# Working Group Formation Guidelines

In the context of [participatory governance](/zeoSU-59Rpm6USRPwx38Lw) practices, working groups are often emergent collaborations that form to focus on a specific goal that contributes to the goals of a broader project

Some working groups form when a collective of people who have taken responsiblity for a project delegates a specific scope of decision-making to a sub-set of participants; these working groups often disband when the decisions have been made.

Other working groups form to implement long-term processes that contribute to the broader collective project, with a sub-set of participants delegated to make operational decisions within a pre-agreed scope. The set of participants who opt-into these working groups often change over time.

Participants in a collective project typically opt-in to contribute to working groups; it is not an assignment. Existing working groups often need additional contributors. Additionally, participant are often encouraged to propose the formation of new working groups, with proposals articulating the working groups aims, a defined decision-making scope, and a request for the specific resources (from those stewarded by the broader collective).

## Why form working groups?
Working groups can help distribute workload within a project by:
* Clarifying roles - if you want to talk to someone about an area of work you aren't usually involved in, you know who to approach. Individuals also gain more clarity about what their portfolio of work at Loomio includes, and helps them focus their efforts.
* Support self-directed workflows - each group is able determine their internal processes for deciding what to work on, when. This helps continually move work forward.
* Delegating decision-making within-scope: responsibility for certain areas of work can being held by small groups of people, who are empowered to move forward without checking in with everyone else about the details.
* Facilitating decision-making beyond-scope: when a working group needs to make a decision that goes beyond their scope for empowered delegation and affects MCI more broadly, they can do any relevant background research and facilitate a wider discussions to inform a proposal that can present to the committee for a decision (and allocation of relevant resources if needed).

## Suggested operating procedure for working groups:
* **Naming**: use a name for the working group that describes the key function or goal of the group, e.g. "Special Events Working Group"
* **Scope**: define tangible goals and timelines for the working group. e.g. "Organise a special event in the MCI space every 2 months"
* **Participants**: identify those involved in the working group, and a way for people to join, if appropriate. Articulate within broader groups with delegated leadership, **leadership representatives** within the working-group may take responsibility for reporting on decisions, milestones, and sticking-points at leadership meetings. This representative will also be responsible for presenting proposals for any resources required from the broader group.
* **Rhythm**: decide on a the timeline required to meet the working-group goals, the frequency of meetings, and task-turnaround rhythms for the working group
* **Internal Communication**: use a dedicated communication tool for internal working group communications (e.g. a Slack channel)
* Use relevant naming convention and descriptive title, e.g. #wg_special-events.
* Include a channel description on info on the goals and rhythems of the working-group, along with current members and if/when/how additional people can join and a link to the groups Trello board (if any).
* Consider using Slack polls and other functions to involve people in decisions, set meetings, etc.,
* **Communication to/from broader collective project**: post key milestones/decisions to the broader group (e.g., as working_group_updates on Loomio). Participants from the broader community not currently contributing to that working group can then ask any questions, comments, or feedback, which the working group can take on board.
* **Task-monitoring**: decide on a process for proposing tasks, deciding who is responsible for those tasks, and tracking task progress (e.g., in Taiga).
* **Documentation**: decide on how/where to save any collaborative documents used by the working group (where possible, working groups are encouarged to align their documentation practices with those of the broader project they are contributing to)

## Examples/ Further Resources
- Loomio's [Working Group](https://www.loomio.coop/working_together/working_groups) guidelines
- Brassica Collective's [Process and Strategy Crew](https://radhousing.org/brassica/handbook/agreements/pas_crew/) and [Solidarity Crew](https://radhousing.org/brassica/handbook/agreements/solidarity_crew/)

###### tags: `collaborative-practices` `discussion-prompt`

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