Governance model

The below diagram gives an overview of our governance model.

The Membership is our principle decision-making body, responsible for setting the fundamental direction of the Project. Our members are principally our volunteers, which includes workshop and non-workshop (i.e. finance, admin, communication) volunteers. This includes project-users who now volunteer. Decisions take place at our quarterly General Meetings (GMs), open to the whole membership, one of which serves as the Annual General Meeting (AGM) at which the Directors Group is elected.

The Ops Group is made up of representatives (OGRs) from across the Project - the community workshops, trading arm functions and staff support functions. The Ops Group meets on a monthly basis to provide updates and take decisions on the operational activities of the Project, in line with the direction set by members. OGRs are responsible for consulting with, raising issues on behalf of, and communicating back to, those involved in the area of the Project they represent.

The Directors Group shares overall legal and financial responsibility for the Project, acts as a protector of our values and purpose, and brings valuable expertise and experience to support the overall smooth running of the Project. The Directors Group meets bimonthly and reports back to the Ops Group and the Members.

We encourage agility in decision-making and seek to avoid creating too many meetings and too much bureaucracy! As far as possible, we encourage everyday, practical decisions to be made by individuals (i.e. staff, coordinators or volunteers) or working groups in person or via email lists, using the advice principle (i.e. any person can make any decision after seeking advice from 1) everyone who will be meaningfully affected, and 2) people with expertise in the matter).