Cecile Green: Commoning Standard
Date: September 16, 2025 Speaker: Cecile Green, Round Sky Solutions Duration: ~70 minutes
Overview
Cecile Green presented the Commoning Standard, a theoretical framework rooted in 20 years of research on systemic crises caused by power misuse.
The Commoning Standard
Foundation
A comprehensive approach to:
- Communication architecture
- Collaborative power dynamics
- Structured decision-making processes
Research Basis
Built on understanding systemic crises resulting from:
- Power concentration
- Governance failures
- Communication breakdowns
Organizational Power Matrix
A tool for analyzing collaborative power dynamics:
- Maps power relationships within organizations
- Identifies healthy vs. unhealthy power patterns
- Guides interventions for better governance
Core Meeting Practices
The standard includes specific practices for:
- Fostering healthy power dynamics
- Ensuring equitable participation
- Making transparent decisions
Living Spreadsheet Architecture
A methodology for:
- Integrating diverse contributions into governance
- Maintaining dynamic, evolving documentation
- Supporting collective decision-making
Integrative Consent
Decision-making process that:
- Seeks workable solutions rather than unanimous agreement
- Addresses objections constructively
- Enables forward progress while respecting concerns
AI & Evaluation
Discussion of:
- AI’s role in evaluating facilitation quality
- Need for granular criteria for AI assessments
- Using AI prompts to process transcripts through commoning framework
Strategic Alignment
Focus areas for future work:
- Technical implementations
- Contributor integration
- Developer requirements for AI evaluation tools
Action Items
- Follow up with Liz on governance loop integration
- Determine granularity needs for AI evaluations
- Explore AI prompts for transcript processing experiments
Resources
- Commoning Standard documentation
- Round Sky Solutions governance frameworks
- CoLab governance flowcharts