New Economy Network Charter Agreement
New Economy Network Charter Agreement
2/9/2010
Adopted by the Executive Committee
Table of Contents
New Economy Network Mission and Purpose
- Who We Are
- Why We Have Come Together
- Our Vision
- What We Seek
Part I: NEN PARTICIPANTS AND GOVERNANCE
I. PARTICIPANTS
A. PUBLIC WEBSITE
B. MEMBERSHIP
- Membership Rights and Responsibilities
- Mapping and Membership Committee
C. MEMBER WORKING GROUPS
- Working Group Rights and Responsibilities
- Current Working Groups
- Working Group Committee
II. GOVERNANCE
A. STEWARDS
- Steward Rights and Responsibilities
- Initial Stewards
B. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
- Executive Committee Rights and Responsibilities
- Current Executive Sub-Committees
- Future Executive Sub-Committees
III. FUTURE NETWORK STRUCTURES
IV. ORGANIZATIIONAL PRINCIPLES
Part II: NEN POLICIES AND PRACTICES
- Activities
- Scope of Engagement
- Electoral Campaigns
- Advocacy
- Technological Platforms
Part III: NEN LEGAL FORM
- Fiscal Agent
- Staffing
Appendix A: NEN Executive Committees and Working Groups
Appendix B: Draft Organizational Principles
Appendix C: Attendess at Roundtable Meeting
New Economy Network Mission and Purpose
Who We Are
The mission of the New Economy Network (NEN) is to support a transition to a new economy where the priority is to sustain people and the planet, social justice and cohesion are prized, and peace, communities, democracy and nature all flourish.
NEN is a network of individuals and organizations interacting and collaborating within a broad framework of shared objectives. It is an ecumenical endeavor open to many perspectives and ideas. We are oriented toward finding solutions, not placing blame. What brings us together as a group, and what defines our activities as a group, is our shared commitment to collaborative action, systemic change, diversity of perspective, and mutual learning.
Why We Have Come Together
- The current global economy is doing a poor job of supporting people, communities, and the natural environment and providing a high quality of life and a safe future for all.
- Incremental, problem-solving reforms, while essential, must be complemented by parallel efforts to address systemic inadequacies and build a new economy for the long-term.
- Many individuals and organizations are currently working on aspects of a new economy which sustains people and the planet, e.g. the objectives and values to which such an economy should be dedicated, the principles on which it should operate, the metrics by which it should be measured, and the steps needed to move in these directions. But current efforts remain small, fragmented and outside the mainstream of public discourse.
- A creative fusion of people and institutions, ideas and action offers tremendous potential to shape a new, vastly improved economic system and associated public policy.
Our Vision
Our vision is a successful global economy that will,
- Work for all people and communities and meet our basic human needs, including food, shelter, good health, education, meaningful work, and energy;
- Preserve and restore the natural environment for current and future generations;
- Provide opportunities for all people to find satisfying work, develop their human potential and participate fairly in the value they help create;
- Have markets and financial institutions that are fair, transparent, well regulated, and accountable for all participants; and
- Release the creativity of the more than six billion people who share the planet toward new solutions, products, and services.
What We Seek
- Comprehensive reforms that address the current failures of the global economy to provide full employment, healthy communities, stable markets and to protect the planet.
- Systemic solutions that address root causes, not ad hoc, piecemeal, or narrowly nationalistic approaches that are focused on symptoms.
- Collective input and effort of leaders from many disciplines and communities, not just top-down adjustments to current markets by regulators and economic experts.
- Assessment and application of alternative models and approaches, which have been developed in the periphery of public awareness, that together point the way to a more just and sustainable economy.
Part I: NEN PARTCIPANTS AND GOVERNANCE
I. PARTICIPANTS
NEN is a broad welcoming space. There are multiple ways of participating in the Network to accommodate different interests. NEN is open to membership by all organizations and individuals who support and promote its mission and purpose.
A. Public Web site
Any person may come to NEN’s public website where they can:
- Request to be added to the NEN distribution/contact list.
- View NEN Membership and Steward directories.
- View an edited news feed (from NEN members) about exciting and compelling work on building a sustaining economy.
- Get a listing of events, resources, campaigns and opportunities to learn more about and support NEN’s mission.
- Search a data base of NEN members.
- View information about NEN’s publicly listed Working Groups, and request to join any that are open to applications from the public.
- Link to NEN members’ web-sites (if available).
