Initiative standard
The context a decision has to carry. Its items are free text: the background, why the decision is needed now, and the limits it has to respect. Authors fill them in when they set the initiative up.
Guidance
Example decision standards
Set the context every decision needs and the criteria every option should answer. Reuse them to make choices easier to compare. Start with the editable standard below, or explore an example that fits your work.
The two kinds of standard
Option standard
The criteria every option is compared on. Its items are typed — text for description, number for a quantity with a unit, and level for a fixed scale you define, such as Low to Very high.
Why they matter
Options become comparable
When every option answers the same criteria, people compare like with like instead of comparing whoever wrote the most persuasive paragraph.
The record explains itself later
A year on, the decision still carries the context it was taken in and the criteria it was taken against, so nobody has to reconstruct it from memory.
Authors stop starting from nothing
The standard already says what good looks like, so the argument is about the decision rather than about what the paper should contain.
The starter standard Votegrain proposes
Every new organisation is given one initiative standard and one option standard to begin with, so nobody starts from a blank page. Both are fully editable: rename items, change a type, add what your decisions actually turn on, remove what they do not.
Starter standard
Proposed automatically when an organisation is created.
Initiative context
- BackgroundTextWhat led to this decision being needed.
- Why nowTextWhy the organisation is deciding this at this point.
- ConstraintsTextLimits the options had to work within, such as budget, timing or policy.
Option comparison
- Expected benefitTextWhat the organisation expects to gain from this option.
- Estimated costNumber · GBP · 0 or moreEstimated cost of this option, in pounds. Change the unit if your organisation records costs in another currency.
- TimescaleNumber · months · 0–600How long this option takes to deliver, in months.
- Risk levelLevelHow much risk this option carries.Low · Moderate · High · Very high
Three worked examples
Different decisions turn on different things. These three show how far the same two standards stretch — a capital investment, a supplier selection and a policy motion.
Capital investment
A housing association choosing between capital schemes for the coming year.
Initiative context
- BackgroundTextThe programme position this sits inside.
- Why nowTextThe funding window or deadline in play.
- Funding envelopeTextWhat has been set aside, and from where.
- Constraints and dependenciesTextRegulatory limits, land, or schemes this depends on.
Option comparison
- Capital costNumber · £The build cost of this scheme.
- Whole-life cost, 30 yearsNumber · £Capital plus maintenance over the appraisal period.
- Net additional homesNumberHomes delivered above the current position.
- Expected annual returnNumber · %The return used in the appraisal.
- Delivery riskLevelThe risk of the scheme not landing as planned.Low · Moderate · High · Very high
- Strategic fitTextHow the scheme serves the current strategy.
Why these criteria suit it. Capital decisions are judged on money over time, so most criteria are numbers that add up across a portfolio; the single level field keeps delivery risk comparable without pretending it is precise.
Supplier selection
A multi-academy trust choosing a payroll supplier for its schools.
Initiative context
- BackgroundTextThe service today and why it is being retendered.
- Why nowTextContract end date or service failure driving this.
- Scope of the serviceTextWhat the supplier is and is not expected to run.
- Procurement constraintsTextRoute to market, contract length, and required approvals.
Option comparison
- Annual costNumber · £The recurring charge for the service.
- Implementation costNumber · £One-off cost to move to this supplier.
- Contract lengthNumber · monthsThe committed term.
- Data protection assuranceLevelHow far the supplier meets the trust's data requirements.Meets · Partly meets · Does not meet
- Support modelTextHours, escalation route and named contacts.
- Reference sitesTextComparable organisations already using the service.
Why these criteria suit it. A procurement has to show that every supplier was assessed on the same basis, so cost is split into recurring and one-off numbers and compliance uses fixed levels rather than each evaluator's own wording.
Policy motion
A membership body putting a policy change to its members.
Initiative context
- BackgroundTextThe policy as it stands today.
- Why nowTextWhat has changed to make this worth deciding.
- Who is affectedTextThe members and groups this reaches.
- Mandate and constraintsTextThe rules the body must decide within.
Option comparison
- What changesTextThe wording this option would adopt.
- Effect on membersTextWhat members would notice in practice.
- Cost to implementNumber · £The cost of putting this option into effect.
- Time to take effectNumber · monthsHow long until members see the change.
- Level of changeLevelHow far this moves from the current policy.Minor · Significant · Major
- ReversibilityLevelHow easily the body could go back.Easily reversed · Reversible with effort · Hard to reverse
Why these criteria suit it. A motion is mostly judged on wording and consequence, so text carries the weight; the two level fields give members a shared sense of scale and risk without forcing a number that nobody could defend.
Editing your own standards
Across the organisation
An Organisation Admin sets the initiative standard and the suggested option standard for new initiatives in Settings, under Decision standards. Published initiatives keep the standard captured when they were published, so an edit never rewrites a decision that has already been taken.
For one initiative
An Initiative Editor can add an option standard for an initiative they manage, on that initiative's Options page, when the organisation's authoring policy allows it.