Areas and Committees Policy

Scope: This policy outlines what Areas and Committees do at MakeICT, the similarities and differences between an area and a committee, and what is expected of members and of each group.

The Infrastructure Committee Policy outlines expectations of groups that maintain critical systems within the organization.

The Leads Policy outlines expectations of leaders for a group.

The Classes Policy outlines expectations for classes and workshops, including registration fees and compensation.

The use of group, area, and committee may often be interchangeable. For the sake of this policy, “group” is used in many places instead of specifying “area and/or committee” every time.

For further descriptive information on specific groups, see Area and Committee Descriptions.

Committees

Committees are groups formed to operate and maintain aspects of MakeICT, subject to the oversight of the Board of Directors. The four types of committees are:

• Standing Committees, which are formed by the board to perform vital functions and are ongoing
• Ad Hoc Committees, which are formed by the board to do a specific task and serve for a defined amount of time
• Ad Hoc Committees for Events, which are formed by the Events Committee or board for a specific event
• Infrastructure Committees, which are formed by the board and handle critical systems. Due to their specialized nature, they are governed by the Infrastructure Committee Policy and are not subject to this policy.

Committees are formed as described below. The board may approve, modify and approve, or deny the request to form a committee. If approved, the board may assign resources to the newly formed committee which may include some or all of the following:

• Physical space
• Inventory
• Budget

Areas

Areas are essentially committees that have an affinity for producing items centered around a common theme (i.e. ceramics, woodworking) in a workshop environment. They are assigned all three resources that may be assigned to committees: a physical space that can be accessed by all members, an inventory, and a budget.

Areas are also required to have an access policy defining the requirements for members to use equipment in the specific area.

Formation

Prospective new committees and area groups should make a request to the board for approval. This request requires the following:

• Name of the group
• Description of what it does
• Names of at least five members willing to join the group
• Recommended leadership

Group Membership

Members who wish to join a group can do so by:

• Emailing or otherwise contacting the lead for the group
• Attending meetings of that group as posted on the calendar

• Area and Committee Members are:
  • Anyone who has asked to be a member.
  • Anyone who has participated in group discussion in the past three months.
  • Removable by leadership if determined to be inactive.
• Each group should maintain a page on the wiki with at least the following information:
  • The names of group leadership
  • Meeting notes (may also use Google Drive)
  • Procedures for operation of equipment in the space– ideally written up specifically for the area, but links to any available owner’s manuals or technical information will work
  • A list of major inventory items/tools
  • Area and equipment access policies as applicable (note that these require board approval).
  • Any rules made by the group for group-specific resources (see below)

Meetings

Areas and Committees shall hold regular meetings which must be on the public calendar each month, which may be held online and/or in person. These don’t have to be “business” meetings, and can be gatherings to maintain equipment or working meetings (e.g. everyone works on their own crafts, cleans, open lab, etc. at the same time).

Area-Specific Rules

Each area’s lead and group must post rules for the area in two places:

• Conspicuously within the physical area itself
• On the area’s wiki page

Areas have individual needs regarding the safe and orderly use of equipment and materials - rules to govern these are determined by each area group. These rules are not policy and therefore don’t require board approval, but the goal is making the area run smoothly so they should be fair and appropriate to that area.

Group Changes and Dissolution

• The board of directors has the authority to dissolve a group, change its leadership, or restrict activities as deemed necessary.
• Failure to abide by the rules in this policy will trigger a review of the group by the board.
• If a group has only one or two active members, the board may consider it for dissolution.
• When a group is dissolved by a vote of the board of directors:
  • All monetary assets may return to the general fund of the makerspace, unless it was specifically designated for the group.
  • Any physical assets of the committee can be requested by another committee in writing prior to the next month’s board meeting
  • Any physical assets not requested by the next month’s board meeting by another committee can be disposed of in accordance with the MakeICT Property Policy.

Approved by the board on October 17, 2019 updated on May 19, 2022, December 15, 2022 and April 17th 2025.