Blue Ridge Cohousing
Consensus Process
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A meeting in Shadowlake
Village in Blacksburg, VA
Village in Blacksburg, VA
Monticello, home of
Thomas Jefferson, in
Charlottesville, VA
Thomas Jefferson, in
Charlottesville, VA
The following is a summary of the Blue Ridge Cohousing consensus process. It is
based on Shadowlake Village Cohousing’s process.
1. The item up for consensus is put on the agenda of the next business meeting*.
2. At the meeting, group members discuss and try to write a brief proposal (usually
several sentences). They also select at what future meeting a consensus attempt
will be made. If they can’t agree enough to craft a proposal, they decide whether to
discuss further at a future meeting.
3. [Optional Step] The facilitator e-mails the draft proposal to the meeting
participants for review. The feedback is incorporated.
4. The facilitator e-mails the updated proposal to the BRC e-mail listserv for
comment. He/she indicates what date the proposal will be up for consensus. The
date must be at least five days in the future.
5. Group members send feedback to the facilitator or the entire group prior to the
consensus date.
6. The facilitator incorporates the feedback and sends out modified proposal to the
listserv. Or if there are sufficient concerns, the facilitator may choose to postpone
the consensus date and request more time to discuss.
7. On the consensus date, those present vote on the proposal. They either “agree”,
“stand-aside”, or “block”. The facilitator may choose whatever method for folks to
express their votes. The votes must be open ballot (i.e. no voting in secret) and
there are no proxies allowed for absent members. Note that blocking is a serious
matter and the rule of thumb is that each individual should have only two or three
blocks in his/her life in the community. Ideally, if anyone has strong concerns, they
are brought up and discussed prior to the consensus date. **
Notes:
*The above describes decision making at the full group business meeting level
(plenary meeting). The same process applies to decisions within a subcommittee;
however, subcommittees are restricted to decide only on things within their
mandate.
**There are detailed procedures described by SLV for accommodating people who
have strong concerns about a proposal but will be out of town during the proposed
decision date. For the sake of simplicity on this web site, they are not described
here and readers are referred to SLV’s process for details. In short, though, if
someone has big problems with a proposal but can’t be at the meeting where the
consensus decision will be made, the group reschedules the decision for another
date.
based on Shadowlake Village Cohousing’s process.
1. The item up for consensus is put on the agenda of the next business meeting*.
2. At the meeting, group members discuss and try to write a brief proposal (usually
several sentences). They also select at what future meeting a consensus attempt
will be made. If they can’t agree enough to craft a proposal, they decide whether to
discuss further at a future meeting.
3. [Optional Step] The facilitator e-mails the draft proposal to the meeting
participants for review. The feedback is incorporated.
4. The facilitator e-mails the updated proposal to the BRC e-mail listserv for
comment. He/she indicates what date the proposal will be up for consensus. The
date must be at least five days in the future.
5. Group members send feedback to the facilitator or the entire group prior to the
consensus date.
6. The facilitator incorporates the feedback and sends out modified proposal to the
listserv. Or if there are sufficient concerns, the facilitator may choose to postpone
the consensus date and request more time to discuss.
7. On the consensus date, those present vote on the proposal. They either “agree”,
“stand-aside”, or “block”. The facilitator may choose whatever method for folks to
express their votes. The votes must be open ballot (i.e. no voting in secret) and
there are no proxies allowed for absent members. Note that blocking is a serious
matter and the rule of thumb is that each individual should have only two or three
blocks in his/her life in the community. Ideally, if anyone has strong concerns, they
are brought up and discussed prior to the consensus date. **
Notes:
*The above describes decision making at the full group business meeting level
(plenary meeting). The same process applies to decisions within a subcommittee;
however, subcommittees are restricted to decide only on things within their
mandate.
**There are detailed procedures described by SLV for accommodating people who
have strong concerns about a proposal but will be out of town during the proposed
decision date. For the sake of simplicity on this web site, they are not described
here and readers are referred to SLV’s process for details. In short, though, if
someone has big problems with a proposal but can’t be at the meeting where the
consensus decision will be made, the group reschedules the decision for another
date.