Sociocracy 3.0

An S3 governance workflow to turn tensions into consented decisions — proposals, policies, experiments, and follow-through in one board.

About this template

This board supports Sociocracy 3.0 decision making: work moves forward when there are no reasoned objections — inclusive, but not stuck.

Capture drivers/tensions, draft proposals, run them through consent review, and then track implementation as projects, policies, or time-boxed experiments.

Custom fields keep governance clean: link proposals to related drivers, assign a circle, define "done", and state expected outcomes so decisions stay measurable.

What's inside

Columns included

Information🌀 Drivers / Tensions📝 Proposals🔍 Consent Review🤝 Agreed🔧 In Progress🧾 Ready for Review📦 Retrospective Archive🗃️ Parked / Rejected

Task types

DriverProposalProjectPolicyExperiment

Custom fields

Related driver(s)CircleDefinition of doneExpected outcome

Key features

  • Driver/Tension → Proposal → Consent flow
  • Clear separation of proposals, policies, and experiments
  • Circle ownership + Definition of Done baked in
  • Retrospective archive to preserve learnings
  • Parked/Rejected lanes for transparency

Who is this template for?

  • Self-organizing teams
  • S3 / Holacracy practitioners
  • Cooperatives and communities
  • Teams improving governance without bureaucracy
  • Decision-heavy orgs

How to use this template

Use this board to turn tensions into proposals, proposals into consented decisions, and decisions into accountable follow-through.

Step 1

Capture the tension behind the work

Start with Information and Drivers / Tensions to record the reason a topic exists before discussion turns into solutioning. This helps the team stay anchored in the real driver instead of debating abstract ideas.

Step 2

Run proposals through consent review

Move ideas into Proposals and Consent Review, using fields like Related driver(s), Circle, Definition of done, and Expected outcome to make each proposal concrete enough for consent-based decision making.

Step 3

Track agreement into implementation

Once something is agreed, move it through Agreed, In Progress, and Ready for Review as a Project, Policy, or Experiment. Use Retrospective Archive to preserve learnings and Parked / Rejected to keep transparency around decisions that did not move forward.

Ready to get started?
Learn how to create a board from this template in just a few steps.
Read the step-by-step guide

Frequently asked questions

What is Sociocracy 3.0?

A self-organization framework using consent: decisions pass when there are no reasoned objections.

What is a driver?

A recognized need/opportunity — the "why now" behind a proposal.

Proposal vs Policy — what's the difference?

A proposal is a change idea pending consent; a policy is an agreed rule/constraint the team commits to follow.

What are experiments?

Time-boxed trials to test an idea before committing to a permanent policy.

How do we prevent endless discussion?

Use consent review criteria and require every proposal to define scope, expected outcome, and review date.

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