National and Local Council Meetings

Council Meetings on National and Local level often follow the format of the International Council Meeting (ICM) by consisting of plenaries, where the Council can vote and elect new members of the executive board, and workshops, which provide a forum for discussion and training.

Organising a National or Local Council Meeting can be very time-consuming. When planning an NCM/LCM, make sure to take the following steps:

1. Set a date with the host that allows the whole executive board to be present for the full duration of the event and takes into consideration intensive periods of your members e.g. don't plan your NCM/LCM during exam period or holidays.

2. Set an agenda that allows you to tackle all issues that need to be discussed. If you have many proposals to vote on during Plenaries, make sure you plan ample time for workshop discussions. You might also want to differentiate the goal of the first and the second NCM/LCM per term if you have two meetings per term - the first one might focus more on training and knowledge acquisition and the second one might focus more on changing statutes and electing the next executive board. In this case, allow for more workshops during the first NCM/LCM while extending the plenary times of the second NCM/LCM.

3. Set deadlines for yourself and your board members. Every ELSA Group will have different obligations when organising their NCM/LCM. Make sure to check your obligations as a National Group / Local Group and set adequate deadlines for your fellow board members to provide you with the relevant materials. It is important to remember that if your ELSA Group is a registered legal entity, missing deadlines might result in the NCM/LCM being incompetent which could leave decisions being invalid and non-binding. 

4. Communication is key. Make sure your Network is aware of the dates of the event and their obligations/responsibilities in the execution of it.

5. Use templates. The International Board of ELSA provides templates to National Secretary Generals on the shared Google Drive 'Internal Management across ELSA'. They include a template for Working Materials, Minutes, Road Maps, and table to keep track of Voting Rights. These are incredibly useful tools as you can simply adapt those rather than creating new content from scratch. Of course, you might be able to use materials from your predecessor which are already adapted to your National/Local Group's needs.

6. Give the Council time to read the Working Materials. It is important for them to prepare and discuss certain topics beforehand so they can truly represent their Group's position during discussions. It is recommended to send out Working Materials for NCM/LCMs about 2 weeks prior to the event.

7. Prepare your Council and Workshop Officers. Organise a call with your Plenary Chair and Vice Chair before the event. Share with them a Road Map for the Plenaries, your plans for proposals and any kind of issues that might be brought up during the plenaries. This will allow them to be prepared for certain discussions taking up more time and they will be able to handle them more efficiently. Also make sure that they are aware of the current regulations and all relevant procedures during plenaries e.g. voting procedure, election procedure, speaking rights etc. It is also recommended to prepare Workshop Officers beforehand. Share with them the Road Map for your Workshops and make sure they know the procedure that must be followed e.g. election of officers, voting procedures, speaking rights etc.

8. Take minutes of the NCM/LCM and share them with your Network/members. Minutes document what is being said during discussions and questions and evidence decisions made by the Council.