Rebecca Sentance 2019 Q&A: Group 3

If you as a Board member could change one committee policy/procedure, what would it be?

I definitely don’t think that it’s within the purview of the OTW Board of Directors to make changes to individual committee policies or procedures, and neither should it be. Individual committee policies and procedures are the purview of that committee and that committee alone; if they impact on other committees, they might be devised in collaboration with the committee(s) in question, but this would still not make them the Board’s purview to change or determine. Committees and their chairs are the ones who know best what policies and procedures to enact, and how to go about doing so.

As with making changes to AO3’s Terms of Service, Board interference with committee-level procedures and policies would be a serious breach of trust – and moreover, would go against what the Board exists for, which is to oversee and ensure the smooth functioning of the OTW at a big-picture level, not to micro-manage committees.

At the very most, I imagine that while serving on the Board of Directors, I might be called upon to give advice or discuss issues with committee chairs that impact on procedures or policy, but even then, this would purely be a discussion aimed at helping the committee to find the best solution – not a change made by the Board.

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Kirsten Wright 2019 Q&A: Group 3

If you as a Board member could change one committee policy/procedure, what would it be?

I think committee policies and procedures should be left up to the committees. Instead, I would be happy to work with each committee, and help them to evaluate what they are currently doing. In my view, the board should act as more of a guiding hand rather than a blunt hammer. I believe that committees know best how to operate while the board ensures efficiency and best practices.
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Morgan Schroeder 2019 Q&A: Group 3

If you as a Board member could change one committee policy/procedure, what would it be?

The Board does not (and should not) suggest committees changes their policies and procedures unless there’s a very strong reason to do so, such as legal requirements changing or inter-committee issues requiring arbitration. Even in those cases, I wouldn’t push for change without the committee’s agreement.

Even if I as a Board member could just go in and change how a committee operates, I likely wouldn’t know enough about the intricacies of the committee to do so unless I was a staff member. I do look forward to learning more about committees as a Board member, if I am elected, but that still wouldn’t give me the ability to go digging around in their policies.

As for the committees that I am staff on, I would definitely bring up potential changes as a committee member rather than a Board member, so that we could discuss and decide together.

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