# Proposals

At Equal Care Co-op, most decisions are made by Circles: either the main Circle or one of its sub-Circles. Circles have the autonomy to decide within their own **domain** (area of responsibility), but they’re also expected to seek out and listen to input - especially when a decision could have a wider impact.

This section outlines how Circles gather input, how individuals can give feedback or appeal a decision, and how proposals are created and developed.

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## When a Circle receives a question or proposal:

1. **Check the domain**\
   First, the Circle checks: *Is this within our area of responsibility?* And if so, *Is it a major decision* — one with broad impact or complexity?
2. **Decide how to respond**\
   The Circle can:

   * Make the decision directly
   * Do research
   * Ask for opinions (formally or informally)
   * Send the question to another Circle
   * Appoint a **Helping Circle** to explore the issue and make a recommendation
   * Host a **Community Conversation** for input

   How much input the Circle gathers depends on the issue’s size, complexity, and potential for disagreement.

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## Giving input and being heard

* **Anyone can share input** with any Circle member, at any time
* **Anyone can ask to attend a Circle meeting** (even if they’re not a member) to be heard on a particular issue
* All **meeting minutes are public** and include a record of past decisions and upcoming topics

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## Appealing a Circle’s decision

If a community member strongly disagrees with a Circle’s decision, they can **appeal** — but it takes three unrelated people to do so.

Here’s how it works:

1. The three people bring their appeal back to the **original Circle** for review and response (in one session).
2. If no resolution is found, they seek support from **Care and Counsel**, along with the Circle’s delegates (within two sessions, unless extended by consent).
3. If that still doesn’t resolve things, the appeal moves to the **next broader Circle**.

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## Creating or revising a policy

When a Circle sees the need for a new policy (or to revise an old one), the process might follow all — or just some — of the steps below, depending on how complex or controversial the issue is.

**Step-by-step process (for complex proposals):**

1. **Form a picture**\
   The Circle discusses the issue and gathers initial reactions or ideas.
2. **Choose a lead**\
   One person is nominated to lead the policy-writing or revision process.
3. **Notify the community**\
   The lead shares that a revision is happening, includes a copy of the existing or draft policy, and invites feedback. A deadline for input is included.
4. **Gather input**\
   Input could come from:
   * One-to-one conversations
   * Surveys
   * Community Conversations
   * Research
5. **Draft the policy** (Version 1)\
   The lead writes a first draft and shares it with the Circle for feedback.
6. **Revise and share** (Version 2)\
   The draft is revised and shared more widely with the community.
7. **Circle review**\
   The Circle discusses, amends and prepares for approval.
8. **Final community input**\
   The near-final draft (Version 3) is published with a deadline for final input, and a date is shared for when the Circle will make its decision.
9. **Incorporate input**\
   The lead collects final feedback and writes a final draft (Version 4).
10. **Make the decision**\
    The Circle uses consent to approve the policy, including term length and how it will be measured.
11. **Announce and document**\
    The final policy is added to the Community Agreements document and recorded in Circle meeting minutes.

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This process ensures proposals are developed **collaboratively**, reflect the needs of the wider community, and are aligned with the Circle’s purpose and responsibilities.
{% endhint %}