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Report from the Grand Council: Quarter 2, 2011, respectfully submitted by Baroness Bianca the Inquisitive, Grand Council Secretary

* A copy of this report in .doc format to be submitted to directors@sca.org, renee@sca.org,  president@sca.org, and list@lists.sca.org
* Report uploaded to Grand Council website:  http://grandcouncil.sca.org/gc_rpts.php?y=2011&m=July
* Link to google doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jnqHvpoBTN4IN_MltXngsOe9xT24715GOoOS1ENSfak/edit?hl=en_US&authkey=CPvT5rQD

A. COMMITTEE ACTIVITY

The Grand Council was asked to produce a minimum of 10 more actionable recommendations regarding communications best practices.  Also, we were asked to note everything that needs to be changed in current policies for each recommendation.

B. COMMITTEE STATUS AND COMMENDATIONS
None

Other Changes

Resigned:
Berengaria de Montfort de Carcasson - At Large - AnTir

Change:
Elections were held and the new officers are:
Therasia von Tux - Chairman
Saito Takauji - Vice Chair
Bianca the Inqusitive - Secretary
Stephen Godwin fitz Baldric - Clerk

Retired:
AshaHito Large - At Large - Atlantia
Mitchell McBain - Kingdom Appointee - East Kingdom
Kat MacLochlainn - At Large - Ansteorra
Kevin Eriôl - At Large - Meridies
Elias Gedney - At Large - East
Flanna Dunwalton - At Large - West
Hrothgar the Smith - At Large - Calontir
T'ressa Margarite - At Large - Northshield

Additions:
Lawrence Thornguard - Kingdom Appointee - East Kingdom
Aedan mac Suibne - At Large - An Tir
Aspasia Jeanne Cartier - At Large - Trimaris
Caointiarn - At Large - Artemisia
Dafydd Gwynfardd - At Large - Caid
Dulcia MacPherson - At Large - Trimaris
Giovanna Adimari - At Large -  Middle
Ii Saburou Katsumori - At Large - West
Svanhildr Karlsdottir - At Large - East

Open Positions:

Kingdom Appointee:

An Tir

Artemisia

Atenveldt

Caid

Calontir

Gleann Abhann

Middle


** NOTE: The Grand Council notes with sadness and great regret the passing of Daniel Thompson, known in the Society as Roger of Belden Abbey of An Tir, who was our Chairperson from June 2006 to May 2007, and extend our sympathy to his family and friends.

C. PUBLISHABLE SUMMARY

We are being asked to produce a minimum of 10 actionable recommendations per quarter, each of which the board will look at and probably request commentary from other sources.  Also, we were asked to note everything that needs to be changed in current policies for each recommendation.  

These are the best practices recommendations for SCA communications from the Grand Council for 2nd Quarter 2011.  We present these as general guidelines and not as rules with which to beat people over the head.

1. All corporate, branch and officer communications should use clear language without jargon, clarifying any terms not found in standard English dictionaries.  Note: Be aware that the international  English-speaking community, including non-native English speakers, does not have a defined
standard for English. As such, localisms (jargon, slang, regional expressions and phrasing) should
be avoided where possible.

The committee has found no current policies that conflict.

2.  Communicate plans, possible changes, new rules, etc. well ahead of time, preferably six months or longer, if possible.

The committee has found no current policies that conflict.

3. Make sure that temporary measures are clearly communicated as temporary measures, and are indeed temporary.

The committee has found no current policies that conflict.

4. All corporate, branch and officer communications should allow for the use of any available communications method.  No policy should require a particular method or ban a particular method unless there are clear legal reasons for doing so.  In the case of legal issues, the policy should be
stated to do as legally required rather than stating a required method since legal requirements can change rapidly.

No direct conflict with policy.  Certain electronic methods of communication are specifically not recommended because of their commercial or public nature.

5. Communication should not be considered official (and thus binding to SCA, Inc.) if it does not derive from an officer of the corporation.  Officers include not only Society Officers, but also properly warranted branch level officers.  This does not include communication from non-warranted positions,
such as the heads of polling orders, organizers of individual activities, non-warranted event volunteers, etc. unless it is authorized by an appropriate, warranted officer of the SCA, other than event autocrats.
Casual mail and similar personal communications should not be signed using the titles of a person's SCA office.  For example,  an email about who is doing the dishes in camp at an event should not be signed "Lord Ronald MacDonald, Knight's Marshal of the Barony of Baconburger," nor should a letter to an authorized fighter regarding a violation of the rules of the lists signed "your pal, Donny."

Corpora currently defines "official" communication in the Governing Documents:  X. POLICY ON ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS and I.c.5. Communications with the Board of Directors.  It does not contradict what we wrote, but the BoD may wish to reexamine these
based on our suggested best practices.

6. All announcements from the Corporation (Board, Officers, etc.) should be written in the light of the international nature of the society, and appropriate qualification should always be given as to the applicability of the announcement outside of USA legal jurisdiction.

No obvious conflicts, though some policies may be written with a US audience in mind.  Attempts at this are already there in the documents (e.g. both Imperial and Metric systems are often used; and there are cases where policies dealing with US law are spelled out as dealing with US law).

7. All corporate, branch and officer communications, no matter the purpose, should be written in a way that is respectful of all involved parties and readers.

The committee has found no current policies that conflict.

8. Communication should be encouraged in both vertical (e.g. Branch to Kingdom, Kingdom to Corporation, etc.) and horizontal (e.g. branch to branch, Kingdom to Kingdom, affiliate to affiliate, etc.) dimensions.

