Guide to using Decisions in Public Meetings
Configure Digital Meetings
Configuration of teams/groups in Microsoft Teams
- Create a team for each council/committee
- Add Decisions meeting tab to the team and/or channel
- Invite the participants to the team. Both internal in your organization, and external participants (via email)
Configuration of member registry
- Go to the Decisions meeting tab you created in the previous step. There you can find the member registry configuration by clicking on the menu symbol top right in Teams (top left in web), and then choose Team settings.
- You can define who has an Administrative role and who is Participant
- You can assign affiliation, which is the group or party the participant represents
- Affiliations can be added and updated in the Affiliations section in the Team setting menu
- You can select who has the right to submit a vote
- You can also assign a number of votes for each person if a person represents multiple votes or have weighted representation
Create meeting event
- Create a meeting in Outlook (remember to add Teams link) or from the Teams calendar
- Add all eligible participants to the meeting in the mandatory field
- If you want additional people, for example media or administration, these can be added as voluntary
Add Speaker List bot
The speaker list bot, Speak Now by Decisions, keeps track of speaking order, comments, and rebuttals. Follow these steps to configure the speaker list bot for the meeting:
First time you use Decisions
- Find the 3 dots ⋯ in the left sidebar in Teams, where you can add apps
- Search for Speak Now
- Click Add
For each meeting
- Find the meeting in your calendar in Teams
- Doubleclick or right-click and choose Edit or Show
- Click Chat in the tab bar
- Write "@" in the chat field and choose Get bots
- Choose Speak Now from the apps under "Recent" and click Add
- If you can't see Speak Now in the list, click More apps and search for Speak Now. Then click the pull-down menu on the right side of "Open" and select Add to chat.
Prepare for the Meeting
Create agenda item list
- In Teams, find the team and channel the meeting is for
- Find the Decisions Meeting tab, find the meeting in the list and open the agenda or click + Add to add agenda to a new meeting in your calendar
- Here you can add and edit items on the agenda, and build your complete agenda for publishing
- For each agenda topic:
- Add title, allocated time, description (Either full description or short summary with the full description as attachment), presenter, and attachments or links
Create motions/resolutions
You can add one or more motions/resolutions to an agenda item, either in advance or during the meeting. The proposed motions/resolutions can be put forward for a vote during the meeting.
- Open the agenda in Decisions in Teams.
- For the agenda item you want to create motion/resolution for, click on the 3 dots ⋯ on the bottom right for a topic, and click on New decision.
- Add a title for the motion/resolution and then add the actual motion/resolution put forward in the description field.
- The status for the "decision" should be set to Proposal.
- It is possible to add multiple motions/resolutions for the same agenda item.
- To see, add or edit motions/resolutions after you have added the first one, click on the Decisions button in the agenda topic.
Adjust member registry for absence
In advance of the meeting, it might be a need to adjust the member registry (which controls the right to vote) in case of absence or similar.
- Find the member registry in the Team Settings in the main menu
- Remove the right to vote for the person absent
- Potentially give the right to vote the alternative representative
Run the Meeting
In the execution of the meeting, you can control the speaker list bot and votes directly from the agenda view. For the meeting organizers, it is recommended to open the agenda in a separate view, so it is easy to follow the meeting and view the agenda side by side.
Post Speaker List
For each agenda item that requires an ordered speaker list, the meeting organizer or chair can post the speaker list to the meeting chat for participants to register to speak.
- From the 3 dot ⋯ menu click the Speak list button.
- A side panel will open, where you can configure the speaker list bot.
- By enabling the "Quick post" setting, your configuration will be remembered and you can quickly publish the speaker list with one click for subsequent agenda items
Publish a Vote
- To start a vote, mark the desired motion/proposal and click Start vote
- In the side panel you can configure settings for the vote
- Remember to enable "Use Basic Link in Voting Post" if there are participants using different versions of Microsoft Teams to ensure consistent behaviour
- Click OK to publish the vote
- While the vote is in progress, the motion/topic will be marked with the status "Vote in progress". A vote can be registered from the agenda view, the meeting chat, Teams channel, or mobile app.
Publish a Vote with alternatives or secondary motion/resolution
To put forward a vote between multiple motions/resolutions, select the desired motions/resolutions and follow the steps for "Publish a Vote"
Record a vote manually
In the case of a participant being unable to register their vote, the meeting organizer can register a vote manually.
- Open the overview over proposed motions/resolutions by clicking on decisions for an agenda item
- Click on Votes
- Click Register vote
- Search and find the participant and note the alternative method for registering the vote
- Click Register vote
Adjust member registry per case in case of abstention
Often there is a need to adjust the voting eligibility in case a participant need to abstain from the specific agenda topic.
- Before you issue the vote for that specific agenda item, update the member registry to reflect the correct eligibility to vote.
- After the vote has been completed, adjust the member registry back to correct representation.