Transcript Document

Delegate training
National Conference 2015
This session will cover the basics of
NUS National Conference and how to
submit motions
Who is this for?
• This presentation is for delegates elected to go
to NUS National Conference
• It is designed so that a trainer can use it as the
basis for a session – there are a few activities
and questions within it
• Individuals can use this on their own but it will
be enhanced by going through in groups and in
conjunction with the NUS National Conference
Hub
www.nusconnect.org.uk/conference
Well Done!
• Well done for being elected as a National
Conference Delegate
• In HE you were elected by cross campus ballot
– no mean feat
• In FE you may have been elected by cross
campus ballot, student parliament or from your
executive
• You are elected to represent the views of your
student body and students’ union
What We’ll Cover
• This training approaches the conference
thematically
• Your role at conference
- Policy
- Elections
- Accountability
• What you should be doing in and with your
union
• Getting to National Conference and looking after
yourself while there
• Reporting back to your union
Your role at Conference
• Set the Policy of NUS for the year ahead
• Elect the political leaders of NUS for the year
ahead
• Elect the Trustee Board and Democratic
Procedures Committee
• Hold the political leadership accountable for the
work done over the past year
• Approve the Estimates and Accounts
Activity
Get into groups of about 4-5 people. The following bullets are
actions for you. We are going to eat some food.
Each person should tell your group about your favourite meal –
one you have had or one you want. Concentrate on describing the
food. Each person should spend about a minute doing this.
You aren’t going to eat alone – you have to cook for the entire
group.
Once you’ve finished describing the food, negotiate – without
voting - with each other about what meal your group will have.
Think about combining starters or mains, making things vegetarian
or spicier.
Activity
Now you have your meal. Unfortunately you need
to persuade another group to eat it too. Elect
someone from your group to go to another group
and ‘sell’ your meal to them. They have a few
minutes to do this.
Now your group (with the person selling the other
group’s meal) can make a number of alterations
to your menu. You can change 3 things to make
the proposed meal more like your original one.
Activity
The chef has said that they can only do one meal
for the entire room. Two people must speak for
their group’s amended meals for 1 minute.
Now we vote and whichever meal wins is what’s
on the table tonight…
Happy with the result?
Setting policy
•
Policy sets out what the NUS as an organisation believes about an issue
and what it resolves to do about it
•
The policy process is governed by a group of students, known as the
Democratic Procedures Committee or DPC, who are elected by
delegates at National Conference
•
If National Conference votes for a motion or amendment it will become
the policy of the NUS and the officers will have to obey it
Each individual policy is made up of an ideological position (Believes)
and a plan on how to enact that position (Resolves)
•
•
To help make sense of our policy it is split into ‘zones’ (there are 5 of
these: Further Education, Higher Education, Society and Citizenship,
Union Development and Welfare. Each of these zones are convened by a
Vice-President, elected at National Conference)
Setting policy: Zones
Further Education – which deals with things affecting academic
provision in the FE sector.
Higher Education – which deals with things affecting academic
provision in the HE sector
Society & Citizenship – which deals with the world in which
students live
Union Development – which deals with students’ unions
Welfare – which deals with student safety and wellbeing
Although not a political zone – unions can also change the way
NUS works by submitting motions to the Annual General Meeting –
more on which later.
Setting Policy: Zones
• Each zone has a vice-president and a
committee elected by Zone Conference.
• Back in October this Zone Committee started
researching what sort of issues students and
unions were facing at the Zone Conferences.
• From this research they wrote a set of
recommendations, which were published in
January on the Conference Hub.
Setting Policy: Zones
Students’ unions have a chance to submit text that either
adds to or changes the existing Zone proposals
(amendments) or discusses something new (ordinary
motions).
Deadline is 6 March 12pm
The Democratic Procedures Committee (DPC) bring together
these different texts into the final motions document that
you have.
In your earlier exercise you amended the other group’s meal
proposal. You can do the same thing for the proposals from
Zone Committees before 6 March 2014.
Things to do in your Students’ Union
Conference Document (CD) 5 has all the motion proposals from the
Zone Committees.
