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The Residents' Assembly Decision-making (RAD) process is Auroville's official method for making collective decisions. This process is designed to reflect Auroville's core principles of participation, transparency, and collective wisdom while providing a clear pathway to concrete decisions.

Who Can Participate?

Only confirmed Aurovilians can participate in the RAD decision-making processes. This includes:

  • Residents who have been officially announced as confirmed Aurovilians by the Entry Board

  • Those who have been entered into the Register of Residents maintained by the Secretary's Office

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The following groups may attend RAD meetings as silent observers but cannot participate in the actual decision-making:

  • Auroville youth under 18 years old

  • Newcomers

  • Volunteers

  • Other Auroville statuses

How the RAD Process Works

1. Initiation of the Process

A RAD process can be initiated by:

  • One of the major working groups (Working Committee, Auroville Council, Auroville Town Development Council, Entry Board, Funds & Assets Management Committee)

  • A petition of at least 60 residents

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The Residents' Assembly Service (RAS) is responsible for organizing and facilitating the entire process.

Emergency RAD Process (ERAD)

In exceptional circumstances, an Emergency RAD can be called without prior meetings:

  • This requires assessment by the Working Committee, OR

  • A petition signed by 300 residents

​​2. Community Meetings and Proposal Refinement

The process typically involves several steps:

First Residents' Assembly Meeting (RAM)

  • The RAS organizes an initial meeting to introduce the topic

  • The proposal is presented along with all relevant background information

  • At the end of this meeting, the RAS takes a "pulse" of the participants to gauge their feelings about the proposal

  • The meeting can be held in-person, virtually, or in a hybrid format

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Feedback Collection

  • Following the first RAM, the RAS publishes a report and the proposal(s)

  • The RAS invites the wider community to share feedback

  • The initiators of the proposal are responsible for integrating this feedback

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Follow-up Meetings

  • Additional RAMs are organized to present revised proposals

  • Initiators explain what feedback was integrated, what wasn't, and why

  • The process continues until the proposal is refined and ready for a community-wide decision

  • The goal is to complete the entire RAD process within 6 months

ERAD

In an Emergency RAD Process the petition moves directly into the decision-making phase without the matter having been discussed in RA meetings.

​​​​​​​​​3. The Decision-Making Phase

Once the proposal has been sufficiently refined:

RAD Announcement

  • The RAS disseminates the final proposal with all voting options and relevant materials

  • This is done 2 weeks prior to the voting deadline

  • Each eligible resident receives a personalized voting link

ERAD

An ERAD process runs for a shorter duration

​​​​​​​​​​​Residents can vote:

  • Online using the personalized voting link sent by the RAS

  • In person at announced public venues on the last day of voting​

 

A proposal is considered accepted if:

  • At least 10% of confirmed Aurovilians (as registered in the master list) cast valid votes

  • A minimum of 50% of valid votes are in favor of the proposal, OR

  • In cases with more than two options, the option receiving the most votes wins​

 

​​​4. Implementation

After the voting process:

  • The RAS announces the outcome to the community within 48 hours

  • The RAS conveys the decision to the Working Committee for official record

  • The implementation of decisions is the responsibility of the concerned working group(s) or resident(s)

Principles of Decision-Making

While Auroville aspires to make decisions through consensus whenever possible, voting is utilized when consensus cannot be reached. The RAD process aims to balance:

  • Our spiritual aspiration to find solutions that satisfy all

  • The practical need to move forward with clear decisions

  • Respect for both participation and non-participation in the process

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The goal of this process is to reflect Auroville's values while ensuring effective and timely collective decision-making.

Residents' Assembly Decision-Making (RAD) Process

Contact RAS

Topic

IF YOU WANT TO GO FAST, GO ALONE. IF YOU WANT TO GO FAR, GO TOGETHER

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Residents' Assembly Service (RAS) is a Section 19 Committee of the Residents' Assembly of the Auroville Foundation

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