This document aims to address the mission, vision and value of CityDAO, which can be summed in:
The criteria of projects CityDAO would help facilitate includes but are not limited to:
CityDAO’s mission is to build an on-chain, community-governed, network city of the future.
The DAO aims to establish on-chain governance for transparent and fair decision voting, asset accumulation and distribution. Instead of having a third party to authenticate and authorize actions and proposals from citizens, the DAO aims to eventually automate appropriate processes with web3 technologies, in order for all participants of the DAO to operate freely and in a decentralized and autonomous manner.
The roadmap of CityDAO will be paved by its community. The DAO will act as a central hub with a broad mission statement that gives a direction which gathers and attracts a global network of participants, resources and ideas.
The DAO aims to encourage citizens to connect and collaborate on projects that fit into the general mission of the DAO, while providing its citizens with guidance, legal, financial and human resources, and all other necessary tools to actualize their visions.
CityDAO aims to create a well-connected network of decentralized global communities.
For CityDAO, a city is made up of the imagination and needs of our citizens. CityDAO is redefining what a city is by empowering citizens to build physical spaces that reflect their values and aspirations while facilitating connections with others.
The idea of a network city is a decentralized collective of people with a shared vision and values. CityDAO encourages all projects that help facilitate this vision.
Article 2: Rules of Cooperation
The Rules of Cooperation covers two general areas:
2.1 Transparency in Measuring and Reporting Progress of the DAO and the Guilds
2.1.1 CityDAO Roadmap
The Missions Guild will maintain a Roadmap of the DAO’s current and upcoming projects, expected action items and tentative completion dates. All citizens will have transparent access to this information. The Roadmaps will be kept using a DAO designated coordination tool.
2.1.2 Guild Roadmaps
Each Guild will keep a Roadmap of the Guild’s current and upcoming projects, expected action items and tentative completion dates. All citizens will have transparent access to (non-private) information on Guild projects. The Roadmaps will be kept using a DAO designated coordination tool.
2.1.3 Priorities
Both CityDAO and each Guild will have an explanation of their overall priorities. Projects on the Roadmap will also be ranked by priority.
2.1.3 (a) What is Measured in Updates:The information that may be in the updates includes but is not limited to current and upcoming projects, expected action items, metrics, tentative project completion dates, next actions, relative priorities, projections, efficiency, budget consumption and engagement. It may also be possible to measure individual or group effort.
2.1.3 (b) How Often Roadmap is Updated: Both the DAO Roadmap and the Guild Roadmap will be updated at reasonable intervals.
2.1.4 Requests for Clarification:
2.1.4 (a) Clarification on Progress: Any citizen may request clarification on a project using the Guilds’ public Discord channels. The clarification request must be formally submitted to the Guild via a Clarification Request Form (CRF) and must state reasons for why the current roadmaps do not provide sufficient information on progress.
2.1.4 (a) (i) Examples of “Progress”: Next steps or actions on a current project, whether a project’s priority should be changed, questions of accountability, how this project will impact the overall DAO or other relevant questions.
2.1.4 (b) Clarification on Other Issues (GuildThink): This is a request to have a formal discussion with one Guild. The purpose of a GuildThink would not be a clarification on progress, but rather would be to address an issue that specifically impacts one Guild.
2.1.4 (c) Request for Cooperation Between Guilds: This is a request to have a formal discussion between two or more Guilds. The purpose is to determine whether a project is impacting another Guild, how it is impacting another Guild, whether different Guilds could work together on a project or any other issues that specifically impact Guild interoperability.
2.1.4 (d) Refusal to Cooperate: A Guild may not simply ignore a properly submitted Clarification Request. The Mission Guild may request a meeting with the Guild in question and seek answers.
2.2 Relational Agreements
2.2.1 Relational Agreement
A relational agreement is defined as the expected behavior between two or more members and is the prerequisite to any collaborative work, whether in a Guild or between Guilds. The purpose of establishing a relational agreement is to establish effective relationships between all members of CityDAO.
