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Changes for page Governance

Last modified by Robert Schaub on 2026/02/08 21:21
From version 1.2
edited by Robert Schaub
on 2025/12/22 14:15
Change comment: Update document after refactoring.
To version 1.3
edited by Robert Schaub
on 2026/01/20 20:19
Change comment: Renamed back-links.

Summary

Details

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1 1  = Governance =
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2 2  FactHarbor governance is **simple, transparent, flat, and focused on enabling automation**.
3 -{{include reference="FactHarbor.Organisation.Diagrams.Governance Structure.WebHome"/}}
4 +{{include reference="Archive.FactHarbor.Organisation.Diagrams.Governance Structure.WebHome"/}}
5 +
4 4  == 1. Governance Philosophy ==
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5 5  **Core Principles**:
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6 6  * **Automation over bureaucracy**: Minimize manual processes
7 7  * **Transparency by default**: Open decision-making
8 8  * **Community input**: Listen but decide decisively
9 9  * **Measured outcomes**: Data drives decisions
10 10  * **Adaptive structure**: Evolve as needed
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11 11  == 2. Organizational Structure ==
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12 12  **Flat Cooperative Model**:
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13 13  * Small organization with collaborative teamwork
14 14  * No hierarchical management layers
15 15  * Decisions by consensus when possible, voting when needed
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17 17  **General Assembly** → **Governing Team** → **Team Members** === 2.1 General Assembly (All Members) ===
18 18  Decides: Governing Team election, statutes, major strategic changes, budget
19 19  Meets: Annually
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20 20  === 2.2 Governing Team ===
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21 21  Decides: Strategy, policy, budget allocation, hiring
22 22  Meets: Quarterly
23 23  Size: small group (Facilitator, Coordinator, Treasurer + others)
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24 24  === 2.3 Team Members ===
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25 25  * **Technical Coordinator**: AKEL & infrastructure
26 26  * **Community Coordinator**: Moderators & contributors
27 27  * **Moderators** (part-time): Handle abuse/disputes
39 +
28 28  == 3. Decision Authority ==
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29 29  **Day-to-day**: Technical Coordinator + Community Coordinator
30 30  **Tactical**: Governing Team (simple majority)
31 31  **Strategic**: General Assembly (2/3 majority)
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32 32  == 4. Policy Development ==
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33 33  **RFC Process** (Request for Comments):
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34 34  1. Anyone drafts proposal
35 35  2. Community discussion 3. Governing Team reviews and votes
36 36  4. Decision published
37 37  **Emergency changes**: Technical Coordinator can act immediately, Governing Team ratifies later
54 +
38 38  == 5. Financial Governance ==
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39 39  * Annual budget approved by General Assembly
40 40  * Two-signature requirement for >CHF 5,000
41 41  * Governing Team approval for >CHF 20,000
42 42  * Quarterly financial reports
43 43  * Annual independent audit
62 +
44 44  == 6. Automation Governance ==
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45 45  **Core Principle**: AKEL makes content decisions. Humans make system decisions.
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46 46  === 6.1 Decision Boundary ===
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47 47  **What AKEL Decides (Automated)**:
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48 48  * All claim verdicts and confidence scores
49 49  * All evidence assessments and relevance scores
50 50  * All source track record scores
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74 74  * Critical security issues
75 75  * Legal compliance requirements
76 76  * Immediate safety concerns
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77 77  === 6.2 Principle: Fix the System, Not the Data ===
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78 78  **When AKEL makes a "wrong" decision**:
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79 79  * ❌ Do NOT manually override that specific verdict
80 80  * ✅ DO investigate: Is this a systematic issue?
81 81  * ✅ DO improve: Change algorithm/policy to handle such cases better
... ... @@ -85,8 +85,11 @@
85 85  **Example**:
86 86  * Bad: "AKEL rated this source too low, I'll manually boost it"
