Revised 11.19.2011
Questions about this document should be referred to the Facilitation working group.

We also meet at the Liberty Memorial campsite on Sundays at 5 PM.

Acronyms:
GA: General Assembly
WG: Working Group
TG: Thematic Group
POI: Point of Information/Inquiry (a quick clarifying question or statement, not an opinion).
POP: Point of Process (the GA process is not being followed)

Introduction:

• Welcome everyone to the General Assembly (GA)!
• Explain (using people’s mic) what the people’s mic is and how it is used. Inform people who cannot hear to say “Mic Check!” so that we know we need to be louder with people’s mic (or that the speaker needs to utilize people’s mic if they are not already doing so). Emphasize that when using people’s mic, you should speak, in short, concise statements.
• Ask how many people have never been to our General Assembly. The number of new assembly participants should indicate the amount of detail that the Facilitator goes into in explaining the process. If no one is new, there is no need to spend several minutes going over information about the process (actually please don’t!)
• Explain that the GA is the meeting of all members of the group (and everyone is a potential member all you have to do is come out!) where we hear proposals and announcements that are important to the group as a whole. Explain that in a GA we do not vote, we reach consensus and that we strive to respect the voices and ideas of all Assembly participants.
• Explain Working Groups (give examples) and Thematic Groups (groups focusing on a particular issue which is not central to the operation of the occupation, e.g. a foreclosure prevention group might provide support to those in foreclosure). Explain that these are smaller groups focused on a particular area of concern or interest. The GA is not the only place where things get done!
• Explain that it is important that individuals with ideas that would fit within the scope of a Working/Thematic Group first bring the idea to the Working Group so it can be more easily discussed and brought to the GA in a fully articulated form (GAs are large and not the best for complex discussion). Proposals should only be brought to the GA without first going to a Working Group or Thematic Group, if they are of critical importance or they do not fall within the scope of an existing group.
• Explain specialized roles and who will be filling them for this GA:
• Facilitator: ensures consistent flow and process of GA, ensures that assembly stays on task
• Time Keeper: ensures that each speaker does not exceed allotted time given.
• Stack Taker: Manages the stack (queue for speaking) and organizes progressive stack (progressive stack system should be explained by Facilitator)
• Minutes Team: takes minutes and uploads them to the website. Proposals and whether they passed are especially important to record.
• Floaters/Runners (if applicable): Run to raised hands when Stack Taker needs to put people on stack in order to get their names (only needed with larger assemblies)
• Explain hand gestures (see Hand Gestures sheet, and have someone demonstrate if necessary)

Information

The Facilitator should announce that first is the information section of the GA. The Facilitator should explain that information is for report-backs from the Working / Thematic Groups and individuals. It is not for proposals. That means that we will not be making decisions as a body in this section.

• During all points in the GA the Facilitator should stay vigilant and scan the crowd to identify anyone who has a point of information, point of process, or just a question, as well as to determine the mood of the group. If the Facilitator sees many people who need to be heard he can ask the Stack Taker to get people on stack (even if this is just for POIs and POPs). Anyone with a POP gets priority in the stack over all others.

Working Group / Thematic Group Report Backs/Announcements

• Working Group / Thematic Group representatives go first. Facilitator will announce them in order (prior to beginning the information section the Facilitator can ask for those who are not on the agenda and need to be to get on the agenda).

Individual Announcements

• Individual announcements follow Working Group / Thematic Group report-backs and again the Facilitator will announce them in the order they appear on the agenda.

Proposals

• The Facilitator will announce after there is no more informational announcements on the agenda that it is time for the Proposal section of the GA.
• The Facilitator should explain that proposals mean we will be making decisions as a group in this body. Again, the Facilitator should use her/his best judgment to determine based on how many people are new and how many are familiar with the process how much detail to go into in explaining the process but temperature checks and the format for discussion should be briefly explained when they occur.
• WG / TG Proposals: As with information, Working Group / Thematic Groups go first. Individual Proposals: After WG proposals, individuals who have proposals on the agenda will present those. These individuals should have already had their proposals vetted by a member of the Facilitation team prior to the start of the GA. If the proposal was not vetted the Facilitator should pay particular attention to ensure that it would not already fall within a WG/TG and that it is actionable and implementable (will the proposing party and supporters actually commit to making this happen?). (Most proposals should come from Working Groups, although crucial proposals, or those that require creation of a new WG/TG, can be brought before the GA first).
• During Proposals, the Facilitator must stay vigilant and scan the crowd to identify anyone who has a point of information/inquiry or a point of process, and to determine the mood of the group. The Facilitator must also ensure that proposals make it clear who is to implement them and what the time-frame is for implementation as well as where people can go if they want to help, voice concerns, or get more information about the proposal.

