or (if all else fails)
    • take a vote.
  2. Suggestions on how to choose which process to use can be found in Decision Making Processes.

— Who decides?

  1. Every member of a circle (see C.6.4 above) who is present at the relevant meeting may play a part in collective decision-making processes.
  2. Role-holders must represent the perspective of their role, not their personal opinions; and External Coordinators must represent the mandate of their sub-circle, not the opinions of its members.
  3. If the External Coordinator of a sub-circle is unable to attend a meeting, they may nominate another member of the sub-circle to attend in their place. The Internal Coordinator of the broader circle must be informed before the meeting.
  4. If a sub-circle has elected joint External Coordinators, then only one of them may attend any particular meeting of the broader circle (unless the broader circle agrees otherwise), and only one of them may participate in the decision-making processes.
  5. Anyone present as an observer does not take part.
  6. In the case of a vote, each member of a circle has one vote, regardless of how many roles they hold.
  7. Where a circle contains link roles from other circles (not the External Coordinators of its own sub-circles), they will not usually take part in the circle’s collective decision-making. (See Link Roles In XR UK.)
  8. More information on when to create link roles or use other ways to coordinate between circles can be found in How To Work With Other Teams.
  9. Where a decision does not fall within the circle’s mandate it will need to be taken to a broader circle for consideration.
  10. Once a decision has been taken it will usually need time to be acted upon before the issue is re-visited. In most cases, this means that it will not be appropriate to bring the same issue back for re-consideration in any form until some time has passed. The Internal Coordinator of the circle may decline to put something on the agenda if they think it’s too soon to consider the same issue.

8. Meetings — Making them more efficient and enjoyable

9. Record-Keeping — Creating transparency & improving communication

  1. Every circle within XR UK must publish and maintain an up to date profile on The Hub, including:
    • their mandate (purpose, accountabilities, domains and policies);
    • a way for others to contact them (eg email address, or Mattermost channel); and
    • the names and mandates of their Coordinators and other role-holders.

D. Definitions of Key Terms

The definitions of key terms used throughout this Constitution can be found in Terms and Definitions in the Self-Organising System.

E. External Resources

Resources to support the use and understanding of this Constitution can be found in:

We all want to see real and urgent change in meeting the climate and ecological emergencies.

May this Self-Organising System empower us to be
the most effective movement we can be!

a speaker with a loud hailer addresses a large gathering of rebels on hte steps of Trafalgar Square, London

This version was revised from a version originally created by Nick Osborne at evolvingorganisation.co. You are free to copy it subject to these licence terms.

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