Deciding on a default Plenum format we're all happy with

Open
1

As briefly mentioned in the SF chat on Signal, having a default format for the Plenum (defined below) should prevent most confusions/misunderstandings we’ve had in the past. As such, let’s decide on one:

  • Fixed day of the month (potential new members should not have to wait too long before there’s a vote about their membership). The current pattern seems to be the first Tuesday of the month. Alternatively, we could decide on the date for the next Plenum as the last point of each Plenum
  • Fixed time to start the Plenum, e.g. 19h or 19:30
  • A location to upload/edit the agenda for the Plenum well before it takes place. Google Docs, Nextcloud, …? It should be easily accessible to all members, such that the threshold to add/suggest points for the agenda is as low as possible. The deadline for editing the agenda should also be clearly mentioned
  • Who is responsible for creating/generating the agenda? The current SF president? Any SF board member? Any SF member? Have a function/button to automatically generate it? Generate it as the last point of each Plenum?
  • Likewise, a location to upload/post the minutes from the Plenum ASAP afterwards

There’s also the issue of language — should the agenda/minutes be in German, English, or both?

2

Hi Peter,

Thanks for taking the initiative. Below my thoughts and opinion on the points you raised:

> Fixed day of the month (potential new members should not have to wait too long before there’s a vote about their membership). The current pattern seems to be the first Tuesday of the month. Alternatively, we could decide on the date for the next Plenum as the last point of each Plenum

I would be in favor of having a fixed day in the month, which was the practice in the past. And I suggest having the flexibility to skip the plenum in case the agenda is thin and none of the items are urgent.

This is what our statutes say: “Die reguläre Mitgliederversammlung findet in der Regel monatlich an einem bestimmten Wochentag statt. Die reguläre und die Jahresabschluss-Mitgliederversammlung können entscheiden, einzelne reguläre Versammlungen aufgrund von zu geringer zu erwartender Mitgliederanwesenheit (z.B. bei Schulferien) ausfallen zu lassen.”

> Fixed time to start the Plenum, e.g. 19h or 19:30

Both proposals sound good to me.

> A location to upload/edit the agenda for the Plenum well before it takes place. Google Docs, Nextcloud, …? It should be easily accessible to all members, such that the threshold to add/suggest points for the agenda is as low as possible. The deadline for editing the agenda should also be clearly mentioned

I am very much in favor of using our own cloud - specifically, since we already have one. I can live with Google or any other cloud service as long as

  • documents are stored under an organizational account,
  • the organizational account is under control of the board, and
  • all members have access to the documents.

The deadline is 3 days before the meeting. This is what our statutes say about it: “Jedes Vereinsmitglied hat das Recht, zuhanden der nächsten Mitgliederversammlung Anträge zu stellen. Derartige Anträge sind in die Traktandenliste aufzunehmen, sofern sie der Allgemeinheit der Mitglieder rechtzeitig, das heisst spätestens 3 volle Tage vor dem Datum der nächsten Mitgliederversammlung, über die Mailingliste zugestellt worden sind.”

> Who is responsible for creating/generating the agenda? The current SF president? Any SF board member? Any SF member? Have a function/button to automatically generate it? Generate it as the last point of each Plenum?

In the past, I was in favor of an opportunistic approach: The first person having a topic creates the open agenda by copying the template and placing it in the cloud. This approach has obviously failed. I thus suggest creating the agenda for the next plenum already during the plenum (for instance at the end) to make sure it is done. Any of the participants can do. It is only important that it is done.

> Likewise, a location to upload/post the minutes from the Plenum ASAP afterwards
Same location as for the minutes. Naming convention to be agreed. I personally like the following folder structure:

<Year>/<YYYY-MM-DD>/ <YYYY-MM-DD> Plenum - Minutes.md
The agenda and supplementary information can go into the same folder.

Additional note: I recommend using markdown for the agenda and minutes as it is simple, platform independent and fairly future proof.

> Language

In my view, English and German are both acceptable - whatever is more convenient for the minute taker. I also have room for mixed language documents. Let us not have the language barrier get in the way. Translating the minutes into both languages is in my view too much effort.

3

Following our Plenum from February (see folder Mitglieder/Plenum on Nextcloud), I’ve thought a bit more about the above and would like to propose the following — having monthly meetings on a weekday evening when we’re not open to the public, i.e. on Monday, Wednesday or Thursday evening. Personally I’d prefer the first Wednesday of the month, time could be 19:30 or later (as we wouldn’t have to open SF). I’m happy with Nextcloud, it’s well-organised (thanks to Bernd) and easy to navigate/use. We could use a template to generate the Agenda for the upcoming meeting as the final point of each Plenum.

The above could potentially be combined with Robin’s idea of having a Mitgliederabend once in a while to share experiences using equipment and software (e.g. to prepare for upcoming workshops, which is after all the idea of the CMS funding we received) as well as discuss and share projects we’re working on.

4

I agree with everything that Pieter wrote. In addition, I would like put the guidance below in place. Will add as proposal to the agenda of our upcoming plenum. The preferred day can be agreed at the plenum. If the guidance is accepted, I suggest documenting it in our brand new Wiki.

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The Plenum is a regular, typically monthly, assembly of the members of Starship Factory. The competencies of the Plenum are regulated by article 22 of our statutes.

The Plenum is organised by the board. Organisation can be delegated (in general or on occasional basis) to any member of Starship Factory on voluntary basis. Organisation of the Plenum includes the planning, announcement, preparation and documentation.

The date and time of the next Plenum, typically the first Tuesday of the month, is agreed at the previous Plenum and documented in the minutes of meeting. The respective agenda item is included in the agenda template.

The upcoming Plenum is announced as soon as possible via the common communication channels currently in use (e.g. Signal chat, Discourse forum).

The (open) agenda for the upcoming Plenum is created based on the agenda template and stored in the Starship Factory Cloud. Specifically, a new sub-folder Mitglieder > Plenum > > is created. The agenda template under Mitglieder > Plenum > Vorlagen > Traktanden.md is copied to the sub-folder and its name changed to Plenum - Traktanden.md. Header information in the new agenda document is updated as required.

The link to the agenda document is shared via the common communication channels and members are invited for contribution. Contributions may be directly added to the shared document. Additionally, announcement/discussion of submitted proposals via the common communication channels is encouraged.

Contributions to the agenda may be in German (preferred) or English. The document may be written in mixed language. No translation is required.

The agenda with submitted proposals is locked three (3) days prior to the Plenum as regulated by the statues. Informative items can still be added after the agenda has been locked. Supportive materials shall be uploaded to the sub-folder created for the Plenum. If supportive materials are an essential element of a proposal they need to be uploaded (3) days prior to the Plenum at the latest.

If the agenda does not contain any proposals the Plenum organiser may decide to skip the Plenum. In this case, informative agenda items/contributions should be distributed via the common communication channels as appropriate.

The Plenum is facilitated by a meeting chair who is elected at the beginning of the meeting by participating members. The Plenum must be documented in the form of minutes of meeting by a minute taker who is equally determined at the beginning of the Plenum. Decisions from a Plenum, which has not been documented, are void.

The minutes may be prepared in German or English language, depending on the preference of the meeting taker. The document may be written in mixed language. No translation is required.

Minutes are prepared by copying the agenda into the same sub-folder and renaming the copy to Plenum - Protokoll.md. Minutes are prepared by the minute taker during the meeting and ideally immediately verified and released by the meeting chair after the meeting. Released minutes are locked by conversion to PDF format and distributed via the common communication channels.