2.2.1 (a) Personal Commitment: An important element of group work is knowing that other members of a project are committed to the project. One purpose of the relational agreement is to establish commitment.
2.2.1 (b) How to Establish Expectations of a Project Facilitator: Prior to any project, there will be a private meeting between the Guild and the project facilitator. The Guild and the project facilitator will discuss their mutual expectations. Upon request, this will be facilitated by a member of the Missions Guild.
2.2.1 (c) How to Establish Expectations of Project Participants: Prior to any project, there will be a private meeting between the project leader and the participants, where they discuss mutual expectations. Upon request, this will be facilitated by a member of the Guild.
2.2.1 (d) Expectations Meeting: At any time, a member of a Guild who is engaged in a project may request an in-person discussion, to be facilitated by a member of a Guild or the Missions Guild if so desired, to discuss the expectations of involvement in the project or any concerns about expectations not being met.
2.2.1 (e) Algorithmic Establishment of Credibility: A method of algorithmic credibility will be established to act as a reputation marker, helping to provide members of CityDAO with scores that will assist in establishing their relative contributions to the DAO and their credibility within the DAO.
Article 3: Organizational Structure
Organizational structure refers to the structure in which CityDAO, the Guilds, Citizens and Guild members are organized, how effective roles are created and implemented, how individuals become citizens and how Guilds are formed.
The overarching goals of the structure outlined below are: effective collaboration among Guilds, Citizens and Guild members, accountability, the ability to scale effectively, and trust among all Guilds, Citizens and Guild members.
3.1 The Composition of CityDAO
CityDAO includes citizens, who may or may not be Guild members.
Citizens are those who hold possession and control over a citizenship NFT, as defined in the CityDAO Operating Agreement.
Guild members are citizens who join and participate in a Guild following the CityDAO onboarding process.
3.2 Stakeholders of CityDAO
3.3 Citizenship
Anyone may purchase a CityDAO Citizenship on a secondary market, such as Opensea. One may also earn citizenship via contributions to CityDAO.
3.4 Citizenship Tiers
3.5 Definition of Guilds
Guilds are groups of Citizens who work together on a specific mandate, which is based on the Guild Proposal when a Guild is established.
3.6 Guild Creation
Guilds are created via an initial proposal and a subsequent vote (Refer to the Governance section Art. 4). One a guild is initiated, it shall establish its own multisig, Discord channel, and Notion section. It shall also outline basic onboarding procedures so other interested Citizens know how to join.
3.7 Joining a Guild
In order for a Citizen to join a guild, they must complete the specific onboarding procedures for that guild. They will then receive a non-transferrable NFT representing their **membership** in that Guild.
3.8 Guild Operations
The operations of a guild will include making proposals, carrying out tasks that are approved by these proposals (Refer to the Governance section, Art. 4). Guilds are additionally tasked with creating and completing bounties with respect to the objective of that guild and to further the development of CityDAO.
Article 4: Governance
Introduction
The overall purpose of having a Governance Process is to ensure fairness and equitable treatment in matters relating to the governance of CityDAO, it’s citizens, Guilds and any related Sub-DAOs and Guilds. All citizens in good standing of CityDAO should be fairly represented and allowed to make use of Proposals, to vote and to have recourse to conflict resolution. An initial proposition is that CityDAO will be governed by Guilds, which will have equal power and authority.
A key point is that, as far as CityDAO is concerned, governance is a concept that can be redefined, a somewhat flexible, elastic concept. While this document begins with certain conceptions of governance, it is hoped that, over time, the CityDAO community, teams and Guilds can change the existing dynamics of power and to experiment with forms of governance. This includes amendments to the CityDAO Charter and any Guild Charters or Constitutions.
4.1 Decisions taken on the DAO Level
All citizens have the right to vote at the DAO level.
