This work will be developed through an enquiry circle of representatives from the various Community organisations/ groups who are directly involved in the workings of our Community, building on the work started in the Stakeholders’ Meeting last November. They will meet for a total of around 5-6 times during 2017 for 2 1/2 -3 hour sessions.

Aims of this circle are to
1) continue to build relations and mutual understanding,
2) hold ‘preparing-the-ground’-type conversations (prior to establishing a working structure),
3) Test and learn – work together on important issues.

Specifically, the circle will work with a strategic focus to
● clarify the vision/ purpose of the Community (coming up with a working assumption, not the perfect solution). NB: Strand 2 described below will also be developing ideas around Community vision to feed in.
● come up with and suggest a name for the Community.
● seek to progress some ‘project work’ that the group prioritizes e.g. taking steps to tackle a key Community issue (according to the energy of the group and with help from others as appropriate).
● reflect on their learning journey together to help inform emergent governance systems. In doing this work together we anticipate this will start to establish/ ground some of the ‘key gains’ identified at the November Stakeholders Meeting (see notes in filenames: “Write-up of Stakeholder Consultation Meeting – 08/11/16” and “Summary Matrix of Gains – 08/11/16” in the “CCWG Events” folder of the “Open Archive” at https://findhorn.cc/groups/ccwg/ ).

The enquiry circle will not be the new governance circle per se, but will form an experiment in working together, out of which, it is anticipated, a governance structure can emerge. The Co-ordination Circle (“Co-Ci”) and other elements of the original proposal could well be a part of this emergent structure. I.e. we anticipate that we are moving in the overall direction of the original proposal and/ or other ideas that have come out of the consultation phase, but we can not prescribe or anticipate this now.

Role of circle members Our sense is that circle members will need to:
● effectively ‘represent’ from/to their organisations, and make their own contributions but hold the well-being and interests of the whole Community as their overall focus
● act as change agents – taking kindling to the fire in both directions (into the circle and out from the circle into their organisations)
● be prepared to do more than show up at the meetings
● want to listen and communicate really well
● be interested in and open to feedback, learning and experimentation.
Support of this circle We propose that a partnership of FF & NFA representatives ‘steer’ this circle, and draw on the support of facilitators as necessary. Should members of the enquiry circle choose to join in the planning & support, participation is welcome and can be determined as the group starts working or on an ongoing basis.

This work will be co-led by the NFA and FF through dialogue, events and other activities to build our spiritual base and engage Community members in a shared sense of ownership and responsibility and identity.

During the Consultation phase, it was identified that further work was still required within our Community on both a relational and cultural level, in order to create enabling conditions for landing this next stage of Community evolution and also because it is needed as part of this evolution per se.

We recognise that significant steps have been taken in this area over the last few months (the shared Transformation Game, Michael Linfield’s talk to the Community, the ‘Culture’ event in the Universal Hall with Chris Alder etc).

Partly as a continuation of this work, but also with more dedicated intention, and alongside/dovetailing with Strand 1 work, the FF and the NFA propose to work more closely together in partnership on the design and delivery of events and other activities activating and strengthening the Transformational Field. The intention is to

• Build a clear spiritual base for our Community and its purpose
• Engage Community members in a shared sense of ownership and responsibility

Proposal Budget Circle members in Strand 1 would be requested to carry out their roles on a ‘voluntary basis’ and/or as part of their paid roles within their existing organisations so there are no direct cost implications here. Similarly, this would also be the case for those most closely involved in Strand 2 (FF and NFA co-led work). We recognise, however, that this requires generosity and considerable commitment to this work on the part of individuals and their organisations (and that there is an inevitable ‘opportunity cost’ here). But also we anticipate that if we get this right it will lead to more efficient and effective work together in future, which will save us all time.

Facilitation and meeting/event support, however, depending on how it is provided could require additional budgeted costs (for both Strands 1 and 2) which we will need to fundraise for.

Key Next Steps

a) Discuss with organisational stakeholders at 31st January meeting, seeking feedback on overall proposal and support for participation in the enquiry circle
b) NFA and FF to confirm support as ‘sponsors’ of this continued work
c) Communicate through the community e.g. Rainbow Bridge, NFA and FF
d) Confirm participation from organisational nominees as circle members to CCWG requested by end of week 10th February, and identify Strand 2 ‘leads’
e) Set up first meeting of circle
f) Continue culture shift work (strand 2), including planning and publicity for 2nd event with Chris Alder.