Sample Group Agreement
This is an actual Group Agreement document from a school.  These things must have been important for them, and other things, such as punctuality, must have not been critical.  Your group must develop your own rather than adopting someone's else's.
 
  1. Decision making:  For a decision to be made a consensus must be reached.  This means that each person must agree to the decision or be willing to abide by the decision without sabotaging.
  2. Confidentiality:  All information/issues discussed by the committee are public and can be discussed outside of the group, unless a group member requests confidentiality.  Names of specific individuals will not be attributed to information/issues when discussed outside of the group.  Discussion of personalities is off limits.
  3. Directness and Openness:  It is OK for members to say that the behavior of an individual is helpful or not helpful.  It is never fair to talk about people; it is only fair to talk about ideas.  Ideas belong to the group.
  4. Survey:  It is OK for any group member to call for a survey.  Members can pass when a survey is taken.  Surveys are not binding.
  5. Ownership and Commitment to group decision and actions:  Once an agreement is made all members own that decision.  Each person is responsible for how the group behaves.
  6. Attendance:  Each member is expected to attend all meetings.  Due to the complexity of our task, members may not send alternates.  If you are unable to attend a meeting you will notify the convener as far in advance as possible.
  7. Assessment techniques:  It is OK at any time for anyone to bring to the attention of the group how it is interacting and to make suggestions about how it might instead proceed.  Members should remind each other to stay on track.
  8. Debrief:  Each session will be debriefed at the end of the meeting.
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