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Basics

Essence

We are a vivid and solidary coalition of collectively led IT-Companies (in English, they are most frequently called worker owned cooperatives). Together, we are publicly visible and addressable and consider ourselves a part of the movement for a solidary economy.

Vision

We are a network of solidarity that offers individual IT-coops more economic security as well as courses of action and offers interested individuals access to the world of collectively organised (IT-) labour.

By means of collaboration in larger projects we desire to offer individual collectives more security and make sure that overall a larger amount of complex IT-projects and services is realised by collectively organised IT-companies. In the course of this, we are committed to open-source and decentralised digitalisation in opposition to the trend of increasingly centralised data and services.

Our network offers a growing, modular framework for agreeing on processes and utilisation of synergies, constructed around an obligatory core component of shared values and decision making processes.

Furthermore we wish to grow a lively culture by meeting in real life on a regular basis, to get to know each other personally and to learn together. Beyond our strategies and processes, we also focus on sharing experience and knowledge.

Our cooperation is supposed to gain visibility and awareness. For a critical public as an example of solidaric economy and decentralised digitalisation and for our customers as a reliable, competent partner with high, long term commitment, data protection, quality and fairness.

We consider ourselves embedded in economy and society and actively seek interaction with actors beyond the IT-sector or the German speaking area. Thereby we also dare a critical evaluation of the role of the IT-sector in global development.

Core organising consensus

Definition of „collective“: Membership criteria

  • The social group is organised in an egalitarian, democratic fashion. Decisions are made with equal votes. Propositions can be decided on by all involved. There is transparency regarding roles and decision making process.

  • Discrimination or strict role assignment is actively avoided, deconstructed or, respectively, reflected critically.

  • The collective doesn't operate in a way that contradicts the core values of the network (e.g. tools to control or manipulate workers, services for weapons production, etc.). The participating companies work together cooperatively and do not compete with each other.

  • Equity: The legal forms utilised by the group are owned by the members of the group. The shares need to be either distributed equally or associated with the amount of time invested. Workers need to be owners and vice versa. Due to the participating companies being in ownership of the employees, a sale of the companies is precluded.

  • Outside capital: A funding via outside capital is possible, but must not restrict the freedom of decision of the employees in a meaningful amount. The funding needs to be made transparent to the network and can contradict a membership. Particularly there has to be a clear distinction from "standard start-ups", green washing/ social washing start-ups etc..

  • Subcontracting: If subcontractors are hired they have to receive equal access to participation (compared to employees of the collectives) as well as equal compensation

  • The networking initiative communicates primarily in German and has business experience in Germany and the EU. These circumstances do by no means exclude other types of memberships.

  • The participating companies strive for usage as well as development of Free Software and infrastructure. In special cases and provided there are very strong reasons, deviations can be accepted.

Decision making

Principles

The networking initiative follows the principle of:

  1. Horizontality: An administrative superstructure is avoided whereever possible
  2. Decentralization: All units should be functional individually and collaborate solidarically to form a whole entity
  3. Autonomy: Decisions should always be made by those who are directly concerned by them
  4. Diversity: All units live their own culture and structure
  5. Cooperation: All units agree on binding forms of collaboration
  6. Modularity: Not all units have to be involved in all initiatives and processes of the networking initiative
  7. Inclusion: All persons are admitted into the structures, benevolently and equitable
  8. Solidarity: All collectives support eacht other, reflect injustice and work against it
  9. Agility: Further development of the structure happens iteratively, experimenting and self-aware

Units

  • Collectives: Groups of people who congregate in free association to work together. Deciding members of the networking initiative.
  • Legal forms: Formal organisational structures for participation in capitalist economy.
  • Competence teams: Inter-collective groups with special knowledge about certain topics
  • Project teams: Temporary units working on customer - or - internal projects
  • Networking initiatives: Open groups with the goal to further develop the network by building it directly or by creating manifestations like congresses, shared tools,...

What needs to be decided by all members?

  1. Changes of core principles and structures of the network
  2. Decisions with the potential to influence the public reception
  3. Decisions that concern the resources of persons/groups not involved in an initiative (time, money)
  4. Developments in an initiative for which a collective requests a decision making process

What doesn't need a decision making process?

Any work of an initiative that doesn't concern the uninvolved significantly. The commitment of initiatives drives the whole structure forward and is principally regarded with benevolence.

Transparency

  1. The founding of an initiative, a competence team or a project team and their goal are publicly announced.
  2. Protocols or recordings of meetings of an initiative or competence team are accessible for all interested network members.

Decisions

  1. A networking initiative or a collective develops a decision proposal
  2. The proposal is published to all involved collectives, for discussion and decision
  3. Each collective can, until the subsequent network meeting (at least 14 days):
  4. Accept the proposal
  5. Suggest changes/improvements
  6. Phrase a reasoned objection, if possible together with a change suggestion that can alleviate the objection. There should always be a network meeting between proposal, objection and implementation.
  7. For all topics not concerning the whole structure, explicitly revoke involvement or not react at all
  8. For topics concerning the whole structure, no reactions means agreement
  9. If no grave, reasoned objection has been stated, the proposal is accepted and the initiative can implement further change suggestions. The result is announced to all collectives. In case of implemented changes, objections can be raised within seven days. Deviations from the original proposal should be easily and clearly identifiable.

  10. If a grave and reasoned objection has been stated, the decision is rejected. The initiative can resubmit a changed proposal for repeated decision. If the proposal of the objecting collective is accepted by the initiative, it is considered "already accepted" by the objecting collective.