The DAO has the ability to:
4.2 Formation of Guilds
4.2.1 How to Form a Guild
In order to form a Guild, at least a citizen must create a Guild Proposal using the Guild Formation Template (GFT) with at least two initial members (citizens) of the proposed Guild. The Proposal will include the need for the Guild, scope of the Guild, the mission and values, the proposed Guild Facilitator, whether the position is full-time, part-time or volunteer, the near-term roadmap and the requested budget / funding, multisig holders and quorum for Guild voting.
4.2.1 (a) Guild Facilitator: When a Guild is proposed, it must nominate initial Guild Facilitators. The Guild will have discretion as to the number of Guild Facilitators that will be instituted, with a minimum of one Guild Facilitator.
4.2.1 (b) Term of Guild Facilitators: At the end of each term, there will be a new election. These elections will occur as a GIP at the Guild level. If a consensus cannot be found within the Guild, then it will go to a CIP. Any new Guild Facilitator will begin with the 3-month term.
Term 1: 3 months
Subsequent terms: 6 months
4.2.1 (c) Budget / Funding Requested: This section should contain the Guild’s initial budget in detail. The Guild proposal should contain reference to a spreadsheet where citizens may find the budget’s line items and amounts allocated to each item and the names of the individuals who are part of the Guild’s multisig.
4.2.1 (d) Quorum for Guild Voting: Each Guild will, in their proposal, create their own quorum for Guild votes. This is the number or percentage of Guild members who must vote on a Guild Improvement Proposal (GIP) for the proposal to be valid.
4.2.1 (e) Near-Term Roadmap: The Guild Proposal should contain the key activities planned by the Guild for the next 3 months. While these activities do not have to be described in great detail, a minimum level of description is required so that citizens will understand the purpose and intention of the guild.
4.2.1 (f) Alignment with CityDAO Mission: A Facilitator from the Mission / Coordination Guild is available if needed to make sure that the Proposal follows the mission of CityDAO.
4.2.1 (g) DAO approval: The Guild proposal shall be posted as a CIP and voted on by the DAO to create the Guild, if a budget is requested.
4.2.1 (h) Guild Improvement Proposals: Any Guild proposal will be discussed internally within the Guild and does not need to go to the Forum, but does need to go Snapshot. This is where the Guild members may vote for the GIP. Members outside the Guild may not vote on GIPs.
4.2.1 (i) Vote of No Confidence in Guild Facilitator: Any Guild member may initiate a vote of no confidence in a Guild Facilitator by providing documented reasons why the Guild Facilitator is negligent in their Facilitatorship, or is not performing up to expected standards. This vote of no confidence will be treated like a GIP for voting purposes, but requires a supermajority of 75%.
4.2.1 (j) Succession by Co-Facilitator: If the Guild Facilitator is voted out, the Co-Facilitator will immediately take over as Interim Guild Facilitator and will assume the rest of the term.
4.2.1 (k) Anonymity: Any Guild member who seeks to initiate a vote of no confidence and wants to maintain anonymity can call on the Mission Guild to initiate a vote of no confidence on the member’s behalf.
4.2.2 Censure of Guild
If a Guild refuses to comply with the terms of this Constitution, including keeping and distributing minutes, they may be prevented from proposing any CIPs on the CityDAO forum or on Snapshot. If they choose to comply, then this sanction may be lifted.
4.2.3 How to Terminate a Guild
Any Guild member may initiate a vote to terminate their Guild by providing documented reasons that the Guild is no longer necessary, has become a toxic environment or for any other reason, such as replication of tasks with another Guild. This termination vote will be treated like a CIP for voting purposes and must pass at both the Guild and the DAO levels. If a Guild chooses of its own volition to disband, no DAO level vote is required.
4.2.4 Protection of Sensitive or Confidential Information
If any sensitive or confidential information is held by a Guild which seeks to disband, provisions must be made for protection of this information.
