Structure for the Archimedes Movement - Grassroots

Building the Archimedes Movement:
A Structure for Growth and Action

(You can download a PDF version of this page here.)

Prepared by the Interim Steering Committee:
Kevin Finney, Joe Zaerr, Chris Greiveldinger, Jo O'Blennis, Tony Midson, Marvin Hines, Jason Gingerich

Contents
I. Preamble and Executive Summary
II. Scope, Participation and Membership
III. Chapters
IV. Community Leadership Council
V. Policy Formation, Open Meetings, and Transparency.
VI. Adoption and Amendment

I. Preamble and Executive Summary:
The overall goal from the outset in the creation of this document has been to retain the broad participatory aspects of the Archimedes Movement, while creating a clear, accountable, transparent, and representative locus of decision-making. This document is intended to get the Archimedes Movement from its current state as a loosely organized collection of chapters and members to a better defined organization that will be able to accomplish its goals for the upcoming years. The primary focus of this document is the Community Leadership Council, its composition and its responsibilities.

Membership is a prerequisite for voting for or serving on the Community Leadership Council, so this document also presents membership requirements. Decisions concerning these membership requirements were motivated by two goals: 1) allowing for inclusive membership, and 2) protecting the integrity of the Movement.

This particular document was first drafted by members of an ad-hoc interim steering committee, and then made available broadly to Archimedes Movement Chapters and grassroots leaders for discussion, comment, and suggestions for revision. The Interim Steering Committee then revised the original document in light of the very helpful criticisms that were offered during this broader discussion process.

The revised structure described below is intended to accomplish a number of goals.

• The first is to recognize formally the important role of chapters in the Archimedes movement. We have tried to create just enough structure for Chapters that chapters feel empowered to take action on their own initiative, but not so much structure that chapters feel constrained in their efforts to form, to participate, or to act.
• A second goal is to create a clearer process for the creation of organization wide policies and actions, and to ensure that this process included formal voting representation of both the chapters (and chapter leaders), and the entire membership including those who might not be affiliated with chapters.
• There was much discussion of what should constitute the definition of membership in the Archimedes Movement, and who would be entitled to vote in chapter elections and in organization-wide elections. In the end the Interim Steering Committee revised this document to distinguish between Members and Supporters of the Archimedes movement, and to propose that most regular (voting) members be required to make a dues payment of $35 once each year, with an exception for those who cannot afford to do so.
• At the heart of the organization-wide structure is the Community Leadership Council, which is to be elected as follows: one-third by the chapters, one-third by the membership as a whole, and one-third appointed by the Executive Director with the advice and consent of the chair of the Archimedes Council (which is described in a separate document). The chair of the Archimedes Council is presumed to be John Kitzhaber for some time to come.

The structure that is proposed differs in important ways from the structure of most non-profit advocacy organizations today. The primary difference is that the proposed structure seeks to empower the Archimedes Movement membership to be the primary source of authority within the organization. In this sense what is proposed is a democratic structure. At the same time, this proposal also seeks to take into account Dr. John Kitzhaber's unique and important role in the Archimedes Movement.

This document is not a set of bylaws, nor does it seek to answer all the organizational questions that need to be answered prior to a new founding convention of the Archimedes Movement membership. It simply seeks to address the most basic and important structural issues before us at this time. Many important details are purposely left for the Community Leadership Council or committees of the Council to decide once they are in place.
Suggested revisions to this document should be sent to the Community Leadership Council upon its first meeting by emailing CLC@WeCanDoBetter.org

II. Scope, Participation and Membership

1. Geographic Scope: The Archimedes Movement seeks to change the way the health care debate is described today, building demand for the health care crisis to be addressed at the federal level, and to the extent possible at the state level. While the organization's initial base is in Oregon, we will work to expand our membership and influence in Washington, Montana, other western states, and then the nation as a whole.