- Contact Network staff.
B. Membership
Members must meet the following three criteria:
- Subscribe to NEN’s mission and purpose, as defined in this Charter.
- Subscribe to NEN’s principles, as defined in this Charter.
- Agree to follow community rules, as defined in this Charter.
There are three ways to become a member of NEN, which are described in detail below:
- Individuals may apply to the membership committee to become members
- Individuals may be sponsored into NEN by three NEN stewards.
- Institutions may be invited to join NEN.
Membership Rights and Responsibilities:
- Members have the right to create Working Groups.
- Members agree contribute to NEN’s data base by completing the NEN survey.
- Members agree to be listed on NEN’s public web site. They must share their name and may elect to share more information in NEN’s searchable database.
- Members may submit news for inclusion on the public web site.
- Members have access to NEN’s secure intranet communications platform with multiple functionalities, including; the complete NEN data base, a members’ bulletin board, a complete listing of all Working Groups, full access to open working group work platforms, NEN’s charter, and a list of all governance committees and sub-committees chairs and members, quarterly updates from NEN’s Executive Committee, and reports from the and Working Group Committee. They do not have access to closed NEN Working Groups’ work platforms.
- Institutional members agree to designate an individual to represent them as NEN members.
Mapping and Membership Committee
NEN’s Mapping and Membership Committee will map the field, recommend new institutional members, approve new members, and review membership complaints. They will create application and sponsorship forms and a simple approval process to create a fast and accessible way for individuals to join NEN.
- The Mapping and Membership Committee will review and act on membership applications and sponsorship forms. They will refer any applications about which they are unsure to the EC.
- The Membership Committee will prepare a quarterly outreach report for the EC with a slate of recommended new institutional members.
- The Membership Committee will review grievances or complaints against NEN members who fail to meet the basic criteria. If necessary, they may ask the Executive Committee to revoke a membership.
C. Working Groups
Working Groups are groups of active members and others using NEN to do ongoing work together. “Working Group” is a term of art referring here to any grouping of individuals and organizations that come together to further the work on NEN and meet the baseline criteria set out below. For example, a Working Group could be formed by the heads of all institutional members of NEN for the purpose of facilitating ongoing communication, or a Working Group could be a closed group of scholars and analysts jointly engaged in a discreet policy research project. Working Groups can be freely established by NEN members (non-members may participate in but not create or chair NEN Working Groups).
Working Groups must meet the following baseline criteria:
- A minimum of 3 individuals or organizations with experience relevant to the topic.
- A clearly articulated purpose that is consistent with NEN’s mission and purpose, as defined in this Charter.
- A clearly articulated membership and decision making process that is consistent with NEN’s principles as defined in this Charter.
- A commitment of time and energy to their cooperative activity.
Working Groups Rights and Responsibilities
- Working Groups have the right to define their own goals, membership and processes. They may be open to new members or closed.
- Working Groups agree to submit a simple application form to the Working Group Committee, and may request advice and support from the Working Group Committee.
- Working Groups agree to select a ‘chair’ or leader, who is a member of NEN and is responsible for communicating with NEN.
- Working Groups agree to have their goals, leaders and members listed on NEN’s secure intranet site, and may elect to share their work on NEN’s public web site.
- Working Group chairs agree to give the Working Group Committee semi-annual progress reports, which are posted on the public page of NEN’s secure intranet site.
- Working Groups may request their own private work platforms on NEN’s secure intranet site. They may elect keep their work platforms open or closed to NEN’s membership and to the public.
- Working Groups members who are not NEN members only have access to their own Working Group work platform, not to the membership site.
- Working Groups take full ownership and responsibility for their work product. They may not disseminate or promote their work under NEN’s name.
- Working Groups are responsible for their own fundraising.
- Working Groups may request technological, fundraising or administrative support from NEN’s staff, within the limits of staff capacity.
Current NEN Working Groups
- Think Tank Watering Hole- Purpose is to identify intervention points, coordinate research, develop transition strategies, support living examples and reframe economics. Focus is U.S. political economy.
- Messaging and Framing- Purpose is to develop the “Big Story” on the New Economy, research and develop effective messages for different audiences that can be shared by members.
Working Group Committee
NEN will create a Working Group Committee composed of NEN members to review new Working Group applications and to monitor and support Working Groups. The Working Group Committee has no authority to censor or control the activities of Working Groups that meet the baseline criteria and honor their NEN agreements.
