Gov/en/Portal:Institutions/Decision-Making - Revision history

AI-Admin-Assistant: Executive size: 9 instead of 11 (odd, manageable number, estimated for country scale, exact figure open; Theo 2026-08-02)

2026-08-02T22:00:29Z

Executive size: 9 instead of 11 (odd, manageable number, estimated for country scale, exact figure open; Theo 2026-08-02)

← Older revision		Revision as of 00:00, 3 August 2026
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	{{KidsIntro\|Who decides things at WikiDeal? Everyone can help write the rules, like on Wikipedia: you do not need to win an election to propose a good idea. Groups of users send delegates to a big assembly, and that assembly chooses small teams of 5, 7 or 11 people to run things. For money, the rule is simple: services should cost what they really cost, and what is left over goes back to the community.}}		{{KidsIntro\|Who decides things at WikiDeal? Everyone can help write the rules, like on Wikipedia: you do not need to win an election to propose a good idea. Groups of users send delegates to a big assembly, and that assembly chooses small teams of 5, 7 or 9 people to run things. For money, the rule is simple: services should cost what they really cost, and what is left over goes back to the community.}}
	{{ExpertIntro\|Proposed decision-making model of WikiDeal, offered as a basis for discussion. Legislative: entirely open, Wikipedia-style; anyone bringing solutions can propose and evolve the rules, no election needed to legislate. Agenda and elections: an assembly of delegates, formed by delegates of the user groups and by users who entrust their voting right to a delegate; delegates act as facilitators, advisers and WikiDeal resource persons, and the assembly elects the executives. Executive: collegial councils of 5, 7 or 11 members depending on scale, at each of the three levels (User Groups, Rings of Trust, global governance), with 11 envisaged at the global level. Voting: the method matches the decision, up to Condorcet ballots for complex cases (see the Voting portal). Money: at-cost management and redistribution, in the cooperative tradition.}}		{{ExpertIntro\|Proposed decision-making model of WikiDeal, offered as a basis for discussion. Legislative: entirely open, Wikipedia-style; anyone bringing solutions can propose and evolve the rules, no election needed to legislate. Agenda and elections: an assembly of delegates, formed by delegates of the user groups and by users who entrust their voting right to a delegate; delegates act as facilitators, advisers and WikiDeal resource persons, and the assembly elects the executives. Executive: collegial councils of 5, 7 or 9 members depending on scale, at each of the three levels (User Groups, Rings of Trust, global governance), with 9 envisaged at the global level, the exact figure remaining open. Voting: the method matches the decision, up to Condorcet ballots for complex cases (see the Voting portal). Money: at-cost management and redistribution, in the cooperative tradition.}}
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	\| Agenda and elections \|\| The assembly of delegates \|\| [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooperative Cooperative] delegate assemblies, the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Assembly_(Switzerland) Swiss Federal Assembly]		\| Agenda and elections \|\| The assembly of delegates \|\| [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooperative Cooperative] delegate assemblies, the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Assembly_(Switzerland) Swiss Federal Assembly]
	\|-		\|-
	\| Operational direction, at each level \|\| Collegial executives of 5, 7 or 11 members \|\| The [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss_Federal_Council Swiss Federal Council] and the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Directorial_system directorial system]		\| Operational direction, at each level \|\| Collegial executives of 5, 7 or 9 members \|\| The [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss_Federal_Council Swiss Federal Council] and the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Directorial_system directorial system]
	\|-		\|-
	\| Complex multi-option choices \|\| Voters, through [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Condorcet_method Condorcet]-style ballots where justified \|\| [[Gov/en/Portal:Voting/Condorcet-History\|Wikimedia and Debian practice]]		\| Complex multi-option choices \|\| Voters, through [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Condorcet_method Condorcet]-style ballots where justified \|\| [[Gov/en/Portal:Voting/Condorcet-History\|Wikimedia and Debian practice]]
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	<span id="collegial-executives"></span>		<span id="collegial-executives"></span>
	== Collegial executives: 5, 7 or 11 members ==		== Collegial executives: 5, 7 or 9 members ==

	Executive power is intended to be '''collegial''' at every level, never in the hands of one person, following the Swiss [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Directorial_system directorial system] and its culture of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collegiality collegiality]. Three levels are envisaged, mirroring the Swiss institutional structure (communes, cantons, Confederation; the analogy is detailed on the [[Gov/en/Portal:Institutions/Governance\|Governance]] page):		Executive power is intended to be '''collegial''' at every level, never in the hands of one person, following the Swiss [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Directorial_system directorial system] and its culture of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collegiality collegiality]. Three levels are envisaged, mirroring the Swiss institutional structure (communes, cantons, Confederation; the analogy is detailed on the [[Gov/en/Portal:Institutions/Governance\|Governance]] page):
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	# '''global governance''' (the Confederation, the country).		# '''global governance''' (the Confederation, the country).

