Priorities Process

The priorities process has been designed to help our chapter's members democratically and intentional reflect on our work as socialist.

Please iterate on the design below and add observations and suggestions!

Priorities

Note about priorities vote winners:

• If a priority wins, then BDSA collectively agrees to lend more chapter resources towards that priority for the following year. For example, the Steering Committee will prioritizes the priories in General Meeting and membership mobilization.
• If the priority process was good, then members will be easily rallied to volunteer and organize toward the priorities they helped set.
• Setting priorities does not exclude other work or campaigns. Losing priorities and existing campaigns can still be worked on by members and given chapter resources.
• After winning the vote, the priority belongs to the whole chapter. Based on experimentation and practice, the execution of the priority might not follow the original written proposal.

Voted on Priorities

Year	External Priority/Campaign	Internal Organizing Priority
2019	#TakeBackTheGrid Medicare for All	Membership Organizing System Inter-generational Organizing and Childwatch

Priorities Process

Timeline Overview

Please organize in advance of each deadline/period of time. Advice for organizing or running events can be found below!

Deadlines/Time Range	Things To Do
September General Meeting	Introduction/Motivation for "Chapter Priorities." Breakout group brainstorm and "dotocracy"
Weeks between September GM-Ocotober GM	Each working group and committee meeting should have the priorities process on agenda for discussion. Neighborhood group meetings for the discussion of priorities should be scheduled.
October General Meeting	Deadline for the "first draft" of priority
Weeks between October GM-one week after November GM	Encourage/help members get feedback on their priority
November General Meeting	Priorities Science Fair
Two weeks after November General Meeting	Final draft of priorities is due
December General Meeting	Rank choice vote on priorities.

September GM: Introduction

Activities at this GM:

• Presentation motivation chapter priorities and outlining the process
• Breakout group brainstorm and dotocracy

Breakout group and dotocracy

Preparation:

• Find breakout group facilitators
• Provide motivating questions for the group
  • Agitate: What isn't working in the Boston DSA? What isn't working under capitalism? What are people (your friends/family) most mad about right now, and the DSA has a socialist solution for? What are first steps towards that solution?
• Provide large papers and pens for each group, and 8 highlighter dot stickers for each member.

At General Meeting:

• Break into small group facilitated discussion
• Have each group record concrete ideas they had for chapter priorities on large paper
• Tape papers to the wall
• Have members walk around room and look at suggestions. They can put a dot by next to their favorite suggestions.

Results of Dotocracy

• SC members or volunteers will compile notes from dotocracy and find themes.
• With the results of dotocracy:
  • SC members or volunteers will email summary of dotocracy to general membership
  • SC members will try to encourage interested members (or SC members themselves) to develop popular priories from dotocracy.
    • Tracking this information in a spreadsheet will help SC members to follow up on and help with priorities proposals. Assign a SC member to each priority.

September-October GMs: Group discussions/brainstorms/outreach

Seek smaller scale brainstorming opportunities! Priorities submissions should not mimic individualistic applications to jobs or colleges. They are collaborative and creative group efforts. Brainstorming works better in groups, and people are socially motivated and frequently need support or encouragement to submit an idea.

Small group discussions:

• Each working group and committee meeting should have the priorities process on agenda for discussion.
  • Each working group and committee has a liaison to the Steering Committee. The liaisons should contact working groups with enough time for the working groups to add the topic to their meetings between the September and October GM.
• Schedule informal neighborhood group meetups for the discussion of priorities should be scheduled.
• Steering committee members should reach out to people to encourage them to write a priority.

October GM: Priority Draft Submission

Deadline for the "first draft" of priority. Over the last month, SC members should follow up with working groups, committees and interested individuals to remind them to submit :)

AFTER submissions, immediately draft a response to the submitter about the next steps for the priority, including the socialist science fair.

Suggested Questions for Internal Priority Submission

• What is your internal priority proposal? What are the intermediate goals and the long-term vision for this external priority? How do you plan to achieve the intermediate goals?
• How does this internal priority make Boston DSA a more effective socialist organization?
• What resources would this internal priority require? For example, volunteers, supplies, funding, meeting space, time (5 hours per month for 100 people? 20 hrs/month for 10 people?), etc.
• How will this internal priority mobilize or engage a large number of DSA members? How will this help our members to develop as socialist organizers?
• What’s your 30 second “elevator speech” summary of the priority and why this internal priority should be one of Boston DSA’s two internal priorities? 100 words or less!

Suggested Questions for External Priority Submission

• What is your external priority proposal? What are the intermediate goals and the long-term vision for this external priority? How do you plan to achieve the intermediate goals?
• How does this external priority build working class power and chart the pathway toward democratic socialism?
• What resources would this external priority require? For example, volunteers, supplies, funding, meeting space, time (5 hours per month for 100 people? 20 hrs/month for 10 people?), etc.
• How will this external priority mobilize and engage members of Boston DSA? How will this build our relationships with communities oppressed by capitalism and other forces?
• What’s your 30 second “elevator speech” summary of this priority and why this external priority should be one of Boston DSA’s two external priorities? 100 words or less!

October GM-Week before December GM: Feedback

• Encourage and help members get feedback on their priority.
• The priorities science fair in particular is a good time to get feedback from members.

November GM: Priorities Science Fair

Image of the priorities science fair: Trifolds at tables with descriptions and images representing the priority! Representatives of each priory standing around the table to answer questions and ask questions to members.

Supplies and set up advice:

• Trifolds: SC members should volunteer to bring trifolds and supplies for priority submitter who do not have enough time to put on together. Keep track of which priorities need a trifold. These priority submitters should attend the GM an hour early to help set up.
• Make sure there is an easy way to record feedback. Encourage submitter to use this time to get feedback and suggestions. This could be feedback submission boxes with index cards, or post-it notes and panel of the trifold preserved for post-it note feedback.
• Submitters should record emails of interested members. They should have a plan to keep them engages -- email them requesting suggestions or feedback? Start an email list for people interested in doing that kind of priority work regardless of whether the priority wins?
• Attending members could be given a packet or booklet to take notes on the priorities
  • Perhaps a priorities "passport", and stickers for each priority?

Room set up:

• Use rectangular tables, not round tables. Make sure it is easy to walk around.
• Have an "internal priority" and "external priority" section

Meeting recordings:

• This is not a standard meeting to record. Find someone to bottom line this section. The bottom liner could go from table to table and catch a brief pitch of each members for the viewers-at-home.

After the meeting:

• In the GM summary email, provide a link for "Feedback on Priorities!" which members can fill out. SC members will give the answers to submitters.

Two weeks after November GM: Final Draft Due

Add a section for "Feedback on process" to the final draft submission.

December GM Vote

Rank choice vote on priorities. Make sure members know how rank choice voting workings.

Former name of the Coordinating Committee

Former name of the Coordinating Committee