Communication Tools

The Brassica Collective project is driven by a fluctuating set of participants within a dynamic organising structure. This works because we operate in a high-communication environment.

Different tools are useful for different forms of communication. These guidelines offer an overview of which tools are used for some key forms of communication within the collective and (very briefly) how to get started using them.

Communicating involvement in the Brassica Collective Project = RADicalise

The RADicalise tool is used by participants and collaborators to communicate our capacity and intentions for how we want to be involved in the project. Participants are periodically invited to update the information on RADicalise including explicitly opting-in (or out) of different forms of participation.

Becoming a collaborator: functionality to allow any current participant to invite a collaborator to use Radicalise is currently being developed.

Becoming a participant: in the “Entry” tab is a link to the EOI (Expression of Interest) form which can be used by collaborators to express interest in participating.

Instant Messaging = Matrix

We use Matrix as our tool for day-to-day real-time messaging.

Brassica participants can provide set-up support to new participants as part of the participant onboarding process, and can get any additional tech support from Merri-bek Tech.

Within the Brassica Matrix Space there are several rooms:

Brassica Project

This is the project / announcements channel. It is used for announcing events, sharing updates and for calls to action. It is often used to draw attention to discussions and decisions occurring on Loomio.

Brassica Chat

This is our ‘chat’ channel where participants are welcome to share social chatter (to keep the “Brassica Project” channel clear). Participants are invited to engage with this chat when feeling social and mute/ignore it otherwise.

Crew channels

Each crew has a channel for organising (e.g. planning crew meetings as needed and communicating about work that falls under the mandate of that crew). When not opted-in to participating on a particular crew, participants can mute that crew channel.

Direct messaging

Direct messaging on matrix is used for Brassica Project related communication between individual participants. It’s best to move a conversation from a shared channel to direct messages or vise-versa depending on how relevant the conversation is to other participants.

Focused Discussion and Decision Making = Loomio

Loomio is our tool for decision making and in-depth discussions.

Posting on Loomio won’t necessarily alert participants. Depending on the participant’s Loomio email notification settings, an email notification may be sent. To allow for different styles of engagement with information online (such as not checking Loomio periodically), consider announcing a ‘call to action’ in the Brassica Project Matrix chat.

Subgroups on Loomio are used to collect related sets of closed threads that may need to be reviewed. For example, we have subgroups for ‘Agreement Made’ and ‘Assembly Minutes’.

Strategic Roadmap = Handbook

To get a sense of how tasks we are working on relate to the broader strategic goals of the collective we will have the strategic roadmap. It’s being developed by participants in PAS crew.

Current Agreements and Processes = Handbook

Stable versions of documentation related to the project including current agreements, processes and guidelines are published in the handbook.

Draft Agreements and Processes = Shared Drive

Draft versions of documentation including agreements and processes are stored in the google drive.

Edit access to the Brassica folder can be granted by any participant who has edit access.

Coordinating our shared task lists = Taiga Dashboards

Each Crew uses a Tiaga dashboards to coordinate their work. A guideline recommending using taiga in an agile project management style is being developed. In the mean time, ask any participant who has been introduced to the style.

To add a new participant (‘member’) to a crew taiga dashboard (‘project’) use settings > members > add member > type an email address into the box to send an email invite.