V2 Index Council [contributor vote update]

Governance Elections
7

Over the last month, a great deal of focus has gone into exploring lessons learnt from v1 of the Index Council and discussing what comes next.

Thanks to everyone who provided thoughtful and considered feedback on how they believe Index Coop can best-set strategy, optimize resource allocation and ensure decisions are effectively delegated.

Based on this discussion, I have added several additional sections to the V2 proposal covering:

  • Council processes
  • Council compensation
  • Council roles

It is important to recognize the diversity of opinions on whether a Council is needed and the speed at which a new Council should be elected. Broadly there are two competing perspectives:

  • We should move forward with a V2 of the Council as outlined in this proposal, with an appreciation that we will iterate and improve whilst V2 of the Council is in flight, OR
  • We should not elect a V2 Council until further discussion, exploration and research on leadership, governance and decision making take place.

To get a clear directional indication on these topics, we are proposing an Index Council contributor vote starting Thursday 10th March at 6pm UTC running to Monday 14th March at 6pm UTC.

The contributor vote is designed to provide clarity and direction on the following five questions.

Contributors can choose to abstain if they prefer further discussion on a topic and/or feel that an alternative option is worth exploring. A majority vote for abstaining would indicate that no clear decision be made on the particular topic, and further work would need to be done to identify an alternative solution.

Contributor Vote - questions

1. Should we move forward now with a V2 of the Index Council?

  1. Yes
  2. No

A vote of “Yes” would indicate support for commencing nominations for V2 of the Council from the 10th of March. This council would have responsibilities as outlined in a new proposal, and with term details determined based on the responses to contributor vote questions 2-5. A Vote of “No” would indicate further discussion on decision making at Index Coop is required before any new Index Council is appointed. Regardless of which options are selected, work will continue to improve the Index Council and/or alternative governance and decision making processes.

2. Should we implement a maximum term limit of two successive 6-month terms?

  1. Yes
  2. No
  3. Abstain

A vote of “Yes” would indicate that no Council member can serve more than two successive 6-month terms. A vote of “No” would indicate that Council members can serve any number of consecutive terms on the Index Council.

3. Should the remaining four Council members elected in November automatically serve out a full 6-month term ending May 30th?

  1. Yes
  2. No
  3. Abstain

A vote of “Yes” would initiate the MG, PJ, Mike and Lemonade would not be required to run for reelection in March and would serve the remaining 3 months of a 6 months term ending May 30th. A vote of “No” would mean an entirely new election for all 7 Council seats. If any of the above-named contributors were successful in the election, they would still serve until May 30th. This is unlike the three new Council members who if elected, would serve until August 30th. This enables the staggering of Council seats regardless of which option is selected.

4. If a Council member leaves, should a new contributor be nominated to step into their seat until the next election?

  1. Yes - nomination by remaining Index Council members
  2. Yes - nomination by the Council member who is departing
  3. Yes - nomination should be determined by a snap vote by contributors using the standard Index Council election process
  4. No
  5. Abstain

A vote of “Yes” would indicate that if a Council member takes extended leave, or steps down, the remaining Council members [1] OR the departing Council members [2] have the right to nominate a replacement to take up their vacant Council seat OR the community nominate a replacement [3]. This contributor would become a formal member of the Council for the remainder of the term. A vote of “No” [3] would mean that if a Council member stepped down, their seat would not be filled until the next 3-month election cycle. In the case of a “yes” vote, replacements would be chosen at the time the Council member leaves, not at the outset of a Council member’s term.

5. Should two members of the Index Council be nominated to serve as “Council Steward” and “Council Secretary”

  1. Yes
  2. No - these formal roles are not needed
  3. No - non-Council members, chosen by the elected council, should serve in a Steward and Secretary role
  4. Abstain

A vote of “Yes” would indicate that two Council members would take on these roles as outlined within this proposal. A vote of “No” would indicate that no Council member formally play these roles and completion of stated responsibilities will be done in an adhoc / informal manner.

Creating a culture of iterative improvement

We will use the same voting process proposed for the election of the Index Council within this contributor vote (ranked order voting, weighted by owl levels). We are optimistic that this contributor vote will enable us to disagree and commit and offer clarity on what comes next.

We hope that community voting will continue to be used to solidify and refine the ways of working and remit of the Council and/or alternative decision making structures in future. Topic which may be addressed in a similar way could include:

  • Index Council feedback mechanism
  • Conflicts of Interest for Council members
  • A mechanism for flagging disagreements

These nuanced topics have not been included in this contributor vote as no clear proposal has been presented on a specific framework or process to address these topics. When a formalized framework has been shared and discussed, we hope to hard code it into the Council’s remits via a similar approach to the one taken above.

We are optimistic that we can use the Contributor Vote to get a clear directional commitment for V2 of the Council and set a precedent to enable iterative ongoing adjustments to our decision making structure over time.

This will allow us to move decisively toward a resolution on a number of key questions and ensure our organization is best equipped for success in Season 1 and beyond.

6 Likes