TTT Structure and Governance.  Rob Hopkins.

Transition Town Totnes began in 2005 and was ‘Unleashed’ in 2006.  Its role is to act as a catalyst for the emerging diversity of community responses with two principal aims, to cut carbon and to build resilience, as responses to the twin challenges of peak oil and climate change. 
As time has gone by, a lot of thought has gone into how TTT is structured, how it makes decisions and how it communicates.  No-one would claim that we are there yet, nor that the current system is faultless, yet it has emerged based on a great deal of discussion and is continually being revisited and reviewed.   The purpose of this short paper is to offer a guide for the perplexed as to how TTT functions. 

The Working Groups

TTT now has 11 Working Groups, looking at Food, Energy, Building and Housing, Education, Health and Wellbeing, Arts, Heart and Soul, Liaison with Local Government, Economics and Livelihoods, My Story (reminiscences) and Transport .  The groups are open to all, self-organising, and many of them also have a number of subgroups.  You can read more about their work on the TTT website, where each group has its own section.  The size of those involved in the various groups can range from 5 to over 50 people. 

The Core Group

The main decision-making and strategy making group in TTT is the Core Group, which meets once a month.  It is composed as follows; one person representing the office and admin team, one person representing the back office team, and one person from each of the working groups.  The agenda is circulated in advance, and minutes are available to anyone who is interested and circulated around the working groups by their representative.  These meetings are not open to the general public, although each working group is able to send whoever it likes from its membership, and is encouraged to rotate who attends. 

Transition Town Totnes Limited

As part of the requirements associated with applying for funding to various funders, TTT has set up a company limited by guarantee which acts purely as the vehicle for holding and distributing funds.  It is currently applying for charitable status and we may also set up a trading arm at some point.

Partnerships

Over the past 2 years, TTT has formed a number of key strategic partnerships.  We are deeply grateful for the support and encouragement of this diverse group of organisations.  They include;
• Schumacher College
• Totnes Chamber of Commerce
• South Hams Community Supported Agriculture
• KEVICC
• Totnes Town Council
• Totnes Development Trust
• Envirowise
• Efficient Light
• University of Liverpool
• The Mansion
• Dartington Hall Trust
• Dartington Art College
• Sustainable Makers
• Totnes Sustainability Group
• Totnes Renewable Energy Supply Company
• South Hams Friends of the Earth
• West Country Energy Action
• South Hams District Council
• Devon Association for Renewable Energy
• Trees for Health

And many more I have undoubtedly forgotten....