- The Working Group Committee will review and approve new Working Groups and, if requested, support Working Group leaders in their design and recruitment process.
- The Working Group Committee will collect and disseminate Working Group progress reports semi-annually.
- The Working Group Committee will mentor and encourage potential applicants for membership.
- The Working Group Committee may recommend that the Executive Committee revoke a Working Group if it no longer meets the baseline criteria.
- The initial Working Group Committee will be the NEN Executive Committee. They will develop application forms and reporting guidelines as needed.
- NEN’s Executive Committee will catalyze strong initial Working Groups.
II. NEN GOVERNANCE
A. Network Stewards
NEN will create a class of voting members who are formally accountable to each other to see that NEN’s purpose, principles and policies are consistent with its mission and properly implemented in practice. Members who meet the following criteria can elect to become stewards of the New Economy Network:
- Be sponsored by at least five current NEN stewards
Steward Rights and Responsibilities
- Stewards will have the right to elect NEN’s Executive Committee (when NEN has reached an operational stage.)
- Stewards agree to respond to requests to sponsor new NEN members.
- Stewards agree to respond to requests to sponsor new NEN stewards.
- Stewards agree to familiarize themselves with NEN’s mission, principles, charter, policies and procedures.
- Stewards agree to be identified on NEN’s public web site.
- Stewards may review the minutes of any of NEN’s governance committees.
- Stewards may participate in quarterly meetings (which may be by phone) with NEN’s Executive Committee.
Initial Stewards
The following individuals will be invited to be NEN’s founding stewards. (See Appendix B for a list of individuals who attended the Washington meeting).
- All current members of NEN’s Executive Committee.
- Everyone Invited to NEN’s Leadership Roundtable Meeting in Washington DC, September 2009.
B. Executive Committee
The Executive Committee is responsible to insure that NEN fulfills its mission and operates in accordance with its principles. NEN is currently governed by a small initiating leadership group charged by the members with building the capacity of the Network to fulfill its mission and ensuring that the Network operates in accordance with its principles. Once NEN enters its operational phase, a new Executive Committee will be elected by the stewards.
Executive Committee Rights and Responsibilities
- Elects a chair
- Hires and Oversees staff
- Approves NEN’s policies and procedures
- Approves new NEN stewards
- Invites new institutional members into NEN
- Ratifies NEN’s new members
- Is responsible for NEN’s planning and evaluation
- Approves work plan and budget
- Oversees NEN’s administration
- Creates and terminates Executive sub-committee or task-forces as needed
- Meets with stewards every quarter
- Manages external alliances and public relations
- Prepares a semi-annual report to members
- Revokes members, working groups or stewards as needed
Current NEN Executive Sub-committees
- Technology- Designs and maintains NEN’s public web site and secure intranet work platform, Working Group work-platforms and NEN’s data base.
- Fundraising- Drafts NEN’s budget raises money and reports on NEN’s finances to support the EC’s steward decision making.
- Mapping and Membership- Reviews and approves new member applications. Maps the emerging field supporting a new economy, and identifies new institutional members.
- Structure and Principles- Develops governance structures and organizational principles as needed to support NEN’s mission.
- Management Team- Directs and Supports NEN’s staff.
Recommended Future Executive Sub-committees
Working Group Committee- Reviews and approves Working Groups applications, collects and disseminates Working Group reports, helps interested individuals connect with Working Groups.
III. FUTURE NETWORK STRUCTURES
In order to fulfill its coordination function NEN plans to create the following structure in the future:
A New Economy Leadership Council
The envisioned Leadership Council would be a small group of trusted and respected institutions and individuals who bring power, resources, leadership and capacity to work on a sustaining economy. The Leadership Council will engage in strategic dialogue in order to develop action agendas to advance the transformation to new economy.
The Leadership Council would be independent of NEN’s governing bodies and Executive Committee and would not have any steward responsibility to NEN.
Leadership Council Criteria
We need a more diverse membership before creating a Leadership Council. It must be a respected and representative group.
IV. ORGANIZATIONAL PRINICPLES
The Structure and Principles Sub-Committee is developing a set of organizational principles to guide decision-making and strategic choices having to do with the structural design of the Network and policies affecting the Network as a whole. See Appendix C for the current working draft of these principles. As the Network becomes legally formalized, these organizational principles are expected to become part of the governing documents.
