Live decisions – Greater Manchester Systems Changers

Decisions that needs to be made by the 24th of November

Dear members,

At the Autumn Members’ Meeting (you can read the minutes here), we continued building on the decisions started in summer, shaping together how we organise, make decisions, and agree on what actions we want to take as a network.

To move this forward, we now need your votes on the following proposals discussed during the meeting. To make it more manageable, the voting has been split into sections:

A. How do we make decisions
B.Which decisions are delegated to who
C. What does it mean to be a member
D. Ratifying Organising Circles
E. Ideas from members for the future of GM SC

Some ideas captured in the minutes still need more development before they can be put to a vote. If you’d like to help shape those, you’re welcome to start working on them and bring them back for collective decision-making later on.

To vote on the proposals below, we recommend using a computer rather than a phone.
Please vote using your name and the name of your organisation, [First name] on behalf of [Organisation name].

There is one vote per organisation. Please discuss your decisions with your colleagues beforehand. You’ll be able to vote and add arguments in favour of or against each proposal. For open-ended proposals, you can also suggest alternative ideas. All responses will be visible to members to ensure transparency.

The Transition Team will follow up with organisations that haven’t voted after two weeks to ensure everyone has the opportunity to take part. If you need help understanding or responding to any points, or would like to talk them through or have tech issues, please get in touch with us via WhatsApp or email.

Video tutorial on how to use the online decision making tool, if you need a refresher or struggled last time

A1. Quorum

At the moment, we don’t have a formal quorum. Our current approach is to aim for 100% consensus, and whoever votes by the deadline is counted. In practice, this means that if only 2 out of 44 members vote, and they both vote yes, or one votes yes and one abstains, the decision would go through.

A2. Deep Democracy process between Members’ Meeting

Since GM SC began in 2020, we’ve used Deep Democracy to make collective decisions. In the Deep Democracy model, rather than the combative model of "for" or "against", facilitators ask people what they need to come along, to reach a genuine consensus among the group. Reach out if you would like more info on the Deep Democracy method.

B1. Funding over £1000

B2. Buying over £1000

B3. Payment for additional roles or work

B4. Venue for Members' Meetings

B5. Meeting new funders

B6. Finding potential non-financial partnerships

B7. Applying for funding

B8. Being a spokesperson

B9. Writing blog posts for GM SC’s website

Context: Currently, members can send draft blog posts related to GM SC to post on GM SC’s website, and the Transition Team supports with light editing and checks alignment with GM SC’s mission, vision, and red lines before publishing. Members can also send social media posts and blog posts from their own website, related to their organisation’s work, to the Transition Team, who will share them on GM SC’s social media and the newsletter.

C1. Agenda Setting

Context: The agenda for Members' Meetings consists of a check-in, listening to updates from existing GM SC Organising Circles and the Cross-Borough Group, introducing new organising circles that have formed, revisiting some of previous proposals that did not go through with 100% consensus, discussing new proposals that have come in, any other business relevant to GM SC that members want to bring forward, and a check-out.

C2. Consistency in who attends

Context: For larger member organisations, sometimes we see different faces representing those organisations at each Members’ Meeting.

D1. Specific response to far right attacks on migrants in hotels

D2. Direct action against fascism

D3. Survival and Solidarity Infrastructure

E1. Expenses for Members’ Meetings

Context: Members’ Meetings are held quarterly. To remain in the network, members need to attend at least 2 out of the 4 Members’ Meetings each year, and they can choose to attend in-person or remotely.

E2. Redistributing GM SC’s £540,000

Context: If we are unable to make decisions as a network, our contract with Social Change Nest says that the £540,000 will be redistributed equally among all members, rather than stay frozen forever in an account. Given we currently have 44 members, this would mean we would all receive approximately £12,270.

E3. Code of Conduct

This proposed Code of Conduct, submitted by Virginie, defines the standards of behaviour and the consequences when harm occurs that all GM SC members agree to uphold when participating in the network. No resource asked. (read details of this proposal in the shared drive)

E4. Cultivating change agroecological food production and collective kitchen for food system transformation

Northern Lily in partnership with Food Democracy CIC and GM System Changers to fund and collectively co-create a transformative alternative agroecological localised food model. Resource asked for £65,000 in total. (read details of this proposal in the shared drive)

E5. Response to Far Right attacks on migrants in hotels

Collaboration between RAPAR, DIPACT, and Global Arts Manchester to combine frontline, participatory action research, creative engagement, and community coordination to ensure that people affected are both protected and empowered. Each organisation is requesting £20,000, totalling £60,000, to deliver urgent activity while also strengthening their capacity to continue their work. Resource asked for in total is £60,000. (read details of this proposal in the shared drive)

E6. Manchester BME VAWG Campaign Against Racism and the Far Right

Women’s Voices is looking for funding to launch a community-led campaign that tackles the increasing co-option of Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) narratives by the Far Right and racist groups in the UK. Resource asked for £43,000 in total. (read details of this proposal in the shared drive)

Next steps

Thank you for taking the time to vote on these proposals.

There are also a number of ideas and suggestions discussed at the last Members’ Meetings and at the Forums that still need to be developed before the network can vote on them. Any member (or group of members) can take them forward and develop them into proposals for future agreement and submit them here.

If any of them (or others not already on the list) spark your interest or align with your work, feel free to write a proposal and share it with the rest of the network.

If needed, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with the Transition Team, as we can help shape your ideas into something ready to present to the network.