Roles for affinity group members

Whether your AG has a hierarchal structure or a decentralised structure (or a mix), there are some formal roles or positions that are routinely needed/beneficial, primarily during meetings or when your AG is involved in a larger campaign and having to liaise with other AG’s and activists. A given affinity group may have all, some or none of these roles. They may be permanent or temporary and the group may opt to take turns in these roles, instead of having fixed roles assigned to people.

Spoke

The individual charged with representing the AG at a spokes-council or cluster meeting. Occasionally, the spoke will be granted a more general ambassadorial role by the AG.

Facilitator

A person or people who perform facilitation duties in consensus process of the group and also, to varying degrees, act as a dispute settler when internal conflicts arise, which is inevitable and a common part of being involved with an affinity group. (This may be slightly different to the role of facilitating training sessions or larger campaign meetings. The facilitator at an AG meeting needs to be able to get involved in the discussions)

Media contact

An individual who represents the group to the mass media. The group should discuss this role as it is important the media contact is reliable and “presentable” according to the general public. If you want to get support, it will help to be marketable and relatable. This role is important for groups and for larger campaigns.

Vibe watch

A person or people charged with monitoring the mood and feeling of the group. The reference is to vibrations in the colloquial emotional sense. In some Affinity groups, the vibe watch is also charged with keeping the facilitator from using their role to favour any position or proposal.

Snap-decision facilitator

Also called "quick decision facilitator", this is a person charged with making decisions for the group in time-constrained or high-pressure situations. The position is rare and is almost always temporary.

Spokes-council

When you are involved with a larger or long-term campaign, you may work with multiple affinity groups. When this occurs, a spokes-council may form. This forms when each affinity group elects a representative to attend spokes-council meetings and communicate on behalf of their affinity group. This allows the network, or cluster, of affinity groups to communicate efficiently and coordinate with each other. Examples of different types of affinity groups are: legal support groups, medical/first aid support groups, banner/sign/creative groups, arrestable groups and so on.

*It is important to note that membership of an AG can change frequently and abruptly, which is why communication is important to help prevent issues arising, and also why security protocol is so important considering someone may leave the AG abruptly and without notice.