Hi @reeflings !
Almost any organisational philosophy emphasises the importance of feedback, and sociocracy is no exception. According to Ted Rau (Sociocracy for All):
“As a sociocratic organization, we want to learn as much as we can and work with all the data we can access to feed into our decision-making.”
We often avoid feedback because we associate it with criticism, which we are almost universally averse to. However, if the Reef is going to be successful, both in terms of creating the physical structure and building a community to inhabit it, we need to embrace the concept of constructively reviewing all that we do, in order to grow and adapt as a group. Not only will this enhance efficiency, but also our sense of connection.
The ways in which we have gathered feedback (data) so far are:
- Meeting evaluations (during the checkout round)
- Peer reviewing of proposals
- Reaction rounds (with regard to policy and proposals)
- Role performance reviews (coordinator and facilitator)
I propose that we add team performance reviews to that list. This is something that has been discussed during various meetings previously (e.g. Coordination Group, Team Facilitation, etc.) and the general consensus has usually been that we will try and implement them at a moment when we have more time and space to play with. As I am sure is clear to everyone, more time and space is not going to manifest any time soon, so if we are serious about gathering feedback/data, let’s attempt to move forward with this 
One way in which team performance reviews can take place is in the context of a normal team meeting, usually with an invited facilitator from outside the group. However, I propose (having discussed this with other Reeflings recently) that we conduct performance reviews of the main functioning teams in the context of plenary meetings, to maximise our group intelligence. These reviews wouldn’t have to be prioritised over the important decisions that we are currently navigating, but could be a backup agenda item.
The teams and/or roles that could be reviewed in this way are:
- Team Building
- Team Finance
- Team Recruitment and Onboarding
- Team Facilitation (which would include the facilitation of meetings)
- The Coordinator role
The process involves:
- · The role person or team coordinator providing a brief description of what they do
- · A first round where:
- The role person or team coordinator outlines what they have done well in fulfilling their remit
- The rest of the circle shares their perspective on what the person or team has done well
- The role person or team coordinator summarises what they have heard
- · A second round where:
- The role person or team coordinator outlines what they have not done so well, or areas that could be improved
- The rest of the circle shares their perspective on what the person or team has not done so well, or areas that could be improved
- The role person or team coordinator summarises what they have heard
- · The role person or team coordinator prepares an ‘improvement plan’ and makes it available to the circle
As with all things in sociocracy, this format can be adapted in whatever way to meet the specific needs of our project.
So I invite anyone who is interested to provide feedback below with regard to my proposal for providing more feedback 
And if there’s a general agreement that this is a positive move, then perhaps @lee and the rest of the @reef-coordination group can keep it in mind for future plenary agendas…
Finally, I’m not super keen on the terminology (performance reviews), as it sounds a bit corporate, but I don’t find a good alternative. @alberto – I have a memory that when this topic came up quite a while back, you suggested an Italian word that had something to do with the navy, or shipping, or something like that. Although rereading that sentence, it’s possible that I dreamt this!
If anyone is interested, there is a chapter in Many Voices, One Song on ‘Feedback and learning’ (pp. 98–112), with a specific section on performance reviews: Login – Nextcloud
And on the Sociocracy for All site, there is a page on ‘Intentional feedback in organizations’ which is quite interesting: https://www.sociocracyforall.org/intentional-feedback-in-organizations/