87 87  * Good: "AKEL consistently under-rates peer-reviewed sources. Let's adjust the scoring algorithm to weight peer-review more heavily."
114 +
88 88  === 6.3 Governance of AKEL ===
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89 89  **Quarterly Performance Review**:
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90 90  * Who: Governing Team + Technical Coordinator
91 91  * What: Review AKEL performance metrics, bias audits, user feedback patterns
92 92  * Output: Performance report, improvement priorities, policy updates if needed
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104 104  * Legal/compliance concerns
105 105  * New domains requiring special handling
106 106  **Algorithm Change Process**:
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107 107  1. Identify issue from metrics
108 108  2. Propose solution (RFC - Request for Comments)
109 109  3. Test in staging environment
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111 111  5. Technical Coordinator approves (or escalates to Governing Team for policy changes)
112 112  6. Deploy with monitoring
113 113  7. Evaluate results
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114 114  === 6.4 Human Intervention Criteria ===
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115 115  **Legitimate reasons to intervene**:
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116 116  * ✅ AKEL explicitly flags item for human review
117 117  * ✅ System metrics show performance degradation
118 118  * ✅ Legal/safety issue requires immediate action
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122 122  * ❌ "This source should rank higher" → Improve scoring rules
123 123  * ❌ "Manual quality gate before publication" → Defeats purpose of automation
124 124  * ❌ "I know better than the algorithm" → Then improve the algorithm
158 +
125 125  === 6.5 Consent-Based Decision Making ===
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126 126  **For system changes**, use consent not consensus (from Sociocracy 3.0):
127 127  **Consent** = No principled objections
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128 128  * Faster than consensus
129 129  * Respects concerns without requiring full agreement
130 130  * "I can live with this and support it"
131 131  **Process**:
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132 132  1. Proposal presented (RFC)
133 133  2. Clarifying questions
134 134  3. Reactions and concerns
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137 137  6. If no objections → Decision made
138 138  7. If objections → Integrate and repeat
139 139  **Use for**:
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140 140  * Algorithm changes
141 141  * Policy updates
142 142  * Infrastructure investments
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144 144  **Not for**:
145 145  * Strategic decisions (use voting)
146 146  * Emergency decisions (use autonomous authority)
185 +
147 147  == 7. Transparency & Accountability ==
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148 148  **Always public**: Policies, structure, board membership, financials, quality metrics, major decisions
149 149  **Published quarterly**: Activity reports, metrics, moderation stats
150 150  **Internal documentation**: All meetings, decisions, actions retained indefinitely
191 +
151 151  == 7. Conflict Resolution ==
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152 152  **User disputes**: Moderator → Appeal to different moderator → Governing Team (final)
153 153  **Timeline**: Reasonable timeframe
196 +
154 154  == 8. Moderation Oversight ==
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155 155  **Moderator requirements**: high reputation, 6+ months active, clean record
156 156  **Review**: Quarterly by Community Coordinator, annually by Governing Team
157 157  **Appeal**: Any user can appeal promptly
202 +
158 158  == 9. Code of Conduct ==
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159 159  **Governing Team**: Act in org interest, disclose conflicts, maintain confidentiality
160 160  **Team Members**: Follow procedures, professional conduct, document decisions
161 161  **Moderators**: Impartial decisions, respect privacy, respond timely
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162 162  == 10. Amendment Process ==
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163 163  **Minor changes**: Governing Team decision
164 164  **Major changes**: General Assembly (2/3 vote)
165 165  **Emergency**: Governing Team can act, must ratify at next Assembly
214 +
166 166  == 11. Related Pages ==
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167 167  * [[Organisational Model>>FactHarbor.Organisation.Organisational-Model]]
168 168  * [[Legal Framework>>FactHarbor.Organisation.Legal-Framework]]
169 169  * [[Transparency Policy>>FactHarbor.Organisation.How-We-Work-Together.Transparency-Policy]]