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Sixth Analytical Summary

par Hervé Maillot, Allié. France , 7 septembre 2005

At the end the consultation, a summary of the same type will take up the whole of the proposals and unresolved issues. The writer of the summaries apologizes in advance for any proposal that he has not recorded and invites all Allies to react online for completion of this first panorama.

The proposals and recommendations deal the following points :

 A. Constituent Charter : the text and its evolution
 B. Architecture, governance of the Alliance
 C. Funding of the Alliance
 D. Relations between Allies and the Alliance and among Allies.
 E. Annals, communication on actions being considered or implemented, evaluation of work that has been accomplished
 F. Logo and rules for Alliance initiatives
 G. The CSMG [1] and the other follow-up groups proposed in the Charter.
 H. The calendar [2]
 I. External relations

A. Constituent Charter : the text and its evolution

A.1 The text must gain in legibility (conciseness). A short version should be drawn up.

A.2 Do away with the ambiguity in the text between procedures and objectives.
Procedures : mechanisms, methods, tools, operation, annals, directory, quarterly summaries, experience banks, Web site, rules according to which an initiative can recommend itself of the Alliance.
Objectives : the five points brought up in the text.

A.3 Objectives : there should be a distinction between those that are related to the governance of the Alliance and those that are related to the "working program" of the Allies.

A.4 Specify how the Web site is funded and who is in charge of its maintenance. Also specify the structure of the Web site. Specify the functions of the different groups and committees.

A.5 Assign levels of priority to the five objectives :
Level 1 :
1. to define the governance
2. to finance the future development of the Alliance
Level 2 :
3. to structure the relations and debates
Level 3 :
4. to develop the working methods
5. to build the memory (records)

A.6 Calendar : It would be preferable to consider the five working lines within the working procedures.

A.7 The text deserves to be simplified to make it accessible to most people. Start from "plural, responsible and in solidarity" : these three concepts need to be clarified only to give a clear image of the "world that we choose."

A.8 Open an manage an e-discussion list on the Constituent Charter. Objectives of the list :
1.- Once the Charter is approved and in force, participants of the list will review it point by point, for a period to be determined, for its present ambiguity and for any future experiences and conflicts in its interpretation.
2.- At the end this period, the definitive version of the Charter will be proposed again to the Allies for consultation. If it is accepted, the CSMG will be the guarantor of the amended text.
3.- The participants of the list will be in continuous interaction with the CSMG.
4.- Another possibility : this task could be assigned directly to the Group of Guarantors, provided that it is enlarged and that its discussions on the revision of the Charter are public.

A.9 The definition given of a "citizens’ alliance" in the introduction must not only bear on the "international" nature of these collective processes. This form of social organization can be reproduced on a local scale. Such dynamics should be encouraged.

A.10 Specify whether the procedures and the calendar are part of the Charter.

A.11 Rename the "objectives" section as something like "findings and commitments," which is a better reflection of its content.

B. Architecture, governance of the Alliance

B.1 Between on the one hand the autonomy of decision of the different work groups and workshops, and on the other the opinions, recommendations, and decisions of the CSMG, there seems to be room to intensify the development of participatory tools enabling the involvement of the Allies : a common forum for discussion, the elaboration of proposals, a working procedure for collective decision making regarding directions (choice of partners, projects to be supported, geocultural choices, methods, tools, and so on). Organize these procedures on the basis of lines, themes, and socioprofessional networks that are easier to identify.

B.2 In the framework of the Constituent Charter and in compliance with the CSMG, organize :
 regular, decentralized meetings open in priority to persons for whom it is difficult to participate, in particular, via the Web site.
 a permanent e-discussion list to design and develop themes and fields of action not backed by the FPH.

B.3 Fractalize the Alliance by organizing "small Alliances" at local scales (a country, a region of the world, a continent).

B.4 Reinforce the territorial rooting of the Alliance

C. Funding of the Alliance

C.1 Propose a procedure, with means and methods, to enable joint-fund raising. Objectives :
 Reinforce (the autonomy and the area of action of) the Alliance as a system of governance and a process for governance.
 Reinforce in a transparent way the relations between the Allies and the fund providers (FPH, other foundations, international alliance of small donors, "allied solidarity taxes" between different projects), relations based on a previously established decision-making procedure.
 Support the FPH in its determination to back as a priority the institution of the governance of the Alliance.

