Meeting Agendas and Minutes

Draft OSMUK Board Rules of Order April 2017

Adapted from OSMF text

1. Preface
2. OSMUK Board has given itself the following set of rules to govern how the Board does its work.
3. These rules have been agreed on by the board on xxxxxxx and will remain in force until they are replaced by a new set of rules, or abolished altogether.
4. Board Duties
5. The board collectively decides on guidelines that govern their work. Board members will respect these guidelines when executing their offices or other board duties. When in doubt, a board decision is called for.
6. Board members are expected to: o actively support and further the interests of the OSMUK o participate in board meetings and decisions o perform any duties conferred to them by the Articles of Association or General Meetings o give account of their work to General Meetings and the members.
7. Board members may be asked to convey board decisions to third parties. In doing so, they have a duty to represent the board's decisions factually.
8. Confidentiality and Transparency
9. Unpublished information which board members receive from 3rd parties in the course of their duties as board members shall be assumed confidential.
10. This confidentiality rule applies to board members even after they have left the board.
11. No secrets will be kept between board members where OSMUK business is concerned.
12. Notwithstanding the above OSMUK board endeavours to make its work transparent through the publication of minutes and other documents.
13. Authority to Represent
14. Board members will not represent their personal views as OSMUK board opinion.
15. Board members should make reasonable efforts to avoid their personal views being mistaken for OSMUK board views.
16. The board may grant individual board members authority to individually represent OSMUK.
17. Means of Communication
18. All important internal board communication should take place either during board meetings (see next section) or on the board communication infrastructure (specific platforms will be agreed by the Board).
19. The board communication infrastructure is private and accessible only to board members, but third parties can be invited by a board decision.
20. Board Meetings
21. Board meetings can take place in the form of personal meetings or by voice communication.
22. Board meetings are restricted to board members, but guests can be invited by a board decision.
23. Board meetings are chaired by a chairperson agreed at the start of each meeting. During discussions of any items in which the chairperson is involved, the task of chairing that section of the meeting will be delegated by the chairperson to another board member.
24. The quorum is met if at least 50% of board members are present. Board resolutions are carried by a simple majority of the board members present.
25. All board decisions taken in a board meeting must be minuted. If votes are taken, the minutes will contain a tally of votes. In addition, it is desirable to also minute the most important points of the discussion preceding a decision.
26. When a board member would be influenced by a conflict of interest with respect to a decision, they will recuse themselves from voting.
27. Circular Resolutions
28. Circular resolutions are board resolutions on time-sensitive issues agreed prior to a board meeting.
29. Any board member has the right to request a circular resolution at any time, by communicating a proposed resolution together with a reasoning to the board communication platform. The reasoning should describe why the proposed resolution is in the best interests of OSMUK.
30. The proposed resolution is accepted as soon as at least 50% of board members have agreed by making a clear statement to that effect on the board communication platform.
31. After one week, or two weeks with the request of any board member, any non-votes are counted as an abstain.
32. Circular resolutions will be duly minuted in the minutes of the next board meeting.
33. Gifts and Reimbursements
34. Board members will inform the board of any occasion where they receive a personal gift, or reimbursement of expenses, from another individual or organisation, unless the occasion is wholly unrelated to OSMUK business or the value of the gift or reimbursement is less than £50.
35. Board members report such gifts at the board meeting, and a list of such gifts, including source and amount, is made available in the quarterly financial statement.
36. This does not cover expenses or income paid by the employer or client of a board member when such employment or client relationship is mentioned on the "Board Member Bios" page on the OSMUK website.
37. Economy travel to and accommodation for face to face board meetings is covered. Other events are considered on a case-by-case basis. In all cases, the board member shall bring an estimate to the board before incurring the expenses.

@brianprangle Number 24 needs changing to align with our AoA. That states that "quorum for Directors’ meetings may be fixed from time to time by a decision of
the Directors, but it must never be less than three, and unless otherwise fixed it is
three."

It it stands that is >50% but probably easier to just say "quorum is set according to our AoA and is currently 3".