A098 On Online Tools for Adaptive Leadership
Resolved, the House of Bishops concurring,
That the 80th General Convention direct the Executive Council to oversee the development of collaborative online tools that can facilitate the work of interim bodies committed to leading adaptive change in the Episcopal Church; and be it further
Resolved, That the chair and vice-chair of Executive Council, in consultation with the Executive Council Joint Standing Committee on Governance and Operations, appoint a task force of experienced churchwide leaders to make recommendations about the range of communication and collaboration tools needed to support adaptive change work, including tools that will facilitate real-time collaboration, be responsive on mobile devices, and entirely replace the current Extranet platform; and be it further
Resolved, That the General Convention Office be directed to implement the recommendations of the task force in time for use by the 81st General Convention; and be it further
Resolved, That $250,000 be budgeted for the subscription, development and implementation of these tools.
Explanation
Despite significant investment of time and money, the Extranet is a hindrance to the kind of real-time collaborative work required to facilitate adaptive change in the church. The Extranet is not intuitive, it does not provide the options for real-time interaction, and it does not thread messages. Leaders who have been stymied by its inadequacies have been forced to informal use of other tools; as a result, information and records about the work of churchwide bodies is dispersed and often unavailable. Especially during the pandemic, the church’s lack of capacity to collaborate has significantly limited the ability of its leaders to respond to rapidly changing circumstances and contexts. The leaders who are most in need of tools that work, and who have been most affected by the inadequate nature of the current platform, should lead this work.