The Governance Experiment Setup
Getting started with the preliminary setup
RECRUITMENT
- Need to recruit an individual to run the experiment and be in charge of collating the data, putting together and overseeing the meetings
What We Did
- Recruited a live-in political scientist to run the experiment for the entire duration and be be in charge of collating the data, putting together and overseeing the meetings.
DESIGNING FOR DATA COLLECTION
- Need to set up one or many systems to help track and collect different data, that would be required during the experiment.
What We Did
- Reporter App, for random on the go notification based monitoring and tracking
- RescueTime, chrome extension to monitor productivity at work
- Surveys, for monthly feedback sessions (link to surveys)
SETTING UP THE BASELINE
- Need to set up a comparable baseline for the experiment by collecting initial data on the current structure and set up.
What We Did
- We decided to establish our baseline data by sticking to the current governance structure, which was do-ocracy. We decided to revamp our slumping do-ocracy and live under that for one month whilst we collected our baseline data
DECIDING THE DIFFERENT GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE
- Need to decide on the different governance structures for which you would want to collect data and help understand how they should work to optimize three factors:
1. Personal happiness of citizens
2. Productivity of citizens
3. Community strengthening
What We Did
- We decided on the below 4 governance structures for our experiment:
1. Embassy style Do-ocracy
2. Wiki-ocracy
3. The corporate structure
4. Social reinforcement
Setting up different Governance Structures
A) Embassy style Do-ocracy
Ideology
Individuals taking action with transparency while allowing for effective communication and feedback. The threshold of taking action is reversibility. Only take unilateral action if you are happy or comfortable with others reversing your decision.
Methodology
Communication:
- Outline the issue, your proposed solution and the timeframe, costs and consequences of taking this action, and share this with the group.
Collaboration:
- Invite feedback from the group, and participation from those that might want to be involved.
- Make the time frame clear for those that want to be involved.
- Ensure that you actually meet or chat with people, accept their help, listen to their opinions.
Action:
- Leave no negative externalities: finish what you start.
- Leaving things unfinished increases the chance of negative feedback, do-ocratic reversal, and people's’ willingness to entertain future proposals.
B) Wiki-ocracy
Ideology
Individuals are all invited to collaborate in the creation of proposed policies.
Methodology
Communication:
- Outline the issue, your proposed solution and the timeframe, costs and consequences of taking this action, and share this with the group.
- This governance structure uses a web based form of communication such as a wiki to communicate with the group.
Collaboration:
- All are invited to read the proposal, consider it, debate the pros and cons, suggest alternatives.
- Ongoing discussion is continued over a predetermined time frame.
- At the end of the allocated discussion time, a number of jury members are randomly selected from within the pool of residents/citizens.
Action:
- Jury members familiarize themselves with the group debate and come together to make a final decision
- The selected jury members for each decision remain anonymous
- Ensure that the proposed action is enacted
C) The corporate structure
Ideology
Individuals acting as employees under a self elected CEO, and a board.
Methodology
Communication:
- Select a Chief Executive Officer for the this particular governance structure.
- The job of the CEO was to immediately appoint executives whose job it was to maximize happiness, productivity, and community within their domains.
- Appointing the executives.
- 'Executive of House Operations',
- 'Executive of Guest Operations',
- 'Executive of Events' and
- ‘Chief Financial Officer’
- The CEO also had to appoint a board which comprised two members, whose role was to ensure that the CEO was operating in the best interests of the company.
Collaboration:
- The executives have full control over their employees.
- Requests for jobs/duties/roles are shared with the group and employees can sign up for what they wish.
- Any roles that are left over will be assigned
- All employees, including executives, can be fired should they perform poorly. For us this meant losing a certain amount of money at the end of the month
Action:
- The manner in which decisions were made and actions carried out was entirely decided on by the Executives.
D) Social reinforcement
Ideology
A Holacracy prioritizing empathy and community building with the emphasis on inspired rather than equal contribution.
Methodology
Communication:
- In order to reinforce contribution to the running of the house, residents/citizens must inform the house of any jobs that they've done, and how long that job took.
Collaboration:
- Teams are organized for house duties and individuals are asked to sign up for at least one team. The teams were:-
- Culinary Delights - food and drinks
- Residents’ Experience - optimizing the happiness and productivity of residents
- Guests’ Experience - optimizing the happiness and productivity of guests
- Event Coordination & Promotion
- Internal and External Community Fostering
- Team Reaper - keeping the house clear and tidy
Action:
- Teams meet and act together to get their jobs done.
THE YES AND NOS
Each governance structure has dominion over the following issues: -
- Food purchasing
- Use of the allotted monthly budget
- Alcohol
- Utilities (cleaner, gardener, odd home fixing jobs)
- Use of language in the house
- Allocation of all shared space in the house
- Delegation of small chores
- Total control of house events, and the nature of those events (e.g. their theme)
- Some minimum amount of time from each citizen can be directed by the system
- Policies on guests and visitors
Things that are outside the scope of the governance structures: -
- Delegation of large chores
- Expelling and accepting guests
- Significantly altering resident's lives outside of the house
- Private space allocation (i.e. bedrooms)
- Acceptance or removal of long term residents.