Almost all of the corporate level handbooks stipulate reporting only in a vertical fashion - so this recommendation would change these policies.  Also, some information can NOT be reported  horizontally, e.g. chirurgeonate injury reports are not shared horizontally because of confidentiality concerns, although redacted injury information is allowed to flow to the marshallate on a need-to-know basis.

Also, horizontal reporting between kingdoms would involve a change to the reporting  requirements in the Governing Documents, which currently stipulate vertical reporting channels but no horizontal ones.

Due to the potential legal ramifications from improper data handling, extreme caution and due diligence should be taken to ensure all appropriate care and consideration are employed when sharing information, vertically or horizontally. (i.e. privacy laws, patient confidentiality, etc.)

9. All communications-related policies should be reviewed by the Seneschal on an annual biennial basis for compliance with legal requirements, compliance with other corporate policies, compliance with Kingdom Law (as appropriate) and with an eye toward making communications easier and less
burdensome on volunteers in the various branches of the Society.

This entails a change (i.e. addition) to the job description responsibilities of seneschals.

10. The Society should create and/or expand, as well as maintain, a glossary of general SCA terms, abbreviations and acronyms.  Individual kingdoms and branches should consider creating an addendum to the general glossary for specific terms, abbreviations and acronyms used locally.  This glossary or links to it should be placed in an area readily accessible to newcomers and first time visitors (e.g. in an "About Us." or "Welcome to the SCA." page).

The committee has found no current policies that conflict.

Voting Breakdown:
40 GC members voted - three members did not vote.

Results are as follows:
Item 1 Weighted value of 71
YES: 31
yes: 9
abstain: 0
no: 0
NO: 0

Item 2 Weighted value of 62
YES: 22
yes: 18
abstain: 0
no: 0
NO: 0

Item 3 Weighted value of  68
YES: 28
yes: 12
abstain: 0
no: 0
NO: 0

Item 4 Weighted value of  57
YES: 25
yes: 11
abstain: 1
no: 2
NO: 1

Item 5 Weighted value of  53
YES: 15
yes: 24
abstain: 0
no: 1
NO: 0

Item 6 Weighted value of 68
YES: 30
yes: 9
abstain: 1
no: 0
NO: 0

Item 7 Weighted value of 68
YES: 28
yes: 12
abstain: 0
no: 0
NO: 0

Item 8 Weighted value of  62
YES: 22
yes: 18
abstain: 0
no: 0
NO: 0

Item 9 Weighted value of  47
YES: 18
yes: 16
abstain: 1
no: 5
NO: 0

Item 10 Weighted value of  34
YES: 10
yes: 23
abstain: 1
no: 3
NO: 3


D. CONFIDENTIAL
Nothing to report

E. DISCUSSIONS

F. PREVIOUSLY APPROVED DISCUSSION TOPICS, TO BE ADDRESSED AS TIME PERMITS
There are no such topics at this time.

G. SUGGESTED FUTURE OR ON-GOING DISCUSSION TOPICS
None

APPENDIX A: LIST OF COUNCIL MEMBERS CONTRIBUTING TO THE DISCUSSIONS
SCA NameKingdom Rep/at-largeKingdom
Aedan mac SuibneAt LargeAn Tir
Alan CulrossAt LargeMiddle
Alysoun JeuneterreAt LargeTrimaris
Ariel of LindisfarneKingdomDrachenwald
AshaHitoAt LargeAtlantia
Aspasia Jeanne CartierAt LargeTrimaris
Berengaria de Montfort de CarcassonAt LargeAn Tir
Bianca the InquisitiveAt LargeMeridies
Caelin on AndredeAt LargeAnsteorra
CaointiarnAt LargeArtemisia
Catalina OroSolAt LargeLochac
Cathal mac Edan na faeledKingdomMeridies
Charles the Grey of MooneschadoweKingdomAnsteorra
Chiara Francesca Arianna d'OnofrioAt LargeAn Tir
Conal Mac NachtanKingdomOutlands
Dafydd GwynfarddAt LargeCaid
Daniel de BlareKingdomWest
Dulcia MacPhersonAt LargeTrimaris
Eilis o'boirneAt LargeWest
Elias GedneyAt LargeEast
Elizabeth Turner de CarlisleAt LargeAn Tir
Flanna DunwaltonAt LargeWest
Galleron de CressyAt LargeEast
George Anne of AethelmearcKingdomAethelmearc
Giles LeabrookAt LargeLochac
Giovanna AdimariAt LargeMiddle
Heather SheaKingdomEaldormere
Helena Bryenissa RaoulainaAt LargeAn Tir
Hrolf HerjolfssenAt LargeLochac
Hrothgar the SmithAt LargeCalontir
Ii Saburou KatsumoriAt LargeWest
Ixtilixochitl de los IndiosAt LargeMiddle
Jason Griffiths of ShadowHyrstAt LargeCaid
Jehanne le feu du ChristAt LargeAtenveldt
Kane GreymaneKingdomLochac
Kat MacLochlainnAt LargeAnsteorra
Kevin EriôlAt LargeMeridies
Lawrence ThornguardKingdomEast
Mitchell MacBainKingdomEast
Morgan Etienne ap Gwalchmai GwyneddKingdomTrimaris
Orla CareyKingdomAtlantia
Raphe CuthbertAt LargeDrachenwald
Rebecca with the GreyhoundAt LargeGleann Abhann
Saito TakaujiAt LargeCalontir
Simone Marruin Ui'DunlainghAt LargeAnsteorra
Sine GunnsdottirAt LargeAn Tir
Stephen Godwin fitz BaldricAt LargeTrimaris
Svanhildr KarlsdottirAt LargeEast
Therasia von TuxAt LargeAnsteorra
T'ressa MargariteAt LargeNorthshield
Tristan von EisigKingdomNorthshield


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