The Critical Policy Lab organizational structure is based on Holacracy, which enables the team to embody circularity, dispersed authority, and fluidity.
Holacracy is a type of autonomous organization that divides leadership responsibilities and decision-making among all team members. This decentralized management structure is different from the hierarchical structures that many organizations use to concentrate power.
The Critical Policy Lab believes that structuring the organization using Holacracy will provide more agency to our team members as they work on achieving the organization's mission and ensuring its sustainability.
The organizational structure is guided by the following three elements:
Circular teams | Each team will fall within a circle, which are named workstreams, that function under a set of rules, a list of goals, and a method of achieving those goals. The representative of each workstream, which is named a host, drives each workstream and is responsible for achieving the set goals.
Dispersed authority | Each team member has the power and authority to contribute to decision-making on all levels. This will be achieved by having rotating hosting responsibilities but also actively contributing to the set yearly objectives.
Role fluidity | There are no assigned official positions or job titles and team members have the opportunity to work independently on projects across various work streams in order to achieve the mission. This means members can move freely between roles and apply or further develop their skills to different workstreams at the same time.
While we embrace the guiding principles of circular teams, dispersed authority, and role fluidity, the following four foundational work streams have been defined to ensure the continuity of this governance structure:
Capacity Development and Learning
Outreach and Communication
Knowledge Management
Fundraising and Finance
Beyond these workstreams, new work streams can be added and the regular work streams can be re-defined over time and even faded out if seen necessary.