2. Participation: To create opportunities for all to be engaged in the dialog, we seek two levels of participation: Supporters and Members.

a) Supporters: Supporters will have access to all public information (online and hard copy) and can take part in community forums, online dialogue and polling. Simple criteria and an easy procedure for enrollment will ensure the largest possible supporter base.

b) Members: Members have all the privileges of supporters. In addition, members can participate in elections and may hold positions in the movement's task forces and committees. Elections will be held to select representation for the Community Leadership Council and chapter officers as well as to decide on public policy issues referred to the membership by the Community Leadership Council.

3. Membership: To become a member, a person must submit a completed membership form (online or through the mail), and must pay membership dues, or request a waiver of dues due to financial hardship. Archimedes staff will track memberships and oversee collection of dues and reminders regarding membership renewal.

4. Membership Dues: Membership dues will be assessed annually, or can be paid monthly by automatic credit card or bank withdrawals. Initial annual membership dues will be $35 per year, with a waiver option for those unable to pay. Member dues will be used for operating and program expenses, as determined by the Community Leadership Council. The first dues will be collected in May 2008.

5. Membership Privileges: Members of the Archimedes Movement have the privilege of influencing the direction of the movement by voting and by holding leadership roles.

a. Voting: Each member gets one vote. Formal elections will be held to determine leadership positions in the movement, such as the Community Leadership Council, the Chapter Leadership Committee, and officer positions in Archimedes chapters (e.g. chair or co-chairs, vice-chair, and any other chapter officers). In addition, members will have the right to vote on formal approvals of public policy positions for the Archimedes Movement.
b. Serving: Only members are eligible to serve as chapter officers or serve on the Community Leadership Council (CLC). The CLC can decide whether to appoint members only, or members and supporters to work committees or task forces established by the CLC.
c. Participating in annual meetings: Members will be invited to annual Archimedes Membership meetings. In these meetings, the chair of the Archimedes Council (Dr. John Kitzhaber) will provide an overview and an update on the movement's progress. In addition, the annual meeting will feature training sessions and discussions of pertinent issues. Finally, at the annual meeting elections will be held for positions on the Community Leadership Council and its committees (though there will be a way for absentee members to participate in the elections). Supporters can attend the annual membership meeting as observers only.
d. Policy positions Members (alone or as a part of a chapter) can recommend policy positions to the Community Leadership Council. The CLC can adopt such policies by majority vote, as described below.

III. Chapters

Because the Archimedes Movement seeks to empower a grassroots movement for fundamental health care reform it seeks to encourage the growth and the initiative of its chapters. Chapter members form the core group committed to local outreach efforts in the community. This section describes chapter types, the formation of chapters, the powers of chapters, the role of chapter leaders, and the Chapter Chairs Committee.

1. Purpose: Archimedes Movement members can organize themselves into chapters for purposes of discussion, education, outreach, advocacy, and participation in AM elections.

2. Chapter Types: Chapters may be geographically-based (e.g. the Eastside Portland chapter, or the Corvallis Chapter), or can be grouped around common interests or occupational categories. These may cross or overlap with geographically-based chapter boundaries (e.g., Willamette Valley Nurses, Oregon Clergy for Health Reform, etc.).

3. Recognition: In order to become a recognized chapter of the Archimedes Movement, all prospective chapters must have at least three members who are united by geographical location, common interest, or occupational category. At least one of these people must be a Chapter Chair or an official contact person to the Archimedes Movement staff. The staff of the Archimedes Movement will develop a one-page application form which is to be completed by any prospective chapter seeking formal recognition. This form is to be completed and returned to the Executive Director.

4. Recognition process: Upon receiving a completed application for chapter recognition, the Executive Director will forward the application to the next meeting of the Community Leadership Council, along with the Director's recommendation for or against recognition of the prospective chapter. If the director has recommended recognition for the prospective chapter, such recognition will be granted upon a majority vote of the Community Leadership Council.

5. Powers of a chapter: Chapters, once granted recognition by the Community Leadership Council and Executive Director may raise funds, schedule events, educate and inform members and the broader communities, adopt policy proposals and offer input on proposed policies, activities, and strategies, and in other ways carry forward the work and message of the Archimedes Movement.

