Start a new governance instance

The framework that runs this party can run yours. An instance is the same open governance infrastructure — version-controlled, auditable, contribution-based — applied to your community's context, laws, and language.

What is an instance?

This repository separates the framework (how governance-as-code works — primitives, proposal systems, CI pipeline) from the content (what a specific community stands for). The framework lives in core/. Each community's content lives in instances/<name>/.

The Canada instance (instances/canada/) is the reference implementation — a complete worked example of the framework applied to a fictional Canadian federal political movement. Your instance uses the same structure, adapted to where you are and who you are.

Political party A new movement with a manifesto, constitution, and riding or district structure.
Civic organisation A community group, NGO, or advocacy coalition that makes collective decisions.
Municipal initiative A local government or participatory budgeting project with open public input.
Co-operative A worker or housing co-op managing policy and governance decisions transparently.
Student union A university or college body that wants auditable, accountable governance.
Research project An experiment in democratic governance design, open to anyone to observe.

What you will build

An instance has four components. You create them; the framework provides the structure and tooling.

Founding document

Your constitution: member rights, institutional structure, amendment procedures. The supreme governing instrument of your community.

Operating rules

Bylaws or standing orders: how meetings work, how officers are selected, how finances are managed, how membership is defined.

Policy manifesto

Modular articles, one per domain: what your community stands for and proposes to do. Start with two or three and grow from there.

Proposal process

The mechanism through which members suggest changes. Inherited from core/ — you configure it, not build it from scratch.

Nine steps from nothing to a running instance

Full detail in INSTANCE_GUIDE.md. The issue template below walks you through the questions before you start.

  1. Fork the repository

    Fork on GitHub, clone your fork, create a branch named instance/<your-name>.

  2. Create your instance directory

    Six subdirectories: manifesto/, proposals/, governance/, experiments/, cycle_reports/, and an instance README.md.

  3. Write your founding document

    Start from the Canada constitution structure. Replace every Canada-specific reference with your jurisdiction's equivalent. Keep the structural logic: constitutional supremacy, member rights floor, graduated amendment thresholds.

  4. Write your operating rules

    Membership, assembly, leadership selection, policy development. Use the Canada bylaws as structural references — adapt, don't copy.

  5. Write your foundational manifesto articles

    Start with two or three articles. The first should state what your community will not compromise on. Each article must have the four required sections: Summary, Principles, Policy Mechanisms, Measurable Outcomes.

  6. Customise the proposal template

    Copy core/proposal_system/proposal_template.md to your instance and add any jurisdiction-specific review sections (e.g. constitutional consistency, FPIC review, jurisdictional analysis).

  7. Configure compliance checks

    Edit scripts/charter_compliance_placeholder.py for your jurisdiction's rights framework, or leave the placeholder in place to start — it enforces structure without legal analysis.

  8. Open your first governance cycle

    Create cycle_reports/cycle_001.md. Invite contributions. The founding cycle is complete when the founding document and at least one manifesto article have been ratified.

  9. Register your instance

    Add a row to instances/README.md and open a pull request to the upstream framework. Your instance becomes part of the growing collection.

Before you open the issue

You don't need to have all of this ready — the issue is for starting the conversation. But thinking through these questions first will make the process faster.

  • What is your community called? What is a short slug for the directory?
  • What country or jurisdiction are you in? What language(s) do you work in?
  • What rights framework applies — a national constitution, a charter, or a self-contained member rights declaration?
  • How are decisions made in your community? Single-member districts, proportional voting, consensus assembly, co-op board?
  • What are the two or three things your community will not compromise on?
  • What policy domains matter most to you right now?
  • Who will be your first maintainers — the people who merge contributions?

Reference material

INSTANCE_GUIDE.md — the complete nine-step guide

Read on GitHub ↗

instances/canada/ — the reference implementation

Read the constitution and one or two manifesto articles to understand the expected level of detail and tone. Browse on GitHub ↗ or read the manifesto on this site ↗

core/governance_kernel.md — the eight governance primitives

Defines what every instance must implement: Member, Proposal, Discussion, Review, Decision, Cycle, Transparency Log, Personal Data. Read on GitHub ↗

Ready to start?

Open the issue template. Fill in what you know. A maintainer will respond to help you set up your instance directory and get your first governance cycle running.

Open new instance request ↗

You will need a GitHub account to submit the issue. If you prefer not to use GitHub, open a Governance Discussion issue and describe what you are building — a maintainer will help you from there.