General Email Discussion List

Our email discussion is designed to enable our members to share information and communicate with each other in between conferences. It provides space for discussion, for circulating updates about our work and our member's work, and more generally, for circulating information about what's going on across the city which our members should know about.

If your organisation is a member of the Forum, then we would love you to join our list! All you need to do is send an email to katy@cvsectorforum.org.uk asking to be added, and we will do the rest! But please make sure you read our terms of reference and the ground rules before emailing!

Purpose of the Email Discussion List:

• To provide an additional means for Forum members, representatives, trustees and staff who are online to communicate between quarterly conferences

• To provide access to online discussions for people unable to attend meetings

• To enable online discussions between community and voluntary organisations to take place in a "safe space", similar to that created at Forum meetings

• To recognise and maximise the use of technology to meet the aims and objectives of the organisation

• To enable elected representatives on strategic partnerships to get feedback from members when timescales prevent a full mail-out to all members

• To maximise transparency of communications

Membership:

• The Email Discussion List is open to volunteers, committee members and paid employees of community and voluntary organisations that are Forum members

• Any number of people from each member organisation can join the Email Discussion List from the website

• Conflict of interest - member organisations are reminded that they cannot send representatives to join the Email Forum who are local councillors or senior officers from statutory agencies. The Email Forum will not accept new members with local government email addresses.

Ground Rules:

• All members are responsible for encouraging participation in the group

• Attempt to keep the discussion relevant to issues affecting the community and voluntary sector

• Challenge the issue, not the person

• Confidentiality - members may repeat what was said on the Email Discussion List to others, but not who said it

• Avoid using jargon

• Avoid language that could be construed as discriminatory or is offensive to others

• Do not use your status to undermine others

• Treat each other with respect

The Email Discussion List Facilitator Will:

• Encourage a warm, friendly, informal environment

• Seek to involve as many members as possible in the discussion

• Sum up people's views, enabling discussions to move forwards

• Challenge behaviour which could be perceived as offensive to others

• Determine the validity of the issues and timescales

• In the unlikely event of breach of ground rules, terminate membership of the Email Discussion List

Complaints:

• In the first instance, users may raise any issues of concern with the Email Forum Facilitator off-list. If the issue is not resolved, the matter will be referred through the organisation's complaints procedure.