# WE - decisions taken by & across circles

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#### Which decisions: <a href="#x6qimst95anp" id="x6qimst95anp"></a>

* Joint Decisions that are clearly belonging and are relevant to your circle&#x20;
* Shared Decisions that are clearly linked to one (or multiple) circle, where the overlap needs advice from other circles&#x20;

**Who decides:** The circle that carries out the decision process, based on consent&#x20;

**Who’s involved:** Mainly the people in the deciding circle (incl. facilitator) & anyone who is consulted for advice
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There is different kind of decisions you might come across as a circle which we can broadly cluster in 2 categories:

<table data-header-hidden><thead><tr><th width="135.33333333333331"></th><th></th><th></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td></td><td><strong>Inner-Circle Decisions</strong></td><td><strong>Cross-circle decisions</strong></td></tr><tr><td>Type &#x26; advice</td><td><ul><li>Decisions within the circle, following the principles of consent &#x26; objection to move ahead</li><li>If you feel that a decision is strategic and has much impact on your circle as a whole</li><li><mark style="color:orange;">The process should be owned/ facilitated by one of the circle members</mark></li><li><mark style="color:orange;">Advice is critical: who else has relevant information?</mark></li></ul></td><td><ul><li>Decisions that cross the responsibility of one circle in a way that requires collaboration between circles</li><li>Follow the principles of advice &#x26; consent to move ahead</li><li><mark style="color:orange;">The process should be owned/ facilitated by one of the circles involved, who in the end also decide through consent</mark></li><li><mark style="color:orange;">You might need meetings &#x26;/remote communication to align between the circles. Focus calls are great for this</mark></li><li><mark style="color:orange;">Any critical objections of the circles involved need to be addressed</mark></li></ul></td></tr><tr><td>Examples</td><td><ul><li>implementing a new communication process for the circle (people are directly involved in the execution)</li><li>Creating your strategy for the upcoming months</li></ul></td><td><ul><li>Collaborating with a new partner for the circle (your circle &#x26; partnership support, possibly the board)</li><li>Changing the dates of your program (the whole initiative circle &#x26; the board to align your agendas)</li></ul></td></tr></tbody></table>

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**Where decisions are taken:**&#x20;

Meetings are not the only places where decisions might manifest. In general, it is important to harvest decision processes so everyone has the possibility to carefully read through the important information, ask relevant questions and raise objections. One way to do so is using [**Loomio**](/oi-user-guides/-MhyYb9hfI-Kkxr_150f/working-at-oikos/how-we-take-decisions/taking-decisions-with-loomio.md), our decision-making tool. Whereas the tool is mandatory for ALL OF US decisions, circles can freely choose to use it in their processes as well.
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**What you should ask yourself:**&#x20;

* Do we need the whole circle involved?
* Is the decision as relevant as moving it into this stage of decision making? Do I need the opinion of all people involved? Why?
* Is it a closed, strategic question (Y/N) & who is in charge of a proposal?
* Is this a decision that can be made by our circle or do we need to include a wider / different circle in the process?
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