Hello there,
The short answer:
AffCom's recommendation regarding Colombia being recognized as a chapter is advancing, according to process, for the board's June meeting.
The long answer:
As the AffCom and board work to resume the process of recognizing new Chapters and Thematic Organizations, the staff support have been working to liaise across foundation stakeholders to map a process for advancing recommendations to the board. It has not been as smooth as had been hoped as we have advanced the first applications in years. From this experience, yes, we found the process needed a few additional steps to ensure adequate time for the committee’s integration of the staff review feedback. This is not a new step, but a longer timeline required to ensure adequate review and integration time. Thus, the Chapter and Thematic Organization recognitions process has many steps and stages from initial inquiry and bylaws review to submitting a recommendation to the board:
Stage | Steps |
Bylaws Review | Subcommittee review & synthesis of feedback Routing feedback to applicant & following up. |
Bylaws Revisions & Application Completion | Applicant groups revise their bylaws according to committee feedback. Applicants gather documentation and develop strategies to answer each of the application criteria in order complete their application. Applicant submits full application for review. |
Committee Review | Subcommittee review & examination of evidence. Follow-up with questions about any evidence submitted. Synthesis of feedback for full committee discussion. |
Recommendation Drafting | Subcommittee drafts recommendation. Staff liaison routes recommendation packages to a cross section of key staff for their review to ensure no applicants have outstanding issues or issues the committee has not been made aware of. Staff liaison drafts staff assessment based on input and sends recommendation packages for final review by the Chief of Community Engagement and then Foundation CEO/ED. Staff Liaison shares the input back to the subcommittee so that they can respond to it with final revisions, as needed, and to incorporate the staff assessment into the final recommendation. AffCom votes on recommendation resolution. With Majority support, the AffCom Chair sends to the board sponsors to share to the full board two weeks in advance of their meeting. |
Recommendation on the Board Agenda | Notify the Board sponsors at least 6 weeks in advance of the meeting to get on the agenda. Share recommendation packages at least 2 weeks before the meeting. |
As you can see in the details of the table above. Staff review falls within recommendation drafting stage and before the committee’s recommendation is submitted to the full board and its submission to the board; it includes several steps in itself. It is triggered by the AffCom sharing their draft recommendation that an applicant (user group) be recognized as a chapter or thematic organization at least eight weeks before an upcoming board meeting.
The full process of staff review and finalization of recommendations takes about a month.
Admittedly, the first applicants to go through this developing process have experienced slower advancement times. However, in your group’s case, the staff review has been completed and AffCom is currently incorporating input and changes to finalize their recommendation to meet the board’s deadline for their June meeting.
Following the board’s decision there may be additional steps that you would like outlined depending on their decision. Please don’t hesitate to reach out for clarifications as to where you are in the process. While we are working hard to help the committee bring transparency to this process overall, currently, it is easy to be in the dark and we are happy to help get you the updates you need.
Best regards,
Jaime