D. Relations between Allies and the Alliance and among Allies

D.1 Include a principle of responsibility for the launching of information and initiatives.

D.2 Commitment of the members of the network to share information / experiences must be stipulated in the Charter.

D.3 Specify the qualities of an Ally or the objectives of partner organizations. Offer the possibility to know one another better.

D.4 First produce a complete inventory of the Alliance : number of active members, from which countries, which partner or member institutions, which activities, where (on which subjects, workshops, actions) the Alliance is present

D.5 Plan procedures for a categorized involvement depending on the nature and the intensity of interaction that Allies propose.

D.6 Reinforce collaboration among the different workshops and work groups of the Alliance.

E. Annals, communication on actions being considered or implemented, evaluation of work that has been accomplished

E.1 The Annals should constitute a true added value to the memory/records of the Alliance and not only reports of linear activities.

E.2 Define who will coordinate the editorial group of the Annals, how the group will work, how it will collect the content, and with what quality of exhaustiveness ?

E.3 A return on investments, among others : to evaluate the feeling of personal fulfillment and joie de vivre that the Alliance can offer the Allies.

E.4 The Constituent Charter could specify how Allies’ actions will contribute to the development of the Alliance, and how the Alliance will contribute to Allies’ actions. It could propose a number of performance indicators to evaluate these mutual contributions.

E.5 Guarantee that an action claiming the Alliance as its reference should not be implemented simply to confer personal advantages to whoever implements it.

E.6 Evaluate the value of the experience in itself (theoretical - practical contribution, reinforcement of the citizens’ actions, etc.).

E.7 Define the conditions and assessment tools that will guarantee (before, during, and after the action) the contribution of the action to the common objectives (promotion of collective tools, circulation of information on the work of others, etc.).

F. Logo and rules for Alliance initiatives

F.1 Specify the nuances between reference texts and working or operation texts, and further specify how to use the logo of the Alliance

F.2 Lengthen the period of submission of an initiative before it is launched or refused.

F.3 Circulate the proposals for initiatives by e-mail.

F.4 Specify how an initiative is refused.

F.5 Consider explicit support for every initiative by two or three members for it to be co-opted.

F.6 Plan solidarity for a member who might run into problems in an initiative that he or she might have taken.

F.7 Two criteria to determine what the documents, present and future, must be to have the Alliance label : quality and degree of collective involvement. A balance is necessary between these criteria, because the two are basic elements for the identity and the cohesion of a group.

G. The CSMG and the other follow-up groups proposed in the Charter.

G.1 Criteria for the composition of these groups :
 inclusion of a person from the FPH in the CSMG to guarantee the Foundation heritage.
 attach to the CSMG and the other groups one or several persons with no financial connection to the FPH in order to guarantee the autonomy of the Alliance.

G.2 Criteria for group transparency :
 the groups and workshops of the Alliance make their work and deliberations public to the best of their possibilities. In the Web site, a section can be opened to publish the groups’ progress reports.

G.3 Replace co-option with a democratic procedure for the renewal of the members of the CSMG. The democratic procedure : validation of a candidacy, election of the members, is to be defined.

G.4 Increase the number of members of the CSMG to increase its geo-socio-cultural representativeness.

H. Calendar

H.1 Achieve consistency between the rhythms, cycles, and deadlines of the Alliance and the Allies, and the very diverse local rhythms.

H.2 Evaluate before their renewal the strategic lines proposed every other year.

H.3 The calendar should be more attentive to the major political, economic, and social events that will be federating the construction of the planet.

I. External relations

I.1 Periodically approach, through a manifesto, global-governance institutions (depending on the case).

I.2 Work on alliance procedures with other institutions (multilateral, governments), companies, or social movements that, for one reason or another, might hesitate to get completely involved in the Alliance. Find how to "make an alliance" with them on limited objectives with appropriate procedures and working areas.

I.3 Do some thinking on how to circulate information. Set up an information and communication cell that can increase the value of Alliance initiatives, members, and their "social intentions."

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