[Chapter-delegates] Revision of Chapter policies and procedures - summary notes - 9 Dec 2009 (Sphere labels)

[Sabrina Wilmot]

[Apologies for duplicate messages]

Dear Colleagues,

The summary notes from the most recent call to discuss the revisions to 
the Chapter policies and procedures is below. The conversation focussed 
on the issue of "representation" - in particular whether Chapter leaders 
are elected, (s)elected, self-appointed, and member involvement and 
representation in policy making.

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The conversation focused primarily around the issues of member 
representation and engagement within chapters. The organizational models 
in place and the struggle to engage members are fairly typical of 
associations worldwide.

The chart below offers an outline of the relationship between the level 
of engagement and the resulting leadership selection process. As with 
any such model, few organizations fall cleanly into one box, but the 
model does reflect the continuum found in volunteer-driven associations. 
It is not unusual for groups to go through cycles of low and high 
engagement over time depending on a wide variety of environmental 
factors. The leadership selection process ebbs and flows accordingly.

    ...........................................................
    Level of Member Engagement     Leadership Selection Process
    ...........................................................
                 Low                 Self Appointment
                  |                  Ad Hoc (S)election
                  |                  Nomination & (S)election
                 High                Nomination & Election


Self-Appointment – These groups reflect the maxim that nature abhors a 
vacuum when a true need exists. In this case, few step up to take charge 
so the opportunity is as open to those driven by altruism as it is to 
those motivated by self-serving goals.  This model reflects (and often 
reinforces) low member engagement.

Ad Hoc (S)election – In this scenario, narrowly-defined projects attract 
sufficient interest and energy of a small sub-set of the membership to 
gain traction and, occasionally, completion. The group and its leader 
typically melt away once the project is done. Here, member engagement 
may be very high, but also very limited in focus and tenure.

Nomination & (S)election – Probably the most common condition found, 
this model incorporates the traditional democratic electoral process. 
The level of engagement, however, is inadequate to produce contested 
elections and leadership succession is pre-ordained by those currently 
in power.

Nomination & Election – On rare occasions, the moon and stars are 
perfectly aligned and members fully engaged for an extended period of 
time. In this case, numerous qualified individuals submit their names 
for nomination and elections are highly contested.

In the ideal, we’d like to believe the robust democratic model will best 
serve the interests of the membership, though open elections and a fully 
informed and engaged membership are much the exception. It is also 
noteworthy that democracy is not a particularly efficient form of 
organizational management and, as often as not, results in a rather 
slow, ponderous decision-making process that leaves the organization 
well behind the marketplace.

At the end of the day, we would like to see an organizational structure 
that is both fleet of foot and responsive to the needs and interests of 
the membership. Finding the right balance will depend on choosing a set 
of operating principles that minimize bureaucracy, maximize flexibility 
and optimize communication so each chapter can make the most of its 
unique situation.

That leads to the next topic of discussion – the level and type of 
support ISOC Global should bring to the chapters and the quid pro quo it 
might expect in return for that support. Re-stated, we’ll address two 
questions on our next call:

1. What services should ISOC Global provide to ensure the success of the 
chapters?
2. What should ISOC Global expect of the chapters in return for those 
services?

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To those who did not participate and are interested to follow the 
conversation, the recordings can be found at:

* Call 1 - UTC 11.00 : 
http://wiki.chapters.isoc.org/tiki-download_file.php?fileId=124 (zipped)
* Call 2 - UTC 20.00 : 
http://wiki.chapters.isoc.org/tiki-download_file.php?fileId=125 (zipped)

The *next call* is on the *22nd December* at UTC 11.00 and UTC 20.00 and 
will focus on what services ISOC should provide to ensure the success of 
the chapters and what it can expect from chapters in return.

Thanks,
Sabrina Wilmot
ISOC