Your union has 1,400 words with which to amend these proposals
or add new motions
It is up to you to decide how your union will do this. You will need
to think about how your word count is used and who debates each
zone. Will you work with other unions to submit new motions?
Come up with some bullet points on how your union will debate
policy. If you already have a process what can you do to improve
it?
Setting policy: priority
• In most cases DPC will bring text together where it is
consensual or even identical to allow the debate to flow.
• In some circumstances they will contact a union to come
to drafting commission to resolve differences over the
text.
• The order in which policy is debated is decided by a
priority ballot of delegates to Conference. This will be
released ahead of Conference.
• You’ll be able to vote by email on which order the zones
are discussed and which order ordinary motions are
discussed within that zone.
Your first role at Conference
•
•
•
-
The policy in each zone is split into motions, each dealing with a
different issue
For each motion you’ll hear some speeches, some in favour and some
opposed
After these speeches you’ll be asked to vote by raising your delegate
card at the appropriate time. You can vote:
FOR if you want the motion to become policy
AGAINST if you don’t want the motion to become policy
ABSTAIN if you don’t understand the issue or don’t believe NUS should have a
stance on it
Amendments
Some motions will have amendments to them.
Conference will hear speeches and be asked to vote on amendments in the
same way as the motion.
Amendments then become part of the main motion. If you vote for the
motion you’re also voting for the amendment.
Example:
At National Conference 2011 the first motion was called ‘Education Funding’
which called for a specific type of funding system and resolves to do
specific things.
It had a number of amendments.
Conference voted for amendment (a) then the motion became a mix of the
original AND the text of amendment (a).
Conference voted for the motion as a whole and NUS’ policy became both
the main motion and the amendment
Amendments example
Motion
Fibchester University submits a motion and
speaks on it at National Conference
Unreal college submits an amendment to the
motion and speaks for it
Fibchester speaks against it.
Amendment 1
Amendment 2
National Conference votes for the amendment so
it is added to the motion
University of Fakeshire submit a second
amendment and speak for it.
National Conference votes against the
amendment and it disappears
National Conference votes for the motion as amended
and it becomes NUS policy
In your Union
Some unions will mandate their delegation to vote
in a certain way on some or all policy debates
If your union wishes to do this how will it set the
mandate? How will they ensure delegates vote
that way?
Policy Lapse, Ratification & Adoption
• Policy lasts for 3 years at which point it lapses. Lapsed
policy no longer becomes something officers need to work
on
• A policy lapse document is available on the conference
Hub. If you don’t want something to lapse then you need
to see DPC before the second day of Conference for it to
be debated
• Policy that changes the constitution needs to be ratified
and will be discussed as the first item at conference
• Policy passed by other bodies will come to National
Conference to be adopted and become part of NUS’ policy
Elections
• The people you elect will be your political
leaders for the next year.
• The elections process is governed by the Chief
Returning Officer (CRO)
• You’ll hear speeches from candidates for each
position before having to make a decision.
• After all the speeches you’ll be able to vote in
the ballot boxes as you leave conference hall.
Elections
• Conference Document (CD) 11 has all the information you
need to stand for election including the deadline for
nominations
• After the close of nominations for Full Time (March 4) and
NEC members (March 18)
• For the first time this year, nominations for DPC and the
Trustee Board will close ahead of Conference on April 18
• NUS will put the candidate manifestos and other
information online: www.nusconnect.org.uk/conference
• Your union may mandate your delegates to vote for
certain candidates at conference
Your 2nd role - Voting
Voting Elections are decided using a system of
transferable vote.
You choose candidates in order of preference by
putting a ‘1’ by your first choice, a ‘2’ by your
second, and so on. This allows you to say who
should be elected if your first, second, or even
third and fourth choices do not attract a lot of
support.
Your 2nd role - Voting
Delegates each have a
unique book of ballot
papers.
To vote, number your
choices on the ballot
Tear off at the top
perforation. This is to
prevent fraud.
Place your ballot in the
box. Your number will be
removed from your ballot
before counting.
007
VP Ballot example
COLE Cheryl
SHEARER Alan
STING Mr
007
Election Results
Full Time Officer election results will be
announced on Conference Floor. Other positions
will be counted within 1 week of Conference and
announced online.
