Do-ocracy

To avoid we get into decision paralysis, our governance/decision-making is very [do-ocracy](https://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Do-ocracy#:~:text=A do-ocracy (also sometimes,than elected or selected officials.) oriented: people are encouraged to jump in and start working on the challenges/opportunities they see. No need to ask for permission to develop an idea/proposal.

Working Out Loud

To avoid duplication of work and avoid reinventing the wheel, we encourage Working Out Loud:

• Find the appropriate channel (or in #general if you don’t know where else to post)
• Share the challenge/opportunity you want to work on and ask other’s opinions and context they might have (start a page in our Notion to document and ensure everyone has access and can find it)
• Then start working on the issue and regularly share updates (weekly or so)

Making progress in fluid teams

Working Out Loud often leads to many people jumping into the topic and giving their opinion. There’s a sudden burst of interest that can die down as people get busy with other stuff. This can create a lot of confusion about who’s part of the team, who needs to be included or informed, how to move forward, etc. And as a result initiatives can take a lot of energy and time to progress.

To mitigate the issue above, we usually define 3 tiers of engagement within Units:

• supporters: no commitment
• contributors: showing up to meetings and doing some work async
• leads: stewarding the initiative

However, in new initiatives, these tiers are likely unclear, a formal Unit hasn’t been created and there are no mapped roles. So we recommend leading with proposals. Here’s an example of how that can look:

• individual shares an idea and asks for feedback