4.2.5 Initial Guilds
Certain Guilds are essential to the effective functioning of CityDAO. For this reason, upon ratification of this Charter, the following Guilds will immediately be formed, subject to the caveat that they will receive no initial funding from the CityDAO Treasury. In order to receive funding, these Guilds must pass a CIP requesting funds, which shall include a budget and expenditures. The initial Guilds will be:
4.3 CityDAO Improvement Proposals (CIPs) and Guild Improvement Proposals (GIPs)
4.3.1 Legitimate Contractual Obligations
No CIPs shall impair any legitimate contractual obligations of the DAO relating to payments, such as taxes, utilities, or retainer of General Counsel. Other legitimate contractual obligations may be determined by CIP in the course of CityDAO operations.
4.3.2 Requests for Disbursement of Funds
In order to filter which projects are worthy of CityDAO funding, all CIPs and GIPs that ask for disbursement of funds for a project, the following must be stated clearly in the CIP or GIP:
4.3.3 DAO Level Vote
All CIPs are voted on at the DAO level. Any citizen has the option to vote on any proposal. Citizens are not required to participate in voting.
4.3.4 Creation of CIPs
A CIP may originate from any citizen. The method for creating a CIP is filling out the CIP Template, establishing a voting quorum and then voting.
4.3.4 (a) CIP Format: The CIP shall include at a minimum the following; identification of the citizen proposing the CIP, the reason the CIP is needed, a description of what the mechanism for implementation of a CIP, and a detailed description of any financial implications.
4.3.4 (b) Step 1 - Going from Discord to Forum: Any individual with a citizenship NFT can put a CIP on the Forum. The commenting period on the Forum will last for one week.
4.3.4 (c) Step 2 - Going from Forum to Snapshot Vote: In order to move from the Forum to the Snapshot vote, the CIP on the Forum must receive 100 likes within three weeks.
4.3.4 (d) Step 3 - Snapshot Vote: The actual vote will occur on Snapshot. The DAO vote will last for one week. The vote shall be announced to citizens on the Announcement Channel of Discord within 24 hours after the vote is live.
4.3.4 (e) Stamps of Approval: Any Guild may provide a “Stamp of Approval” that demonstrates the Guild’s support of a CIP. This establishes greater support for the CIP. This “Stamp of Approval” must be voted on and passed by the Guild.
4.3.4 (f) Quorum: Quorum for CIPs will be 1000 citizens, except for the following conditions which modify the quorum:
Monetary:
Non-Monetary:
4.3.4 (g) Who can Vote: Anyone who holds a valid citizenship NFT may vote. It is one vote per citizenship NFT. The DAO reserves the right to restrict voting for specific citizenships, for example if a citizen has been deemed a bad faith participant by a Guild.
4.3.4 (h) Passing Vote: Once a quorum has been met, a vote of 51% or greater in favor of the CIP will pass the CIP unless it specifically calls for a supermajority. A supermajority is defined as ⅔ (66%). If the CIP passes the vote, it will be implemented by the DAO, subject to any objections.
4.3.4 (i) Re-Submission of CIP: If a CIP does not pass the vote, there is a “cool-down period” of one month before the CIP or a substantially similar CIP may be re-submitted for a new vote.
4.4 The Objection Process for GIPs
4.4.1 Objection Process
After a Guild successfully passes a GIP, any citizen may object to that proposal, regardless of whether the objecting citizen is a member of the proposing Guild.. Objections are the way that citizens may challenge Guild level decisions.
4.4.1 (a) Method: Objections can be submitted as GIP’s.
4.4.1 (b) Number of People Who Must Object to a GIP: In order for the objection to move from the Guild to the DAO, a quorum of 20% of the number of members in the Guild required.
4.4.1 (c) Objection Time limit: Citizens will have 48 hours in which to initiate an objection subsequent to the passing of a GIP or CIP.
4.4.1 (d) Guild Actions Prior to Quorum: The Guild may not begin actions related to the CIP until after the Objection Time Limit has passed.