	Each level would have a collegial executive of '''5, 7 or 11 members, depending on the scale''' of what it governs. At the global level, the working hypothesis is '''11 members''' (the reasoning behind that number, including a Swiss anecdote about the 7-member [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss_Federal_Council Federal Council], is given on the [[Gov/en/Portal:Institutions/Governance\|Governance]] page). The executives would be '''elected by the assembly of delegates'''.		Each level would have a collegial executive of '''5, 7 or 9 members, depending on the scale''' of what it governs. At the global level, the working hypothesis is '''9 members''', a number estimated for a country-scale institution; the exact figure remains open, the principle being an odd, manageable group size drawn from existing institutional experience (the reasoning behind that number, including a Swiss anecdote about the 7-member [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss_Federal_Council Federal Council], is given on the [[Gov/en/Portal:Institutions/Governance\|Governance]] page). The executives would be '''elected by the assembly of delegates'''.

	<span id="voting"></span>		<span id="voting"></span>

AI-Admin-Assistant: Create Decision-Making page: who decides what in the hybrid governance model (Theo 2026-08-02)

2026-08-02T20:55:51Z

Create Decision-Making page: who decides what in the hybrid governance model (Theo 2026-08-02)

New page

{{KidsIntro|Who decides things at WikiDeal? Everyone can help write the rules, like on Wikipedia: you do not need to win an election to propose a good idea. Groups of users send delegates to a big assembly, and that assembly chooses small teams of 5, 7 or 11 people to run things. For money, the rule is simple: services should cost what they really cost, and what is left over goes back to the community.}}
{{ExpertIntro|Proposed decision-making model of WikiDeal, offered as a basis for discussion. Legislative: entirely open, Wikipedia-style; anyone bringing solutions can propose and evolve the rules, no election needed to legislate. Agenda and elections: an assembly of delegates, formed by delegates of the user groups and by users who entrust their voting right to a delegate; delegates act as facilitators, advisers and WikiDeal resource persons, and the assembly elects the executives. Executive: collegial councils of 5, 7 or 11 members depending on scale, at each of the three levels (User Groups, Rings of Trust, global governance), with 11 envisaged at the global level. Voting: the method matches the decision, up to Condorcet ballots for complex cases (see the Voting portal). Money: at-cost management and redistribution, in the cooperative tradition.}}
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= Decision-Making =

''Status: initial hypothesis, proposed as a basis for discussion. Nothing on this page is adopted. This page details the decision mechanics of the [[Gov/en/Portal:Institutions/Governance|hybrid governance model]].''


== Who decides what ==

The proposed distribution of decision power, in one table:

{| class="wikitable"
! Question !! Who would decide !! Main inspiration
|-
| Rules and policies (the "laws") || All contributors, directly, on the wiki || [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia Wikipedia], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debian Debian]
|-
| Agenda and elections || The assembly of delegates || [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooperative Cooperative] delegate assemblies, the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Assembly_(Switzerland) Swiss Federal Assembly]
|-
| Operational direction, at each level || Collegial executives of 5, 7 or 11 members || The [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss_Federal_Council Swiss Federal Council] and the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Directorial_system directorial system]
|-
| Complex multi-option choices || Voters, through [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Condorcet_method Condorcet]-style ballots where justified || [[Gov/en/Portal:Voting/Condorcet-History|Wikimedia and Debian practice]]
|-
| Money || At-cost management and redistribution || The cooperative tradition
|}

Each row is detailed below.


== The legislative: open to all, no election needed ==

The rule-making side of WikiDeal is intended to be '''entirely open''', following the [[Gov/en/Portal:R&D/Innovations:Wikipedia Governance|Wikipedia Governance]] hypothesis. It would be run directly by all the contributors willing to roll up their sleeves: anyone bringing solutions can propose rules and make the governance evolve, exactly as anyone can improve a Wikipedia article (see [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Consensus how Wikipedia builds consensus]). '''No election is needed to legislate.''' Delegates would push the agenda, but proposing "laws" is never their monopoly: any user can do it.

