Updated: November 1, 2010 (PDF) (DOC)
1. Ideology
This policy has been created to ensure that communication is open, clear and constructive. Dissent is an important part of any organization and it is hoped that this policy encourages an openness and effective response to the challenges that the membership may bring to the board.
- The Board will commit to making their decision-making process for the Sky Dragon Centre as transparent and open as possible.
- However, it is recognized that there are some issues that might adversely affect the Centre if they were made public or made public ahead of time. There are also some issues that deal with people’s personal lives and their privacy should be respected.
- Therefore, the minutes of all Board meetings will be made public with the exception of those items that are discussed in camera. Such items will meet the criteria set above, that is, there is a reasonable understanding by board members that the information needs to remain private because it might negatively affect the Centre and/or it might breach someone’s personal privacy. In camera items will be noted and available to other board members but not the general public.
- Some general guidelines for in camera items are as follows – financial and personnel information and legal issues be considered in-camera by default, with a 2/3 majority vote needed to agree to make said information public (Please note: as per the Sky Dragon Board Decision Making Policy, the facilitator should operate under the consensus model first and seek a 2/3 majority only if consensus is not reached prior to).Other items will be considered public by default, with a 2/3 majority vote needed to agree to make said information in-camera (please refer to above note regarding the use of the decision making policy). Decisions about whether to make a topic in camera or public (against the default mode) will be made in the form of a motion immediately before the item is discussed at the meeting.
- Documents will also be classified in a similar manner. Most documents will be available to the public but certain documents for the reasons mentioned above will be considered confidential. These documents will be noted by a watermark or footer and will only be available to Board members and designated staff.
- Board members will be expected to sign a confidentiality agreement promising to keep in camera and specified documents confidential.
- Board members will also be expected to follow general rules of communication as follows:
- General discussions about the Centre should be positive, constructive and supportive. Difficulties, conflict and challenges should be brought to board meetings for resolution.
- Discussions among board members should be considered private and confidential unless both parties agree that they can be made public.
2. Confidential Documents
What follows are guidelines for handling protected documents. People should always use their best judgement when dealing with issues of confidentiality. When there is some doubt, raise the issue with the board either at the next meeting or through the mailing list.
- Limited distribution – Confidential documents should never be distributed to the public. The idea being that if the document was in the wrong hands it could be detrimental to the co-operative. Emailing, photocopying or otherwise sharing of the document should always be done with great care and regard for where it is going and who is receiving it.
- Protected content – Any information or ideas pulled out of a confidential document should be given the same care and protection as the document itself. So if that information makes its way into another document, that new document should, in most cases, become confidential. For example, suppose you’re presenting a renovation proposal to the board, and it includes numbers from the year-end finances (operating costs, utilities, etc). Since the yearly financial statement is marked confidential, the proposal should be marked confidential too.
- Secure Storage – Any person holding a confidential document should take up-most care to ensure it is stored safely. For example, hard copies shouldn’t be left lying around and electronic copies shouldn’t be kept in a place where others have access (public computer, shared email, etc).
3. Marking a Document as Protected
Before a confidential document is distributed, it should be marked somehow to indicate the protected status to the recipients. There are three ways to express the protected status of a document:
- Introductory paragraph expressing the terms of protection. This statement can be tailored to suit your needs but should generally look like:
> This document is CONFIDENTIAL and special care should be taken when copying, distributing or otherwise communicating the information herein. Access to this document is restricted to Sky Dragon Board members and relevant Committee members. * The label “CONFIDENTIAL” in the header or footer of each page * A document watermark with the label “CONFIDENTIAL” appearing on each page
