Open Governance

The Stewardship is governed by its members, in the open. Anyone may propose a change to any rule, doctrine clause, governance parameter, or expenditure. Members vote, and decisions are reversible.

This is internal governance — the rules of The Stewardship community — not a replacement for the laws of any state. Nothing here coerces anyone outside The Stewardship.

How it works

1. Anyone proposes. Open a proposal using the Stewardship proposal template.
2. Discussion is public. 72 hours minimum, in the open, with stewards available to clarify.
3. Members vote. One verified member, one base vote. Contribution Points (CP) add a quadratic boost — never plutocracy.
4. Decisions are recorded. Every result is published with vote weights and rationale.
5. Decisions are reversible. A counter-proposal can reopen any past decision.

Vote types

• Temperature check — quick public signal via reactions. Non-binding.
• Standard vote — for governance, operations, partnerships.
• Treasury vote — every expenditure above a published threshold is voted on, line-by-line.
• Constitutional vote — for doctrine, surplus split, hard rules. 75% supermajority required.
• Recall — to pause, freeze, or unwind a recent decision or remove a steward.

Treasury, in the open

Every line-item expenditure is proposed, voted, and published. No anonymous transfers. No quiet allocations. Members may inspect the full ledger at any time.

Categories include doctrine work, infrastructure, member dividends (50% universal / 50% CP-weighted), audits, partnerships, dignity grants, and legal — all decided collectively.

Anti-capture

• No individual's voting power may exceed 5% of total active voting power.
• No delegation cluster (including Ascension Technologies + the founder) may exceed 10%.
• Quadratic CP scaling, not linear, so contribution matters but does not dominate.
• Hard rules require supermajority + (in the bootstrap window) founder sign-off — to protect the doctrine from runaway change.
• Quiet exit is always available; no participation is coerced.

Phases

1. Phase 0 — design. Live now. Doctrine, governance design, sign-up, GitHub proposal templates.
2. Phase 1 — signal. GitHub-issue proposals + reaction voting. Stewards summarise weekly. No money yet.
3. Phase 2 — verified-member voting. Identity-light verification + signed-message ballots.
4. Phase 3 — treasury. Open expenditure votes. Quarterly public ledger.
5. Phase 4 — federated circles. Local subsidiarity within the same constitution.
6. Phase 5 — open ratification. Anyone may sign the Pact, individually or organisationally.

Start here

• Sign up — express interest in becoming a Stewardship member.
• Open a proposal — propose any change you'd like the community to consider.
• Read the full governance doc.