If a Guild objection reaches a quorum of 20% of the Guild, the GIP is put on hold for an additional 48 hours (96 hours total) to allow the DAO to gather the necessary quorum within the CIP to complete the objection.
4.5. Conflict Resolution
4.5.1 Conflict Resolution
There may be instances where members, citizens or Guilds find themselves in a situation where a conflict has arisen that cannot be reasonably handled by the parties. This document does not prescribe specific forms or methods of conflict resolution, but rather indicates who shall take responsibility for the resolution.
4.5.1 (a) Conflicts between Guilds: Where a conflict occurs between Guilds, the Mission Guild will help facilitate. This process will be publicly documented on the Mission Guild public channel. The Mission Guild will have discretion on whether any of this information shall remain confidential.
4.5.1 (b) Conflicts within Guilds: Where the conflict occurs within a Guild, it will be facilitated by the Guild Facilitator. A member of the Mission Guild may help facilitate, if so requested. Although the Guild Facilitator has the discretion to choose whether or not this information shall remain confidential, total confidentiality is not allowed. The Guild must maintain an ongoing log of internal conflicts, outcomes and reasoning, which will be publicly available to all citizens.
4.5.1 (c) Conflicts between Individuals:
4.5.1 (c) (i) Conflict Between Members of Different Guilds: In the case of a conflict between members or citizens who are in different Guilds, or where one member or citizen is in a Guild and the other member or citizen is not, the conflict will be handled by the Guild Facilitators of both Guilds, working together. If the conflict is not resolved at this level, it can be brought to the Mission Guild. The facilitating party will have discretion on whether any of this information shall remain confidential.
4.5.1 (c) (ii) Neither Member is in a Guild: If neither of the members or citizens are in a Guild, the Community Guild will take responsibility for facilitating a resolution. The Guild Facilitator will have discretion on whether any of this information shall remain confidential.
4.5.1 (c) (iii) Unresolved conflicts decided by the DAO: If a conflict has not been resolved through the procedures outlined above, the Mission Guild may facilitate the individual to find the next best course of action.
4.5.2 Grievances
There may be instances where a member or citizen feels that they have a grievance or complaint which is not a conflict with another specific individual. Examples of such a grievance might be a claim that the Guild has become a hostile environment, that the culture of a Guild is toxic, that there have been actions taken in bad faith or that their voice is not being heard on an issue of importance to the member or citizen.
4.5.2 (a) Grievance against the DAO: In the case that a member or citizen has a grievance against CityDAO as a whole, this will be facilitated by the Mission Guild.
4.5.2 (b) Grievance against a Guild: In the case that a member or citizen has a grievance against a specific Guild, this will be facilitated by the Guild Facilitator. If the grievance is against the Guild Facilitator, or their impartiality is called into question, the grievance will be facilitated by the Mission Guild.
4.6 Revocation Authority
The DAO may revoke the validity of a specific citizenship in extenuating circumstances, such as in cases where a citizenship is stolen to be used for governance or other purposes,
4.7 Amendment of this Charter
4.7.1 Initial Modifications to the Charter
Given that there are areas still under discussion, and in order to give citizens more time to comment and give feedback, for the first 30 days following ratification of this Charter, there will be an abbreviated modification procedure, which is:
For changes of a non-material nature, modifications may be agreed upon by a simple majority of the Mission Guild and this Charter altered accordingly.
For changes of a material nature that do not affect the underlying nature of this Charter but that relate to the functions of a specific Guild, a simple majority of both the Guild in question and the Mission Guild together is sufficient to alter the Charter.
For changes of a material nature that affect the underlying nature of this Charter, the changes must be approved by a DAO-wide CIP.
4.7.2 Further Amendments to this Charter
After expiration of the initial 30-day initial period, any proposed amendments can be submitted as a CIP.
Introduction
This section describes the ways in which authority and decision making are distributed among the groups and individuals within the DAO.
