(Dec 2016 rewrite alternative to The Long Version)

Concord Democracy

Concord Democracy is simple governance system with procedures for making decisions and electing officials.

Why Concord Democracy? Informal decision-making works great most of the time; but eventually, there will be some controvery that tests the organization. Without a procedure in place BEFORE times get tough, the organization could become conflict-ridden and hostile, paralyzed by indecision, or even taken over in a power-grab.

Compared to other systems, Concorn is less polarizing, and more democratic, secure, and efficient. Its voting system encourages moderates over extremists; members can vote directly on the issues, not just on which political party will represent them; there is an emphasis on oversight; small meetings and written discussions are used instead of large meetings; the system is amenable for use online; and officials may be elected without running a mass campaign. Concord isn't for everyone, because it's new and untested; for groups looking for a time-tested procedure, we suggest Robert's Rules of Order.

How does it work?

The 3 Chairs lead and oversee the organization. They are directly elected.

There are two places where governance decisions are made:

• the Forum: the Forum is an ongoing written discussion in which all members directly vote. Members can vote in the forum at their leisure, without attending a meeting. They can also proxy their votes on a topic to any other member. In order to promote compromise, most decisions in the Forum require a supermajority of 4/7, or about 60%.
• the Board: the 7 Boardmembers are indirectly elected

The Organization's work is managed by the CEO, who hires and fires the Organization's employees. The CEO is appointed by the Board.

There are also procedures for adjudicating disputes and for admitting new members.

Details

See the [[proj-concordDemocracy-concordBylaws_bylaws?]] for details, and [[proj-concordDemocracy-concordCommentary_commentary?]] for technical discussion about the system.

todo

write a presentation introducing in terms of/justifying in contrast to Robert's rules for boards; and write another one contrasting to governments

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