Consensus document proposal

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This document is a prototype for an MPG consensus process outline. Its purpose is to set out some guidelines to facilitate decision-making during meetings, not to be a policy to be followed in any circumstance. The group's increased experience with the consensus process should lead to this document being updated when necessary.

For feedback, talk to Chris and Rosemary.

Contents 1 Introduction 2 Things to remember to facilitate consensus 3 Recommended preliminary preparations 4 Consensus process, step-by-step 5 If consensus is difficult or impossible 6 Hand signs 7 Who participates in consensus? 8 Sources of inspiration for this document 9 Further reading on consensus

Introduction

Consensus is a decision-making process that intends to distribute power equally among participants, while creating and strengthening a spirit of trust, cooperation and respect. Based on the belief that all participants hold a piece of the truth, it requires that all present must agree before action is taken. Unlike in majority-rule voting, members do not vote yes or no. Instead, everyone is invited from the start to participate in shaping proposals, so that when the proposals are finalized all members are willing to support them. As a result, consensus does not lead to competing factions vying to win other members over to their position by criticizing their opponents, in the typical "us versus them" atmosphere of majority-rule voting. Consensus, rather, creates an incentive for supporters of a proposal to seek out those who disagree with them and really try to understand their objections, and to reform the proposal to incorporate the other members' concerns. Conflict is therefore seen as a catalyst to creating more innovative solutions and crafting an agreement out of all the different concerns that people raise. This may take longer, but the implementation of the proposals is likely to be easier and swifter, since there will not be up to half the people who are unhappy with the decision and consequently dragging their feet, as can happen with majority-voting!

Things to remember to facilitate consensus

• Consensus is a decision-making process, and should only be used in this context. It is not applicable to other meeting situations, such as discussions, brainstorming, etc.
• The goal of consensus is not to find the best option (there is usually more than one good one!), but to find a good one that everyone can support, and that the group has energy for.
• Issues for which participants lack information can really bog down the consensus process. It is therefore strongly encouraged to make sure that everyone has all the information (and the same information!) before beginning the decision-making process. This might mean that it could pay off (both in terms of time and energy) to delay the decision-making process in favour of information gathering. For example, the process used by the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center involves one information-sharing session, one discussion session, and then a consensus decision-making session.
• When introducing a new topic, prioritizing non-decision-making discussion before moving on to consensus can prevent the issue from becoming polarizing.
• The consensus process only functions when decisions are made based on information, not a matter of preference.
• Strong facilitation (making sure everyone gets to speak and that the discussion is not dominated by one person or a group of people, keeping the atmosphere trustful and safe, keeping the group on track and focused, judging how much agreement there is among the group before calling for consensus, ensuring that there is energy in the group to carry out adopted proposals etc.) can be an advantage during consensus decision-making sessions.
• While in theory a single person can block the group form moving forward, this is in practise a rare event in a well-trained group. It is instead recommended that any objections be raised openly during the discussion so that the proposal that is put forward can take them into account.

Recommended preliminary preparations

• Make sure everyone has the information (by email, phone, in person, or through a previous meeting).
• Carry out any discussions on the topic before starting the decision-making process (in particular, before formulating a proposal).
• Make sure that every participant is familiar with consensus decision-making, and with the group's mission.

Consensus process, step-by-step

• Issue - information sharing/summary
• Discussion - questions, enthusiasms, concerns, strong feelings
• Proposal - action statement
• Discussion - questions, enthusiasms, concerns, additions
• Refine + Amend (followed by more discussion and further refinements if necessary)
• Test for consensus - remaining concerns, reservations, objections, stand asides
• Consensus!
• Restate
• Record
• Implement

If consensus is difficult or impossible

• If the discussion is getting over-long, a limit of 3 minutes per intervention can be established (except if someone has difficulty with the language, for example). First interventions can be given a priority over recurring ones.
• "Aquarium": one person representing each opposing perspective carries out a discussion while others watch. This helps if there are clearly defined factions, and hopefully shortens the debate as there are fewer people talking at once. Once the representatives rejoin the circle, a go-around can be done to see what progress has been made.
• If an issue is important only to a subset of the whole group, these people can leave and come back with a proposal for the whole group.
• If the debate is not making any progress, the subject can be pushed back to a later meeting, and the intervening time used for further information gathering and/or work in committees.
• If the topic is an emergency, the group may choose to opt for agreement -1 or -2, or a 75% vote (or another percentage, depending on group size).

Hand signs

For consensus:

• Thumbs up: "I support the proposal"
• Palm up: "I will go with the group decision"
• Palm down: "I would like more discussion"
• Thumb down: "I block this proposal" (note: blocking is very serious and should not be done lightly or for personal reasons; it is only recommended if the person thinks that the proposal can seriously harm the group's future.)

Other hand signs:

• Twinkling (wiggling fingers) expresses total agreement with a speaker in a non-intrusive way.
• Raised fist: sign to the facilitator(s) to point out a disrespect of the group's agreed-upon procedure (such as repeated interruptions, someone not waiting for their turn to speak, someone not being given time to speak, etc.). Priority is given to solve the issue raised by the person who makes this sign.
• Hand raised on head like a crest: direct answer to a question by the speaker (not for comments, judgements, etc.), which enables the person making the sign to speak without waiting for their turn.

Who participates in consensus?

See membership policy.

Any MPG member who has previously participated in at least one organizational meeting and is familiar with our decision-making process can participate in the consensus decision-making process. Upon their first attendance to an organizational meeting, new members can participate in the discussion, but cannot oppose a decision (ie. cannot block or hold up a decision if everyone else is in support of it).

Sources of inspiration for this document

• Earth Activist Training
• The Autonomous Social Center's general assembly process document (in French)
• Diana Leafe Christian's book Creating a Life Together

Further reading on consensus

• Book by Butler