All power is inherent in the Citizens. Every person may speak, write and publish sentiments on all subjects but shall be responsible for the abuse of that right. This right is subject to applicable laws limiting the unrestricted right to freedom of expression and does not include the transmission of any protected IP rights, secret or inside information. Also, bigotry or hate speech will never be tolerated.
The powers of the DAO may be divided into Guilds, SubDAOs and Projects.
Guilds have the reasonable right and authority to inspect and investigate the books, records, papers, documents, data, operation, and physical plant of any operation of the DAO or SubDAO within its purview with reasonable advance notice.
5.2 Guild Facilitators
Each Guild shall have at least one Lead and one Co-lead, as outlined in [relevant Organizational Structure section]. Methodology for electing Leads is outlined in [relevant Governance section].
As a Guild Lead, you must honor the following constraints on your authority:
5.2.1 Don't Violate Policies
While acting in a Guild, Guild Leads must act in good faith and may not violate any policies of the Guild itself, any SubDAO containing the Guild. “Policies” here refers to the Charter and Operating Agreement of each Guild. AO.
For purposes of section 5.4, the term “Guild” shall include subDAOs, Projects, or any other subdivision of the DAO.
A CIP making appropriations for current expenses of the DAO, including salaries of DAO contributors, shall contain provisions on no other subject.
No money shall be drawn from the treasury except in pursuance of a CIP passed pursuant to the rules in the Governance section for passing CIPs and made in accordance with the Operating Agreement, this Charter and Wyoming law.
To the greatest extent possible under the law, provisions shall be made for raising sufficient resources to defray the expenses of the DAO for each fiscal period.
This section does not include bounties, which may be paid at the discretion of Guild Leads and posted publicly for the citizens to review.
5.3.1 General Budgeting Procedures
Each Guild shall be responsible for communicating a budget to the DAO
at the beginning of each quarter, and shall be required to submit a budget that is based upon and that reflects the long-range financial plan agreed upon by the Guild.
No less than once per quarter, each Guild shall prepare a balance showing in reasonable detail its financial condition as of the close of each quarter, a profit and loss statement showing its results of the operations during that period and the previous period, and any other financial statements as may be required by a resolution of the Citizens.
“Spending” is defined as the disposal of any property of the DAO, or significantly limiting its use by others. “Spending” shall not include de minimis expenses under $25 USD, non-reimbursable out of pocket expenses by a Citizen or acceptance of voluntary contributions for a specific purpose.
Neither a Guild nor an individual Guild member may spend any money or other assets unless they first get authorization from the DAO.
On a quarterly basis, each Guild shall propose a budget to its members. Upon a majority consensus of the members of the Guild, the proposed budget shall be added to a quarterly Appropriations CIP to be voted on by the DAO. If approved by a majority vote, the Guild shall be deemed authorized to spend the entirety of its approved budget over the subsequent quarter without any additional authorization needed for individual expenditures except…In the event the Guild wishes to spend more than $5,000 [five thousand United States Dollars] in a single transaction, the Guild must create an additional CIP and gain the approval of the DAO by majority vote prior making such a transaction.
5.3.4 Wallets and Transfers of Funds
Each Guild shall own and control its own multisig wallet and shall be solely responsible for the funds therein. Guild signers do not need to undergo a KYC process.
When an Appropriations CIP has been passed, the DAO treasury shall be compelled to transfer the difference between the Guild’s approved budget and the funds currently in the Guild’s wallet [approved budget - existing funds = transfer amount] within 72 hours.
At no time shall a Guild’s wallet hold more than $25,000 [twenty five thousand United States Dollars].
Any Guild, SubDAO or Project shall have the authority to propose and / or create a smart contract on behalf of the DAO. Deployment of such contract shall be executed by the Developers Guilds and be subject to a) meeting or exceeding the DAO’s “minimum standards” for smart contacts and b) approval of the DAO via Snapshot vote.
