View source for Policy register

{{draft}}
==Definitions==
===Core volunteer===
"Core volunteers" will be defined as persons who have volunteered for at least 30 hours within the last year. ''[http://lists.freegeek.org/pipermail/minutes/2011-April/001110.html Council, 4/2011]''

==Ends==
:''Requires board discussion''

==Board==
===Structure, function and number===
The board will consist of members elected by core volunteers and other people appointed by the board to represent interests and skills we consider desirable. There will also be one liaison each from collective and noncollective staff, to be chosen by those bodies respectively. ''[[2011 governance proposal|board 4/2011]]''

The board uses Formal Consensus to make decisions. ''resolved by first board, confirmed by board 12/2011 (minutes forthcoming)''

====Number of Directors====
The board sets its number of seats to seven. ''[http://lists.freegeek.org/pipermail/minutes/2011-April/001105.html Board minutes, 13 April 2011]; Related to [http://wiki.freegeek.org/index.php/Bylaws#Section_2._Number_and_composition. Bylaws].''

The Board will strive for a minimum of eight Directors at all times. ''Approved online 11/3/2011, proposal [http://lists.freegeek.org/pipermail/council/2011-October/003322.html here].''

Seats other than the Volunteer Representatives are filled by appointment by the board itself. ''From the [[2011 governance proposal]].''

Candidates for board-appointed seats must apply to fill a specific seat, and make their candidacy known on the Board-discuss list at least 30 days before the meeting at which the board considers their appointment. ''Board, 12/2012, based on [[2011 governance proposal|governance proposal]] and openness practices''

====Directors' responsibilities====
:''Pull from [[New Director Agreement]]''

:''How do we want to phrase these? “As described on wiki”, with date?''

===Officers===
Officers are selected by the Board of Directors at their annual meeting. ''[http://wiki.freegeek.org/index.php/Bylaws#Section_1._Officers. From the Bylaws].''

====[[Board Chair]]====
{{:Board Chair}}
====[[Board Secretary]]====
{{:Board Secretary}}
====[[Board Treasurer]]====
{{:Board Treasurer}}

===Board seats===

====[[Volunteer representative]]====
Volunteer representatives are elected by and from among Free Geek's core volunteers, using the voting system the elections committee deems fairest and most accurate. Candidacy for volunteer representative should be announced to Free Geek's internal community at least 30 days before the Town Hall Meeting. ''Board, Dec 2012''

{{:Volunteer representative}} ''See [[Volunteer representative|page]] for adoption history''


====[[Director for Development]]====
{{:Director for Development}} ''See [[Director for Development|page]] for adoption history''

====[[Director for Human Resources]]====
{{:Director for Human Resources}} ''See [[Director for Human Resources|page]] for adoption history''

====[[Director for the Environment]]====
''This seat description is under development at [[Director for the Environment]].''

====[[Director for Education]]====
''This seat description is under development at [[Director for Education]].''

====[[Director for F/OSS]]====
''This seat description is under development at [[Director for F/OSS]].''

====[[Director for Process]]====
{{:Director for Process}}

===Scope of board activity===
''Needs some mention of creating and maintaining strategic plan''

The division of authority between the board and the staff is envisioned as a division between strategic and operational realms, with the board being in charge of strategic decision making and the staff in charge of operational decisions. ''[[2011 governance proposal]], adopted by board April 2011''

The board will develop clear guidelines and procedures for their operations, and policies regarding board discipline. ''[[2011 governance proposal]], adopted by board April 2011''

====Relating to staff decisions====
''Restate as policy:''
:“Board should be involved in *policy & procedure* issues related to HR/discipline; but board does NOT want to be involved in individual personnel decisions (for example, as last point of appeals).” ''[Board minutes, special meeting, 25 July 2011]''

====Exception for arbitration====
''Restate as policy:''
:“The union contract requires a final arbitrator for discipline issues.  The board has made it clear in the past that they are not to be that arbitrator. However, for both the collective and non-collective staff, the board can appoint someone to be an arbitrator as the last stage in the discipline process. The board agrees to this.” ''[[Draft] Board Meeting Minutes, 14  Sept 2011]''

====Committees of the board====
:''need to seek out the relevant decisions regarding what the committees are and requiring directors to participate in at least one. --[[User:Ideath|Ideath]] 06:06, 27 November 2011 (UTC)''

===Conflicts of Interest===
The Board, and each Director, are committed to observing the Conflicts of Interest rules set out in Bylaws Article III Section 12, and the Conflicts of Interest policy adopted in 2008, which is found [[Conflict of Interest Policy|here]].  ''Approved on directors list 11/2011, proposal [http://lists.freegeek.org/pipermail/council/2011-October/003322.html here]; need to pull relevant bits of form out into policy language and clarify who this applies to''

===Board meetings===
====Timing and period of board meetings====
We will meet monthly. ''[Board minutes, 13 April 2011]''

Board meetings will be on Second Weds. of each month, at 6:15PM. ''[DRAFT Board Meeting Minutes, 8 June 2011]''

====Agenda planning and role of facilitator====
The facilitator selected for the next board meeting is responsible for preparing an agenda for that meeting and posting it to Board-discuss at least 7 days before the meeting. Excepting actual emergency, agenda items may not be added after that point. ''approved at 12/2011 board meeting; some discussion of adding explicit mention of facilitator's discretion to late agenda adds.''

