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constitution.md

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Constitution

Date Of Last Revision: 24th November 2012

  1. Name Of Organisation.
    1. The name of the organisation shall be "091 Labs".
  2. Organisation Objectives.
    1. To develop an inclusive community interested in the pursuit of innovation in science, technology, modern culture, and creative arts.
    2. To provide shared physical workspaces and resources where the community can work together or individually on projects.
    3. To provide safe, inviting, and friendly environments where the community can meet and socialise together.
    4. To foster the idea of knowledge sharing and continued education within the community, and the general public.
    5. To promote and support the use and development of open technologies, standards, and ideas by the community, the general public, and other bodies.
  3. Organisation Procedures.
    1. The organisation shall be run by its members. A limited set of finance, membership, and management tasks will be performed by a committee on behalf of the members.
    2. The organisation will have flexible general operating procedures to coordinate the day-to-day running of the physical workspaces, the use of resources, and decision making processes.
    3. Decision making.
      1. All decisions of the organisation will be made by consensus, or if consensus cannot be reached then at a meeting by majority vote. In this constitution, consensus means that all full members have been given the opportunity to object to a decision and no reasonable objections have been received. The consensus making process will be defined in the general operating procedures.
      2. The General Operating Procedures can be amended by:
        1. Consensus agreement,
        2. An electronic vote by the members, scheduled & announced at least a week in advance.
    4. Emergencies
      1. Committee should be able to make the urgent decisions but still remain accountable for it.
      2. Urgent deemed: "One that is vital to the continuation of the Labs and requires a decision in less than 24 hours."
    5. The committee will be responsible for interpreting this constitution and the general operating procedures.
    6. This constitution may only be amended at a general meeting.
    7. All members and visitors shall refrain from actions or behaviour which would have a negative effect on the organisation. The organisation shall not be held responsible or liable for any actions or behaviour of individuals or groups.
    8. All members and visitors will be bound by this constitution and the general operating procedures.
  4. Membership.
    1. A full member will have the right to keys and be able to attend any physical workspaces at any time, to have a single vote, make use of resources, and accompany two visitors; as detailed in the general operating procedures.
    2. A probationary member will have the right to attend any physical workspaces while a full member is present, make use of resources, and accompany one visitor; as detailed in the general operating procedures.
    3. New member procedure:
      1. A prospective member must agree to this constitution and supply a membership form to the committee along with nominations from two existing full members.
      2. Upon acceptance by the committee, the prospective member will be deemed to be a probationary member.
      3. After a two month probation period a decision will be made by the membership on whether a probationary member will be made a full member, have the probation extended or be removed from the organisation.
      4. The committee can reduce or extend the required probation period on a case-by-case basis.
    4. The membership fee will be paid in advance. The form of payment will be, monthly by standing order or monthly in cash.
    5. The committee can make arrangements on the amount and form of payment for members with financial difficulties on a case-by-case basis.
    6. If a member needs to change their level of membership fees, they contact the membership secretary.
    7. The membership fee can consist of multiple rates, the rates and criteria for each rate will be set at a general meeting.
    8. Any committee member can suspend any member or visitor in extreme circumstances. Suspended members or visitors will be denied access to any physical workspaces until the reason for their suspension has been resolved. An alternative to a suspension would be a short term timeout, with a suitable time set by the committee member.
    9. If a member wishes to leave the organisation, written notice must be given to the Membership Secretary. Continued non-payment of the membership fee will be deemed to be the same as the receipt of a written notice to leave the organisation.
    10. A general meeting will be held if a full member is to be removed from the organisation.
    11. Upon leaving or being removed from the organisation all keys, access tokens or organisation property must be return to the organisation.
    12. On the adoption of this constitution all people who have paid dues prior to its adoption and have agreed to the constitution will be deemed to be full members.
  5. Committee.
    1. The tasks of the committee shall be to coordinate the financial activities, maintain the membership list, coordinate general meetings, maintain the general operating procedures, and act as signatories on behalf of the organisation.