Proposal Process:

• Initial proposal presentation (proposing party gets 3 minutes to explain and lobby for the proposal)
• Facilitator announces temperature check and explains process for this (if necessary)
• Facilitator watches hand gestures to see if there appears to be general agreement that proposal should pass (only those showing hand gestures should be considered, those without an opinion who are not indicating their level of support are considered stand-asides and are abstaining).
• IF there is clearly more than 10% of the Assembly Participants who are not in favor of proposal then the Facilitator will announce: “I do not see consensus, the proposal will be returned to the individual/WG for reworking unless someone would like to discuss the proposal at this time?” IF someone moves to discuss then Facilitator should follow and explain Discussion Format below.
• IF it appears that we may have near 90% support for the proposal the Facilitator will ask: “Is anyone opposed to passing this proposal?” (It only takes one individual to stop the proposal from passing at this point by raising their hand to indicate opposition.)
• IF any opposition is indicated the Facilitator will ask: “Since I do not see consensus on passing this proposal in its current form, would anyone like to discuss the proposal at this time?” (any Assembly Participant other than the proposer can request discussion and it follows the format below. If no discussion is requested the proposal is returned to the proposing party for reworking.)
• The Facilitator is responsible for describing the discussion process if a discussion is requested on the proposal. If a discussion is not requested and the proposal does not pass the Facilitator should instruct those who want to have input to the proposal to meet with the individual or appropriate Working Group where the proposal can be reworked and presented again later.
• Discussion Format: If discussion is requested by anyone other than the proposing party, the Facilitator should instruct those who want to discuss the matter to raise their hands and the Stack Taker will get them on stack.
• Each individual on stack gets 1 minute to comment on the proposal. The Facilitator’s job at this point is to encourage constructive criticism and to ensure that any remarks are directly concerning the current proposal. REMEMBER: we are trying to build consensus so disparaging remarks and non-constructive criticism are discouraged!
• After the stack has been exhausted, the stack taker takes a head count of the number of people who are participating in the GA. Then the Facilitator should instruct the proposing party to restate the proposal with any desired modifications from discussion (3 mins)
• After the proposal is restated, the Facilitator once again requests a temperature check. If it is obvious that we don’t have at least a 90% agreement with the proposal, the Facilitator will return the proposal to the proposing party for reworking. If the visual temperature check looks to be close to 90% consensus then the Facilitator will ask if anyone is opposed.

Blocks:

• If there is no one who speaks up/raises their hand when the Facilitator asks if anyone is opposed, then the proposal passes. IF people speak up/raise their hand to indicate opposition (their concerns have still not been addressed), the Facilitator will explain the block and ask these individuals if they would like to block (it should be emphasized that a block is very serious and means that you think that the passing of this proposal would be so detrimental to the group that you would leave the group if the motion is passed.)
• If there are any blocks, the person or persons blocking get 30 seconds to restate why they are blocking (the Facilitator should explain that the proposing party may have 1 minute to address these concerns as they are aired if they desire).
• The block(s) are then tallied up and compared to the head count (minus any stand asides/abstentions). If the number of blocks is less than 10% of the Assembly Participants the motion passes (it has reached 90% consensus). Those who are opposed should be encouraged by the Facilitator to air their grievances in a civil manner with the appropriate WG or with the individual bringing the proposal.
• If the blocks are more than 10% of the number of Assembly Participants, the measure does not pass and is returned to the individual or WG/TG for reworking where it can be proposed at a later GA if desired.

Any Other Business:

• After all proposals have been addressed, the GA moves to the final section where the Facilitator asks if there is “any other business.” This section allows people who have short informational announcements (less than 1 min) that may have come up during the GA to make those announcements. Again, they must get on stack. The Facilitator should reiterate that this is not a time for proposals or for soapbox. The Facilitator should also make announcements in this section about anything that is happening immediately after the GA (e.g. Soapbox).
• Recruit for unfilled Facilitation Team roles for next GA: The Facilitator should view the sign-up sheet for the next GA at the huddle of the Facilitation team before start of GA. If there are roles which need to be filled these should be announced and people should be recruited from those present. Name and contact info should be gathered and individuals should be added to the Facilitation Google Group if they have internet access. Keep in mind that roles such as stack taker and especially Facilitator require more knowledge of the process and people should be vetted for these positions.

That’s all folks!