STRUCTURE
- The Coalition will have weekly calls to go over planning, outreach needs, updates and any other information-sharing.
- To facilitate communication flow, the Unlock Higher Ed coalition will communicate via the Coalition Google Group
DECISION MAKING
- We will strive to reach consensus among Coalition Leads and Coalition Members in all strategic-level decisions. Coalition Members commit to talking through conflicts and differences of opinion and to try to reach consensus within a reasonable time frame rather than defaulting to informal decision making. We understand that legislative authors have the ultimate say in decisions about their bills.
- Most decision-making and discussion will happen in weekly phone calls and over the Google group listserv.
- We have chosen the modified consensus method for the expressed intent of creating a space where all voices are heard and respected. We hope this approach will promote dialogue among our diverse Coalition Partners, deepen our analysis of the issues at hand, and strengthen our decisions on behalf of the broader movement. A modified consensus process means that all engaged Coalition Members indicate agreement or disagreement with any proposal (from overall campaign messaging to bill amendments). If a Coalition Member disagrees, they can choose to register their disagreement without blocking the proposal. If on the other hand a Coalition Member doesn’t agree and does choose to block a decision (e.g., an amendment to the bill), we have several ways forward:
- Create space for further dialogue so that an agreement can be reached.
- Modify the proposal on the table to reflect concerns raised (e.g. will support if amended).
- For matters where consensus cannot be reached but where no blocks are being made, the Coalition Leads will meet and try to reach consensus.
- If consensus still cannot be met, the team will submit both options to authors’ offices without indicating a preference.
RAPID RESPONSE DECISION-MAKING:
The pace of decision making will be rapid at times. If something is urgent, a point person will be responsible for communicating as quickly as possible with other members by email, giving them a defined timeframe for response. The point person will then respond on the issue by the set time even if all responses have not yet come in.