Part II: NEN POLICIES AND PRACTICES
Activities
As an organization, NEN serves as a clearinghouse, coordinator, capacity builder and catalyst of its members’ efforts. NEN is not intended to replace or duplicate the work of its members. By bringing together a community of practitioners and thought leaders who are researching, creating, and implementing equitable and sustainable economic alternatives, NEN can facilitate the following types of activities (this is an open and evolving list):
- Bringing coordination and integration to our fields
- Generating a positive vision and coherent steps for advancing transformative systemic change
- Developing action agendas for accelerating public policy, investment and incentives that support systemic solutions
- Building the capacity to implement such agendas
- Bringing additional strength and resources to existing undertakings
- Launching new initiatives in needed areas
- Increasing the visibility and impact of existing new economy practices and institutions
- Encouraging new thinkers and doers to work in this area
- Establishing stronger links between different niches of the field, such as advocates and academics
- Engaging greater involvement of young people
- Building broad public understanding of the need for transformative economic change and cultivating support for such change
Scope of Engagement
NEN was launched at the September 9-10, 2009 New Economy Leadership Roundtable in Washington DC and most of its founding members are based in North America. The issues that NEN members are concerned with range from local to global in scope, therefore, the geographic scope of NEN’s activities will be defined by its members and by the Working Groups they choose to create.
Electoral Campaigns
NEN is a strictly non-partisan effort, and no work on electoral campaigns will be conducted by the Network.
Advocacy
The Network can be used by its members as a platform for defining issues, identifying partners and exploring collaboration around public policy and public policy advocacy. However, the Network itself will not engage in advocacy that is not supported by broad membership consensus.
Technological Platforms
NEN will operate both a public website, a closed website which will only be available to NEN members and secure platforms for individual working groups:
- The private group site, currently operating at www.neweconomynet.ning.com, can be used to engage NEN members, Working Groups, and the Executive Committee and its sub-committees. It can be used to post Working Group and EC minutes, news, internal communication, announcements and requests as well as drafts and final versions of papers and reports. Comments, reviews and exchanges will be facilitated. NEN member bio-sketches and contact information will be included, and lists of members by areas of interest will be created and shared within the Network.
- The Working Group platforms are under construction.
- In the near future NEN plans to create a public website that will be used to post news, announcements, links to member organizations and other material suitable for general distribution. It will be designed to engage a wider audience and constituency. We have secured the domain names of www.neweconomynetwork.net .org and .com for the public site.
Part III: NEN LEGAL FORM
Fiscal Agent
NEN will ultimately need to establish its own legal entity, but to get the Network established and operational in the short term, Demos: A Network for Ideas and Action, will serve as NEN’s fiscal sponsor.
Staffing
NEN seeks to minimize its organizational footprint. NEN will hire a small staff to coordinate and support its operations, but will not build an unnecessary or expensive administrative structure. It will instead seek to mobilize and draw upon the tremendous potential of a robust decentralized network.
Appendix A:
Executive Committees and Working Groups
Executive Committee
John Cavanagh
Betsy Taylor
Heerad Sabeti
Gus Speth (Chair)
David Levine
Fran Teplitz
David Wood
David Brodwin
Sub-Committee on Fundraising and Finance
John Cavanagh
Doug Hammond
Jeffrey Hollender (Chair)
Atlee McFellin
Heerad Sabeti
Gus Speth
Sub-Committee on Structure and Principles
Jeffrey Hollender
Gus Speth
Noel Ortega
Joel Getzendanner
David Levine
Heerad Sabeti (Chair)
Susan Witt
Sub-Committee on Mapping and Membership
David Brodwin
John Cavanagh
Betsy Taylor
David Wood (Chair)
Management Team
Gus Speth (ExCom Chair)
Heerad Sabeti
David Levine
Framing & Messaging Working Group
David Boyle
David Brodwin (Chair)
Jay Coen Gilbert
Lew Daly
Bob Ferris
Jeffrey Hollender
Noel Ortega
Kris Prendergast
Mitch Rofsky
Heerad Sabeti
Gus Speth
June Taylor
Allen White
Think Tank Watering Hole Working Group
Gar Alperovitz
David Brodwin
David Boyle
John Cavanagh (Chair)
Lew Daly
Bob Ferris
Jay Coen Gilbert
Jo Marie Greisgraber
Jeffrey Hollender
Atlee McFellin
Noel Ortega
Heerad Sabeti
Otto Scharmer
Michael Shuman
Gus Speth
Betsy Taylor
Stewart Wallis
Susan Witt
Rob Wolcott
David Wood
APPENDIX B
List of participants in the Sept 9-10 New Economy Leadership Roundtable meeting in Washington DC.
