Article IV: Governance Process

4.1 Scope of Governance

The Governance Process is intended to be utilized in situations in which the Vision of the Sphere cannot be advanced solely through the Voting Process, Advice Process or through modification of the PLs. A Governance Meeting may be called in the following situations, including, but not limited to:

(a) When a new PL is to be defined;

(b) When a new Participating Member joins the Sphere as a Participating Member and needs to define their PL and sign the Constitution as well as the Operating Agreement;

(d) When a PL needs to be divided; (e) When a PL is Fired and the constituent elements need redistribution;

(f) When Temporary Lenses need to be designated or redistributed;

(g) When Sphere Policies or Guidelines are created or materially updated;

(h) When an Expansion Threshold exists that cannot be addressed through the Advice Process, Support Structure or Sweat Lodge;

(i) When a Sub-Sphere is dissolved;

(j) When a Vote has been requested by a Participating Member whose lens has been Fired to determine whether they can create a new Sub-Sphere in accordance with Section 2.6.2(d)(ii);

(k) When Amendments, Repeals, and Interpretations to the Constitution are proposed; or (l) When Amendments or Repeals to the Operating Agreement are proposed.

The elements listed in this Section are the valid Governance for a Sphere. The Governance Meeting Scribe will also capture Amendments, Repeals, and Interpretations which must be in writing and published in the Record where all Sphere Participants can access them. These combined define the Sphere’s acting “Governance.”

4.2 Governance Meetings

The Governance Meeting Guide is responsible for scheduling a yearly Governance Meeting to enact the Sphere’s Governance Process. Additional Governance Meetings may be scheduled as needed by any Participating Member, or by a Participating Member acting as a Prism Holder on behalf of a Contact.

The Governance Meeting Guide is responsible for presiding over all Governance Meetings in alignment with the elements set forth in Section 4.1 above. The Governance Meeting Scribe is responsible for taking notes and then updating the Sphere’s Governance as outlined in Section 4.1 above.

4.2.1 Attendance

All Sphere Participants must be given at least 24 hours advance notice that a Governance Meeting will be held, including its time and location. 22 All Sphere Participants are entitled, but not obligated, to fully participate in all Governance Meetings of a Sphere. However, it is incumbent upon any Participating Member who does not attend the Governance Meeting to review the Sphere’s updated Governance and to Vote, where necessary, within 24 hours of the meeting.

In addition, any Sphere Participant may invite up to one additional person, solely to aid the Sphere Participant in engaging a specific Expansion Threshold they see, as long as the Sphere Participant stays engaged in the process. A guest may also otherwise be agreed to be invited by majority Vote of Participating Members. The invited individual then becomes a Sphere Participant for the duration of that Governance Meeting.

4.2.2 Meeting Process

The Governance Meeting Guide may open the meeting with a presence practice aligned with emergent cultural norms. They will then invite each Sphere Participant in turn (starting with the Sphere Participant who called the meeting) to:

(a) Share any relevant notification, proposal or matter within the scope of the Governance Process;

(b) Receive feedback in an organic dialogue; and

(c) To Vote, if necessary, through the Voting Process which can be initiated by any Participating Member. The Guide may then close the meeting with a presence practice aligned with emergent cultural norms.

4.3 Amending, Repealing or Interpreting the Constitution & Governance

The Ratifiers or their successors may amend this Constitution, repeal parts or repeal it entirely, or interpret it in a Governance Meeting. Amendments, Repeals, and Interpretations must be in writing and published in the Record where all Sphere Participants can access them. Sphere Participants may use their reasonable judgment to interpret this Constitution and any Governance within the Sphere, including how these apply within a specific situation, and then act based on their interpretation.

4.3.1 Voting on Amendments, Repeals and Interpretations

If an Amendment or Repeal has been proposed or an Interpretation conflicts with an interpretation of any Participating Member, a Vote may be called in accordance with the Voting Process (as outlined in Section 2.4 above). The decision applies and all Sphere Participants are responsible for aligning with it until any underlying Governance changes. After voting on an Amendment, Repeal, or Interpretation, the Governance Meeting Scribe will update the Record with the results of the Vote and the logic behind it as the acting standard.

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