Long term decisions

These are the decisions which affect how the co-operative does its work over at least a six month timescale. This also covers any decisions mentioned in the Rules of incorporation.

The Purpose Circle and what it exists to do

Some decisions have long-lasting effects: they shape how the co-op works over the months and years ahead. These include agreeing on the annual budget, deciding our long-term priorities, and anything else laid out in our official rules.

To make these big-picture decisions, we havethe Purpose Circle, which reports to our Members.

Members

Who's involved?

Every member of Equal Care can take part: supported members, worker members, advocate members and investor members. Everyone who has signed up to be a member of the co-op has an equal say.

When do we meet?

At least four times a year. One of these is our Annual General Meeting (AGM), and we hold at least three other Members Meetings across the year.

What kind of things do we decide?

• Our overall direction and strategy

• Who joins the board (also known as the Purpose Circle)

• How any surplus (profit) is shared or reinvested

• Whether to remove a member (this is very rare)

• The annual budget for the co-op

How do we make decisions?

We use a consent process first, which means we check whether anyone has a strong, reasoned objection. If there are no objections, the decision goes ahead.

In some cases, a formal voting process will follow, especially when required by our Rules.

Any jargon I need to know?

In our legal documents (called our Rules of Incorporation), Members' Meetings are referred to as Meetings of the Members.

Purpose Circle

The Purpose Circle is the group that helps keep Equal Care on track. Members make sure we’re staying true to our mission and looking after the big decisions that affect the co-op in the short to medium term.

You might know this group by another name — in our legal documents, it’s called the Board of Directors.

Who's involved?

• The Board of Directors

• Any members they co-opt (invite in for specific knowledge or experience)

• The Leader and Delegate of the Co-Circle (which helps link up the Purpose Circle with the rest of the co-op)

When do they meet?

The Purpose Circle meets regularly — at a minimum, once every three months. Sometimes they meet more often, even every two weeks, depending on what’s going on.

What do they decide?

• Budgets and funding applications

• The co-op’s development and direction (usually over the next 6–12 months)

• Contracts that commit the co-op to something

• Hiring and letting go of employees

• Bringing in new members

• Keeping an eye on how the co-op is doing — and suggesting changes if we’re drifting from our mission

How do they make decisions?

Like other Circles, the Purpose Circle uses sociocratic methods, including consent-based decision-making, as much as possible.

But when a decision falls into something that only the Directors are allowed to decide (according to our Rules), they switch to formal voting. That’s because there are legal requirements around certain kinds of decisions like employment or contractual matters which need to be handled in a specific way.

Any jargon I need to know?

• Purpose Circle = the same as the Board of Directors in our official Rules (see sections 73–110)

• Facilitator = the same as the Chairperson

• Logbook Keeper = the same as the Co-operative Secretary