Governance and Culture
ECOLISE is governed through a sociocratic model that supports transparency, shared leadership, and collective accountability. Our governance structure is organised into circles aligned with our core strategic functions.
Working Together, the Sociocratic Way
Sociocracy is an organisational model that helps people collaborate towards a shared purpose, one that values every voice, nurtures equality, and builds a culture of working with others rather than over them.
In practice, this means that instead of a few directors deciding what next year’s budget will look like, circles come together to explore what best meets everyone’s needs.Another important aspect of sociocracy is that decisions aren’t run by a majority system, where likely a minority would be left unsatisfied. Instead, decisions are made with everyone’s consent, and eventual objections and concerns are treated with extreme importance, regardless of their number, or the level of seniority of the person in the team.
Our Circles
Sociocracy used structure based in circles to promote autonomy, self-management and agility, whilst ensuring that decisions that affect the entire team are held in a way that includes everyone’s input. Think of our circles as self-managing teams that have their own areas of responsibility while staying connected to the bigger picture. This structure gives people autonomy in their work while ensuring that decisions affecting the whole group include input from those who will be impacted.
Advocate
We advocate for policy change at European, national and regional levels to empower community-led initiatives on climate change and sustainability. Through co-creation, we collaborate with diverse groups to develop impactful policy recommendations and build awareness of EU policy processes among our members.
Enable
We are committed to cultivating a thriving network of members and regenerative community-led actors across Europe. We do this by making connections, enabling participation and collaboration, facilitating exchanges and strengthening the capacity of ECOLISE members and partners to empower, upscale and support community-led actions for an eco-social just transition. This includes organising events and creating spaces for exchange, collaboration and mutual learning.
Inspire
Using the power of communications, we are committed to elevating the visibility of communities’ efforts addressing climate change and sustainability in Europe. We do this by raising the profile of community-led initiatives and facilitating the sharing of information and experience within and beyond the network. We provide inspiration and guidance for communities and influence policy by highlighting the benefits of community-led climate and sustainability action.
Learn
We are building a knowledge commons on community-led action.
People Care Manual
Our People Care Manual guides how we relate to each other as a network, promoting a culture of respect, well-being, and shared responsibility. It includes protocols for conflict transformation, internal decision-making, accessibility, and equity in our workspaces and events. Read our People Care Manual below:
