How decisions get made.

The governance bodies

Member Assembly. Every cooperative member has one vote, regardless of capital contributed. The Assembly meets quarterly; emergency votes can be called by Council majority or by 10% of the membership. The Assembly elects the Governing Council and ratifies bylaws amendments.

Governing Council. Nine seats, three-year terms, elected by the Member Assembly. Council seats rotate on a staggered schedule so that no full turnover happens in a single election cycle. The Council oversees the three working groups and is accountable to the Assembly.

Working Groups. Capital, Operations, Research. Each working group has a named lead serving at the pleasure of the Council. Working groups produce the cooperative’s specific outputs: the funds (Capital), the Citrate Network (Operations), the Cnidarian papers (Research).

The proposal procedure

Any member can file a proposal to the Assembly. Proposals are written, filed in the public archive, and recorded by the member secretary. Standard proposals enter a 14-day review window during which members can comment, amend, or co-sponsor. Proposals filed by ten or more members go to the next Assembly vote without further Council review. Other proposals go through Council review first; the Council either forwards the proposal to the Assembly with comment, returns it for revision, or declines with written reasons.

The voting cadence

The Assembly meets quarterly on the same calendar week each year. Emergency votes can be called by Council majority or by ten percent of the membership; emergency votes have a five-business-day notice window.

The journal of past votes

Every vote outcome is recorded in /journal under the Governance category. Members can review historical votes by date or by working group. Vote tallies are published anonymously (counts visible, voter identities not).