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Consent Decision Making for Co-operatives

A Co-operatives UK guide to consent-based decision-making, domains, review dates, decision records, and iterative governance.

Source: Co-operatives UKAdded June 12, 2026Published 2021
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Why it matters

The guidance ties consent to defined authority, recorded decisions, and review dates, so the practice is more than a meeting technique.

Best for

UK co-op members and facilitators introducing consent inside a circle, committee, or delegated governance domain.

This short section of Co-operatives UK's broader sociocracy guidance explains consent as seeking a proposal that is good enough for now and safe enough to try, with objections tested against the circle's aim. It connects the decision method to domains, written records, review dates, and accountability, and links to the guidance's free editable templates.

Use it when a team already understands who holds authority and needs a repeatable way to make and revisit policy decisions. It does not by itself explain how to establish a full sociocratic structure, and its governance context is written for UK co-operatives.

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Heirloom Library entries are summaries and wayfinding notes. The original source is the best place to read the full resource.

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