We use a nested governance model designed to disrupt hierarchies, share power more equitably, and support community-led decision-making.
This structure ensures decisions are made at the right level, by the people closest to the work.
Having experimented with a shared decision-making approach in our national governance structure, we wanted to go even further to avoid recreating a hierarchical, over-centralised power structure.
Inspired by sociocracy we are creating nested decision-making teams with clear delegation of powers. We will still share decision making between place and funder representatives, and we will bring decisions on national resources even closer to local communities.
Alongside the Governance Team who hold an oversight role across our governance structure, we will have four main teams, each with a clear purpose:
- Learning Team: stewarding our Learning purpose, internal information sharing and communication.
- Culture Team: stewarding our culture and embedding anti-oppressive practice.
- Influence Team: Focused predominantly on our purpose of influencing the funding system, but a place for stewarding our wider external relations.
- Financial Stewarding Team: Stewarding our financial resources, holding teams accountable for delegated resources and supporting coordination between teams delegated budgets.
Our existing stakeholder groups will form teams to support their learning, communicating and organising within their peer group.
We are experimental by design so will keep our governance approach under review as we learn what works and, just as importantly, what doesn’t.
