As the first Voting Cycle of Season 2 comes to a close, the Foundation would like to address some confusion related to multiple aspects of committee operations. The below updates to the voting cycle will be reflected in an update to the Operating Manual and implemented at the start of Voting Cycle #7.
Voting Cycle with Committees
We’d like to clarify and adjust how committee operations fit into the three-week voting cycle.
- Week 1: Community and Delegate Feedback
- 2 explicit delegate approvals required to move on to Committee Review
- Proposers must add their approved proposals to the Voting Roundup thread by the last day of Week 1 at 7pm GMT in order to move to Week 2 and receive a committee recommendation
- Committee members should do their best to be active in this process to ensure continuity for proposers throughout the voting cycle and since some committee members will need to provide the required approvals
- Week 2: Committee Review
- All reviews posted to the Voting Roundup thread by the end of Week 1 will be reviewed by committees
- Committees will post their recommendations no later than the last day of Week 2 at 7pm GMT
- Week 3: Voting
- No change
The only change for proposers is that they will need to get delegate approval and add their proposals to the Voting Roundup earlier in the cycle.
Delegate Approvals
Difficulties in receiving delegate approvals during Voting Cycle #6 may have been related to the lack of clarity regarding committee review timing. The Foundation has adjusted this process for Voting Cycle #7 and will re-evaluate whether an adjustment to the approval requirements might be appropriate for Voting Cycle #8.
Committee Responsibilities
There seems to be some confusion as to the responsibilities of committees. The Foundation advises delegates to consider the initial scope recommended for committees in Introducing Committees. While committees may choose to take on additional responsibilities, committee compensation was set taking only these specified responsibilities into account.
- Committees were envisioned to primarily perform information filtering and synthesis so that delegates aren’t overloaded with information and to enable delegates that don’t specialize in a particular topic to defer to the recommendation of relevant committees.
- Committees are expected to vet, research, and discuss proposals, then make highly visible recommendations to non-committee delegates at the time of voting.