Governance practices
As mentioned earlier, the minimal-scope guidance of the model needs to be differentiated from the governance practices adopted by each collective.
The governance practices of each collective will need to include clear processes for making decisions, and agreements about what decisions are made by whom, when. For instance, some decisions will need to be made that impact multiple housing sites, some will be specific to one site, or a specific house, or a specific space within a house. Additionally, some of these decisions will be specific to some streams within the model. For each decision, the decision-making processes will differ for different collectives.
The following outline is intended to offer an indication of some of these considerations at the whole-collective level within the context of stewarding multiple priorities during each stream of the model. Hopefully, this outline also highlights the increasingly collectively-oriented perspective gained by moving out of the Bank Mortgage stream into the Transitional Equity stream and, from there, of shifting to the Collective Stewardship stream.
| Stream | Land management | Buildings | Use of spaces | Financial responsibilities |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bank Mortgage priorities | Decisions about acquiring land | Decisions about what dwellings to build/retrofit | Decisions at the appropriate level (e.g., site, house, room) | Decisions impacting how to collectively meet the mortgage payments and accrual of transitional equity by individual contributors |
| Transitional Equity priorities | Decisions about improving land use value and/or impact the land value for equity holders | Decisions that impact the value of buildings for equity holders | Decisions at the appropriate level (e.g., site, house, room) | Decisions about transfer of equity to Collective Stewardship |
| Collective Stewardship priorities | Decisions about when and how to improve land quality for collective benefit (quality of soil and water, support for wildlife, etc.,) and how best to honour Indigenous leadership and participate in Land Back processes | Decisions about adding, maintaining, and improving buildings for collective benefit (e.g., retrofitting, adding secondary dwellings, etc.,) | Decisions at the appropriate level (e.g., site, house, room) | Decisions about how to ensure participants contributions are affordable |
For an example of governance practices for a RAD Housing project, see the Brassica Collective’s Handbook.