Reports
• NUS National Conference will receive a number
of reports to be accepted. These are
• On the work done by the Vice-presidents and
Zone Committees
• On the work done on the Priority Campaign
• On the work done by the NEC, Trustee Board,
Democratic Procedures Committee, Nominations
Committee & Chief Returning Officer
• The Accounts for the past year and Estimates
for the year ahead
Your 3rd role - Accountability
•
You should read each report – they’ll be online for at least 2
weeks and copies are available for each delegate. Presentations
will be given at Conference
•
You can ask questions about each report by submitting them to
DPC (or the CRO for DPC’s report)
•
You can vote to accept the report or reject it
•
If you don’t like the work done you can try to refer it back.
•
If you don’t like the actions or behaviours of an individual you
can censure them
Your 3rd role - Accountability
• To censure someone, go and see DPC and explain the
action you want to undertake before the report section
begins. There chair will ask to see 100 delegates to hear
the case for the censure or reference back.
• If they see 100 delegates you’ll be asked to do a speech
for the action, and there will then be a speech in defence.
• After the speeches there will be a vote. If a majority wish
to censure or refer work back then this action will pass.
Accountability and the AGM
•
The Trustee, DPC, NEC and CRO reports will all be discussed at
the Annual General Meeting (AGM)
•
The amount NUS plans to spend in each area is outlined in the
Estimates and approved here
•
The estimates will include a proposal about the affiliation fee
unions pay to NUS for membership
•
Motions that change how NUS’ internal processes are
administered are voted for here too
•
DPC will propose the formula to calculate how many delegates
are sent to National Conference
Conference timetable
The agenda (order paper) for conference will only be set a few
days before the event as it depends on the number of motions and
candidates at the event. This is a rough day by day guide based on
our expectations
Day One – Registration, opening speakers, approval of the order
paper, approval of minutes, ratifications. The first two of the five
policy zone debates, two fringe breaks and presidential hustings
Day Two – The last three policy zone debates, the elections for
President and the vice presidents, the adoptions, two fringe breaks
Day Three – The AGM, election of the national executive councillors
and democratic procedures committee, closing speeches
In your Union
The Estimates (CD6) are available on the Conference hub
and unions will be able to challenge them via email by 20
March
If your union believes NUS should spend more on one area
and less on another you can tell us and it will be voted on at
conference
If your union believes NUS should alter its internal processes
to help it and students’ unions change the lives of students
then you can submit text by 20 March
That was… Your role at National
Conference
Set the Policy of NUS for the year ahead
Elect the political leaders of NUS for the year
ahead
Elect the Trustee Board and Democratic
Procedures Committee
Hold the political leadership accountable for the
work done over the past year
Not a role as such – but please see the Fringe
events and meet lots of new people
In your Union – Before Conference
• You should get to know your delegation – go for a meal
or a coffee. You’ll be spending 4 days together so its
worth being friends
• Make sure your union has booked for subsidised
accommodation and access needs by 18 March
• Get details of your union-organised transport to Liverpool.
Registration on the day opens at 10am
• The Order Paper (Agenda) for Conference is finalised just
days before the event but will include plenty of time for
breaks
• Does your union have an expenses policy?
Your delegation at Conference
• To register you’ll need to print out your unique
e-ticket sent to you. Keep it safe!
• The Fringes often include food so use them over
lunch
• There are plenty of stalls to look around and
people after your vote – so enjoy the
atmosphere and look around
• There is time to work, socialise & rest – but do
all in the right amounts – not just the first two!
In your Union – at Conference
How will your union report back on what they did
at conference? How they voted, what they spoke
on and the ideas they want to bring back
Fill in the evaluation form that NUS send you.
Feedback is the breakfast of champions
Questions
• For issues relating to the administration of conference, including
registration, access needs, room bookings and stalls contact the
Events Team through [email protected]
• For issues about delegate entitlement, zone committees, reports
and policy, amendments to zone policy proposals & Cross
Campus Ballots contact the Chair of the Democratic Procedures
Committee through [email protected]
• For issues about elections contact Chief Returning Office through
[email protected]