5.4.1 Definition of “Minimum Standards”
The Developers Guild shall promulgate a set of minimum standards for smart contracts which shall include, at a minimum, an audit by a reputable independent third party. No CityDAO smart contracts shall be deployed until such standards have been outlined by the Developers Guild and approved by the DAO via Snapshot vote. Guild activities must be subject to legal and tax compliance review.
5.5 CityDAO’s Treasury Multisig Holders
5.5.1 Main Treasury - Multisig holders
Any transfer from CityDao’s main treasury/wallet shall be approved and signed by 5 out of 8 multisig holders. The initial 8 multisig holders will remain as they are at the establishment of this Charter. Within 30 days from enactment of this Charter, additional multisig holders will be chosen from within the Guilds. Multisig holders for the main treasury shall undergo a private and discrete KYC process. Multisig holders shall be compelled to approve transactions in a timely manner, and gas fees incurred by holders shall be reimbursed in a timely manner.
The purpose of this section is to help Guilds and groups to coordinate and communicate in an effective and autonomous way. This section sets examples on carrying out effective communications. All communications should have a clearly defined goal.
Communication can be either synchronous or asynchronous.
6.1 Synchronous Communications: There are many types of meetings. Synchronous meetings happen when people are having the meeting together at the same time. Some examples of synchronous meetings are:
6.2 Asynchronous Communications: Asynchronous communications happen when people read comments and discuss matters together, but not at the same time. Some examples of asynchronous meetings are:
6.3 Types of Meeting
6.3.1 Formal or informal
6.3.1 (a) Formal Meeting: Includes Guild or DAO level update meetings and presentations. Any meetings that involve a call for votes or formal actions are formal meetings.
6.3.1 (b) Informal Meeting: All other discussions, brainstorming, campfire or hang out meetings.
6.3.2 Public or private
6.3.2 (a) Public Meetings: Meetings that can be attended by all members of CityDAO.
6.3.2 (b) Private Meetings: Meetings that can only be attended by a select group, such as members of a Guild. Private meetings do not need to be listed on a DAO-wide calendar.
6.4 Purpose and Goal of Meeting
Each meeting should start with a statement of the purpose of the meeting or a goal to be acheived. At the end of the meeting, there should be a brief analysis of whether this purpose or goal was met.
6.5 Format of Meeting
Groups should have autonomy to structure their meeting in whatever way they feel is best suited to achieving the purpose or goal of the meeting. However, all structures should maintain certain elements.
6.5.1 Agenda of Meeting
When a meeting is called, especially for formal meetings, there should be an agenda of what will be discussed in the meeting. Informal meetings may have a more open plan.
6.5.2 Length of Meeting
When a meeting is called, it should be noted how long the meeting will last so everyone can plan accordingly. It should also be noted if this is a repeating or one-time meeting.
6.5.3 Minutes of Meeting
All formal meetings should have a dedicated ad hoc or permanent recorder who will take the written minutes of the meeting, organize them after the meeting and distribute or post them accordingly.
6.5.3 (a) Contents and Distribution of Minutes: All action and key decisions discussed in formal meetings should be documented and put in a centralized repository where all members or citizens can access these documents.
6.5.3 (b) Format of Minutes: Ideally, while preserving autonomy, it would be beneficial for groups to follow a similar format when documenting meetings. A proposed format:
Summary: Short (one-sentence) summary of the purpose / goal of the meeting.
Discussion: Documents that actions and discussions during the meeting.
Conclusion: Short (one-paragraph) summary of the results of the meeting, conclusions and whether the purpose / goal was met.
6.5.3 (c) Audio Recording Minutes: Alternatively, an audio recording of the meeting may be substituted for a minutes document.
6.6 Meeting Facilitator
It should be clear who is running the meeting, even if it is an informal meeting. The individual running the meeting will endeavor to keep the meeting on topic and on time and to minimize conflicts between members.
6.7 Meeting Preparedness
Prior to the meeting, all members should be informed if they need to prepare anything for the meeting. All members should endeavor to come prepared.