    2. The committee shall be made up of full members and shall consist of
      • One Membership Secretary,
      • One Treasurer,
      • One Events Support Officer,
      • One Public Relations Officer,
      • and One Buildings Officer.
    3. Committee members will receive no remuneration for being part of the committee.
    4. The term of a committee member lasts until the next Annual General Meeting.
    5. The primary duties of the committee members are:
      • The Membership Secretary shall:
        • maintain the membership records of the organisation,
        • maintain the general records of the organisation,
        • notify members of votes and general meetings.
      • The Treasurer shall:
        • maintain the financial records of the organisation,
        • be the primary bank account signatory,
        • regularly update members of financial status,
        • organise the timely payment of Labs expenditure.
      • The Events Support Officer shall:
        • maintain the calendar of events and bookings therein,
        • encourage members to organise events for the organisation,
        • provide support, advice, and assistance to members organising events.
      • The Public Relations Officer shall:
        • promote and maintain good relations between the organisation and the public,
        • encourage members to promote the Labs and projects subject to their particular skills,
        • create, maintain, and update promotional material for the Labs for external distribution.
      • The Buildings Officer shall:
        • ensure the organisation facilities meet health and safety requirements,
        • organise regular maintenance and upkeep of organisation facilities,
        • organise essential utilities for the organisation facilities,
        • respond appropriately to emergencies or urgent issues as they arise.
    6. More specific definition of the duties of the committee will be covered in the General Operating Procedure.
      1. Wherever possible, these duties should be spread out among as much of the willing membership as possible.
      2. The members can create teams to deal with specific duties and tasks.
    7. Any full Labs member can be voted in as an interim committee member in emergency circumstances.
    8. If a committee member resigns from the committee or leaves the organisation a general meeting will be called to find a replacement.
    9. A general meeting will be held if a committee member is to be removed from the committee.
    10. All personal information will be maintained in strict confidence by the committee. Any changes or corrections required to this information can be made through the Membership Secretary.
  6. Income And Finance.
    1. The organisation shall be non-commercial and not-for-profit.
    2. All income will be used to achieve the organisations objectives.
    3. The primary income source for the organisation will be the membership fee, all other sources will be secondary income.
    4. The committee, in consultation with the membership, shall coordinate expenditure on the running costs of the organisation.
    5. The committee, in consultation with the membership shall define general operating procedures for the collection and disbursement of small cash amounts.
    6. Decisions on extra expenditure by the organisation will be made by the membership.
    7. The signature or electronic authorisation of the Treasurer or their proxy and another committee member will be required for all cheques or financial directives of the organisation.
    8. Income, assets and surplus may not be distributed to any member.
  7. Use Of Organisation Resources.
    1. The organisation will make no claim and take no responsibility for the projects created by members using organisation resources.
    2. Members may not use organisation resources for continued commercial activity.
  8. General Meetings.
    1. There shall be an Annual General Meeting (AGM) held each year.
    2. An Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) shall be convened if:
      1. The lower of ten percent of members with full membership status or ten full members request one.
      2. Or the committee requests one.
    3. A quorum of a general meeting shall be two committee members and the lower of twenty percent of members with full membership status or ten full members.
    4. The business of the AGM shall include annual reports from the Treasurer and Membership Secretary, the election of a new committee, and the setting of the membership fee.
    5. The business of an EGM shall be restricted to the items given in the notice of the general meeting.
    6. Notice of all general meetings and the reason for the meeting shall be given by the committee at least two weeks prior to the date of the meeting.
    7. A general meeting will be chaired by the Chairman or another member of the committee, the minutes of the meeting will be made available after the meeting.
    8. At a general meeting resulting in the dissolution of the organisation, the remaining assets and property of the organisation must be used to cover any outstanding expenses of the organisation and/or be distributed to other organisations with similar objectives.
    9. At a general meeting, a vote will be passed if more then half of the full members present are in favour, and a vote on an amendment to this constitution will be passed if more then two thirds of the full members present are in favour.