====Notice of meetings====
The board will give advance notice of all board meetings to the Board’s public e-mail list. The staff Board liaisons and Volunteer Representative Directors will be responsible for making sure that staff and volunteers are aware of the meeting and agenda, and will act as a channel for concerns.  ''[Approved online 11/3/2011, proposal here http://lists.freegeek.org/pipermail/council/2011-October/003322.html]''

====Meeting ground rules====
Board meetings are open to the public, and especially volunteers. The facilitator is responsible for making sure that the presence of these guests is used constructively and does not interfere with the work of the board, and may ask them to limit their participation. ''board, 12/2011 meeting''

''Question from 12 Oct 2011: does the following apply only during union neg'ns? Or is this ongoing policy?''
:“Legal considerations for the following discussions:  Non-collective staff will have to leave the room if we start to talk about how staff will be managed. However, we can talk about how management is structured. Also, if we talk about committees, we need to be aware that committees cannot be comprised of both management and non-management, unless they are merely advisory.” ''[Board minutes, 13 April 2011]''

====Executive sessions====
''Policy needed.''

===Board communications===
====Board member communication====
{{Template:SuggestedWording|Board members are expected to check their email at least every other day and respond to items marked "Please Respond" with at least acknowledgment of receipt, if they do not have time for a more considered response.|--[[User:Ideath|Ideath]] 04:32, 14 December 2011 (UTC)}}

Members who will be out of email range for more than a few days should alert the board list in advance. ''[http://lists.freegeek.org/pipermail/directors/2006-July/000848.html board, 7/2006]''

====Mailing lists====
For purposes of transparency, the board will maintain three email communication channels:
* A discussion list ("Board-discuss"), open to Free Geek community and with open archives, for most of the board's email traffic.
* An executive list ("Directors"), open to only current board members, for sensitive board business that requires an executive session.
* An announcement list (Board-announce"), to be maintained by the secretary or the secretary's delegate(s), for posting agendas, minutes, proposals, and event announcements.

Board members will subscribe to both the discussion and executive lists. 
''Board decision [http://lists.freegeek.org/pipermail/council/2011-October/003317.html 9/2011], restatement approved 12/2011''

====Minutes====
Draft board meeting minutes will be sent to the board-announce and board-discuss lists within 48 hours of a meeting. Corrections should be posted promptly.

Minutes will be approved at the next meeting, and the final draft posted to the minutes list. ''board, 12/2011''

''Policy needed around minutes for executive sessions.''

====Email decisions====
''Should be restated as policy.''
:“Issues come up often enough that quarterly board meetings need to be supplemented by other communication/decision process. Seamus requested board adopt a clear process to make communication/decisions by email effective and efficient. FG Board members are expected to do email. Process should make clear participation by all is desired, and that silence may be misinterpreted so all members should make concerted effort to participate. Members who will be out of email range for more than a few days should alert the board list in advance. It is useful for the person doing the proposing to summarize and consolidate discussion points as the discussion moves forward. 

:The board has a limited set of members and its decisions may be legally or financially critical for the organization.”  ''[From http://lists.freegeek.org/pipermail/directors/2006-July/000848.html, approved by board July 2006]''

{{Template:SuggestedWording|The board may decide to make some decisions via email. This process requires the explicit and timely participation of every board member. 

Email decisions will be reported and affirmed at the next board meeting, and included in that meeting's minutes with a link to the final decision email.|to replace above. [[User:Ideath|Ideath]] 05:51, 27 November 2011 (UTC)}}

====Town Hall Meetings====
At least once annually, the board will arrange for a Town Hall Meeting, a "large, structured, facilitated event for volunteers, staff, and board to fulfill the following functions:
* elect core volunteer board seats
* increase FG volunteer community's familiarity with board members and function, other volunteers, staff
* involved in the vision generation piece of strategic planning. 
Both candidates to represent core volunteers and those eligible to participate in selecting them will be core volunteers.  ''[[2011 governance proposal]], approved by board 4/2011''

The board will be responsible for seeing that this event is appropriately planned and that community input generated at these meetings is integrated into the organization's plans for the future. ''[[2011 governance proposal]], approved by board 4/2011''

==Staff==
===Staff structure and authority===
''Policy wording needed: Board grants to collective powers of hiring, firing, and discipline. (since long time!)''

====Temporary authority granted to “Department point people”====
''Needs clarification and statement as policy. Also, temporariness needs clarity of end date or condition.''
:“The board requires that department point people exercise "line manager" duties.  (Discussion of "line manager" vs. supervisor. Generally, line manager a person who makes all decisions about the department.) The collective is directed to develop and recommend to the board the details of implementation, including the exact scope of the line managers' authority and to whom they will be accountable. The board will decide what to do with the collective's recommendation. It is important to note that the board has the ultimate authority to direct management. ''[Board minutes, 13 April 2011]''
===Staff compensation===
====Severance pay====
The board's priorities are better pay for current staff and the ongoing viability of the organization. We do not find it appropriate to provide financial rewards to outgoing staff. ''[DRAFT Board Meeting Minutes, 8 June 2011]''

===[[Collective-board liaison]]===
{{:Collective-board liaison}}

===Non-collective-board liaison===
''Needs to be written''