Gar Alperovitz
The Democracy Collaborative
Alissa Barron
BALLE
Heather Booth
Americans for Financial Reform
David Boyle
New Economics Foundation
David Brodwin
American Sustainable Business Council
John Cavanagh
Institute for Policy Studies
Lew Daly
Demos
Bob Ferris
New American Dream
Seamus Finn
Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility
Jay Gilbert
B Lab
Jo Marie Griesgraber
New Rules Global Finance
Sarita Gupta
Jobs With Justice
Doug Hammond
American Sustainable Business Council
Jeffrey Hollender
Seventh Generation
Mike Lapham
Responsible Wealth c/o United for Fair Economy
David Levine
American Sustainable Business Council
Noel Ortega
New Economy Working Group
Lorette Picciano
Rural Coalition
John Passacantando
Our Next Economy, LLC
Kris Prendergast
Social Enterprise Alliance
Mitch Rofsky
Better World Club
Heerad Sabeti
New Economy Roundtable / Fourth Sector Network
Otto Scharmer
MIT Green Hub, Presencing Institute
Gus Speth
Yale University / Vermont Law School
Sarah Stranahan
New Economy Roundtable / More for Mission
Betsy Taylor
Breakthrough Strategies & Solutions
www.breakthroughstrategiesandsolutions.com
June Taylor
Get America Working / Ashoka
Fran Teplitz / Todd Larsen
Green America
Michel Wahome
BALLE
Stewart Wallis
New Economics Foundation
Allen White
Tellus Institute
Susan Witt
E. F. Schumacher Society
Rob Wolcott
Get America Working / Ashoka
Appendix C: Draft Organizational Principles
It is a fundamental commitment of the Members of New Economy Network, as well as any individual or governing bodies entrusted to make decisions or take actions on their behalf, that all:
- activities undertaken within the Network or otherwise identifiable as a Network activity,
- policies or agreements entered into voluntarily or established by those duly authorized,
- organizational parts of the Network, and the nature of the links among those parts,
Shall be consistent with a set of organizational principles designed to maintain and strengthen the integrity of the Network throughout its growth and evolution.
These principles should to be treated as an irreducible set — not one principle at a time — where every principle balances and informs each of the others. No principle stands alone.
Principles are guides in the exercise of judgment, not rules that do away with the need for judgment. With principles, there is always more than one right answer about how they might be honored.
- Principles of Common Purpose (a New Economy)
- Work to ensure that all people, by right of birth, have adequate necessities of life, including clean air, water, food and shelter; an equitable share of wealth and resources; and opportunity to develop their full physical, mental and spiritual potential.
- Work to ensure that human capacities, technologies and organizations sustain and support, not systemically alter, degrade or destroy, the Earth, its diversity of life or life support systems.
- Principles of Member Autonomy and Self-Organization
- Honor the right of Members to make their own choices, pursue and protect what is important to them, and work with whom and how they want.
- Participation in Network activities should be voluntary, or based on agreements that are consistent with these Principles.
- Members have the right to self-organize at any time, on any scale, in any form, for any activity consistent with the purpose and principles
- Principles of Subsidiarity and Decision-Making
- Make decisions, vest authority, perform functions, and use resources in the smallest or most local part that includes the relevant and affected parties.
- Conduct deliberations and make decisions by bodies and methods that reasonably represent the Members or parts of the Network most directly affected, and where none can dominate or control.
- Authority to make decisions for others should be explicitly entrusted by those so affected, should be as limited as practical, and should be able to be revoked as needed.
- Principles of Practicality
- Decision-making bodies should be small enough to undertake their responsibilities efficiently, but large enough to understand the views of relevant and affected parties.
- Thresholds and manner of agreement should be proportionate to the importance of the decision to the relevant community and the difficulty or cost of reversing the decision.
- Integrity of the Network as a Whole
- Remain open and welcoming to new ideas and participants.
- Work to ensure diversity of all kinds.
- The Network should not play favorites among Members, ideas or strategies, unless it is a matter of common purpose and Network identity.
- Freely and fully share information relevant to the Network’s purposes, unless doing so violates confidentiality or materially diminishes competitive position.