6. Meeting announcement: All chapter meetings will be announced ahead of time by email and on the Archimedes web site and will be open to the members, supporters, and, at the discretion of the chapter, to the public at large.

7. Policy Positions: Chapters can adopt positions on public policy or Archimedes Movement policy matters; and these policies can be forwarded to the Community Leadership Council for organization-wide adoption.

8. Chapter officers: Each chapter should seek to have a Chair and Vice-Chair for the chapter, or alternatively two Co-Chairs. Chairs and Vice-Chairs or Co-Chairs are to be elected by the membership of the chapter and will represent the chapter on the Chapter Chairs Committee, which, among other things, will elect and appoint representatives of the chapters to the CLC (see #10 below). Chapter may choose to have whatever other officers or committees they deem helpful in the conduct of their meetings or their work.

9. Responsibilities of Chapter Officers and other Chapter Members: Chapters should carry out their activities in a way that fosters the interests of the Archimedes Movement as a whole. This means primarily four things:

a) Chapter officers should be familiar with Archimedes Movement goals, policies and structure, and should seek to carry out chapter activities in a way consistent with these goals, policies and structure.
b) When Chapter officers or other members of the chapter speak publicly as representatives of the Archimedes Movement they should take some care to make sure the statements they make are consistent with the policies and viewpoints adopted by the Archimedes Movement as an organization.
c) Significant Chapter fundraising activities should be communicated in advance to the Executive Director of the Archimedes Movement, in order to make sure that chapter fundraising activity is not overlapping or conflicting with organization-wide fundraising, or the fundraising activities of another chapter.
d) Chapter officers will have certain minimal administrative functions to help keep the Executive Director and the CLC informed and aware of Chapter membership, activities, and policies.

10. Chapter Chairs Committee: The Chapter Chairs Committee is comprised of all Chairs (or Co-Chairs of each recognized chapter) and the Vice-Chair (or other co-chair) for each recognized chapter. The Chapter Chairs Committee will meet at least once each year to elect Chapter representatives to the Community Leadership Council. It may also meet for such other purposes as it deems fit, such as sharing information about chapter activities, offering input or resolutions to the Community Leadership Council, etc. It may also set a regular meeting schedule that is more frequent than once each year. The Chapter Chairs Committee may meet in conjunction with the Annual Membership meeting in person, or at other times either in-person or by conference call, if that is easier given the geographic distance between chapters.

IV. Community Leadership Council

1. Purpose of the Community Leadership Council: The Community Leadership Council will provide input and participate in decision-making on all organization-wide policies and actions including budgets, grant proposals, and the hiring of staff.

2. The Community Leadership Council shall initially consist of 18 members. For the purposes of 2008, an Interim Steering Committee has been appointed by the Executive Director, and it is proposed they will serve until the inaugural Archimedes Member Meeting in 2008. The Executive Director, Technical Director, Outreach Coordinator and Membership Coordinator will be nonvoting members of the council.

3. Term of office: A term of service on the Community Leadership Council will be two years. Initially, half will be elected for a two-year term and the other half will be elected for an initial one-year term.

4. Members of the Community Leadership Council will be selected as follows:

• One-third of the Community Leadership Council members will be elected by the Chapter Leadership Committee.
• One-third of members of the Community Leadership Council will be elected by the membership-at-large through an online election. (Rules will need to be developed to establish a nomination process and to structure allowable campaign activities).
• One-third of members will be appointed to the Community Leadership Council by the Executive Director and the Founding Chair of the Archimedes Council.

5. Decision Making: For a recommendation to be official, recommendations must be approved by a majority vote of those present at a meeting which constitutes a quorum of the Community Leadership Council or Administrative Committee acting in-lieu of the full CLC. All approved policies and actions are then referred to the Executive Director. If the Executive Director does not concur, the ED must notify the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Community Leadership Council or Administrative Committee that the decision is being vetoed or put on hold for further discussion.

6. Chapter Recognition: The Community Leadership Council will have the sole authority to refer important policy issues to the membership to vote, and will in coordination with the Executive Director, have the sole authority to recognize or certify chapters (see above).