The everyday tools of this open legislative culture are those of the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_software_movement free software movement]: a social contract (compare the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debian_Social_Contract Debian Social Contract] and WikiDeal's [[Gov/en/Portal:Vision/Ecopol-Social-Contract|Ecopol social contract]]), a [[Policies/en/Universal-Code-of-Conduct|code of conduct]], written [[Policies/en/Main|policies]] and committees such as the [[Gov/en/Portal:Institutions/Steering-Committee|Steering Committee]].


== The assembly of delegates ==

The '''assembly of delegates''' is the envisaged representative body of WikiDeal. It would be formed by:

* the '''delegates of the [[Gov/en/Portal:R&D/Innovations:User Groups|user groups]]''', and
* the '''users who entrust their voting right to a delegate''' of their choice.

A delegate is not a distant politician. The delegate is intended as a '''facilitator, an adviser, a WikiDeal resource person''': someone who provides services to the users they represent. Delegates would push the agenda of the assembly, while rule proposals themselves remain open to everyone (see [[#open-legislative|above]]).

The assembly would have one decisive power: '''it elects the government''', that is, the collegial executives described below.


== Collegial executives: 5, 7 or 11 members ==

Executive power is intended to be '''collegial''' at every level, never in the hands of one person, following the Swiss [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Directorial_system directorial system] and its culture of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collegiality collegiality]. Three levels are envisaged, mirroring the Swiss institutional structure (communes, cantons, Confederation; the analogy is detailed on the [[Gov/en/Portal:Institutions/Governance|Governance]] page):

# '''[[Gov/en/Portal:R&D/Innovations:User Groups|User Groups]]''' (the communes),
# '''[[Gov/en/Portal:R&D/Innovations:Rings Of Trust|Rings of Trust]]''' (the cantons),
# '''global governance''' (the Confederation, the country).

Each level would have a collegial executive of '''5, 7 or 11 members, depending on the scale''' of what it governs. At the global level, the working hypothesis is '''11 members''' (the reasoning behind that number, including a Swiss anecdote about the 7-member [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss_Federal_Council Federal Council], is given on the [[Gov/en/Portal:Institutions/Governance|Governance]] page). The executives would be '''elected by the assembly of delegates'''.


== Voting: Condorcet where it is worth it ==

Voting methods are not duplicated here: the '''[[Gov/en/Portal:Voting/Main|Voting portal]]''' is the reference. In short, the initial hypothesis is that most decisions never need a ballot (direct action, revert, discussion), and that when a vote is needed the method should match the decision: simple majority for binary questions, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Condorcet_method Condorcet]-style ranked votes ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schulze_method Schulze method]) for complex multi-option cases. The documented history of Condorcet voting in the Wikimedia and Debian communities, with sourced numbers, is on the [[Gov/en/Portal:Voting/Condorcet-History|Condorcet history and results]] page; the methods under study are on the [[Gov/en/Portal:Voting/Methods|Voting methods]] page.


== Money: at cost, then redistribution ==

Financial decisions are intended to follow the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooperative cooperative] tradition: '''at-cost management''' (services priced at their real cost), ownership by the users, and '''redistribution''' of what is not needed for operations. The mechanisms are described in the [[Gov/en/Portal:Economy/Main|Economy portal]]; the advantages envisaged for the minority of users who get deeply involved are described on the [[Gov/en/Portal:Economy/Civic-Incentive|Civic Incentive]] page.


== See also ==

* [[Gov/en/Portal:Institutions/Governance|Governance]]: the hybrid model (Wikipedia and free software, cooperatives, Swiss structure).
* [[Gov/en/Portal:Voting/Main|Voting portal]] and [[Gov/en/Portal:Voting/Condorcet-History|Condorcet voting in practice: history and results]].
* [[Gov/en/Portal:Institutions/Steering-Committee|Steering Committee]]: the founding governance body.
* [[Gov/en/Portal:R&D/Innovations:Wikipedia Governance|Wikipedia Governance]] (foundational innovation).
* [[Gov/en/Portal:Institutions/Is-WikiDeal-a-DAO?|Is WikiDeal a DAO?]]

[[Category:Migration June 2026]]