7. Officers: The Community Leadership Council will, on an annual basis, select a Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary and Treasurer. It will also establish such work area committees or task forces as it deems necessary and beneficial.

8. Meetings: The Community Leadership Council will meet at least once every two months. It may meet more often if it wishes. All meetings will be announced on the Archimedes Movement web site and open to the public, unless an executive session is needed.

9. Administrative Committee: The Community Leadership Council will establish a smaller Administrative Committee to handle matters of pressing concern during the period between full Community Leadership Council meetings. The Administrative Committee will include the four Community Leadership Council officers and such other individuals as the Community Leadership Council designates. At the discretion of the Community Leadership Council this can include chairs of committees and task forces. All Administrative Committee meetings will be announced in advance and open to the AM membership.

10. Quorums: A quorum of the Community Leadership Council requires three-fifths of its members to be present or voting. A quorum of the Administrative Committee will also be three-fifths of its voting members. Decisions of the Administrative Committee will be reported in minutes before the next meeting of the Community Leadership Council.

11. Minutes: Minutes of all Community Leadership Council and Administrative Committee meetings will be recorded and made available to all members via the web site.

12. Committees and Task Forces. The Community Leadership Council can create such committees and task forces as it deems necessary and may appoint the members of these committees. Initially we suggest the following four proposed committees:

i) Fundraising and Finance: Fundraising strategies and leadership, review annual budget and proposed salaries, approve annual membership dues levels/categories. (It is quite common for development (funding) and finance (money management) committees to be separate entities. We could suggest this committee decide when to split into two, or leave that to the Community Leadership Council.)
ii) Policy Development, Research and Education: Short- and long-term goals, strategies and action steps; explore/recommend policy/political positions; organization building (i.e., drafting bylaws). Investigate arguments for/against issues and policies developed here and elsewhere, including financial models, public opinion, historical and fiscal data, other stakeholder positions; methods of health care delivery; investigate and validate assumptions; philosophies of maintaining health and delivering care. Develop and implement programs to educate membership and general public about AM policies and positions.
iii) Communication and technology: Recommendations about strategies and content for website, newsletter, postal mail, press releases, forums, surveys, legislature, chapters. Develops scripts for education of the public and special interest groups. Develops presentations in various media. Recommendations to maximize use of website and Internet functionality, phones, conference calling, video production and distribution.
iv) Membership and outreach: strategies for membership growth, and recommendations regarding membership services and participation. Speaker's trainings, community rallies, door-to-door canvassing, organizational allies and partnerships.

V. Policy Formation, Open Meetings, and Transparency

1. Policy Formation: Generally, the CLC and other decision-making bodies should seek to make important policy decisions through the adoption of written policies that are recorded verbatim in meeting minutes, or maintained in a separate document and referred to in meeting minutes. An archive of all important organizational policies should be maintained on the website. Organizational-wide policies may be recommended to the CLC by the majority vote of any AM Chapter, or by the Executive Director. In these cases the CLC must consider and take some sort of formal action on the recommendation. Individual members and supporters may also propose policies to the CLC, which the CLC may act on at their discretion.
2. Open Meetings: All meetings of the CLC, and to the extent possible all meetings of the Executive Committee should be open to all members and supporters of the Archimedes Movement, and shall be announced in advance on the website, and/or through email. The CLC or Administrative Committee may adjourn into closed session for purpose of discussing personnel matters or other issues that require confidentiality.
3. Transparency: The Archimedes Movement shall strive for a transparent decision-making process, shall keep minutes of all meetings of the CLC and the Executive Committee, and shall make these minutes available to members and supporters online.

VI. Adoption and Amendment

1. Adoption: Formal adoption of the proposed structure as laid out in this document should occur at the outset of the 2008 Archimedes Movement membership meeting, by a majority affirmation of all in attendance.
2. Amendments: After formal adoption of this document, changes may be made by a 3/5 vote of the CLC, and with the consent of the Executive Director, or by a majority vote of the AM membership.