REPORTS: Core Group Changes

At its October meeting the outgoing members of the Core Group began the process of handing over to an almost entirely new group. Chris, Christine, Jane, Alex and Tully have all decided to step aside. We thank them all for all they’ve done in starting and supporting Transition Norwich over the last 3 years. Fortunately Tom stays on, while Jane and Alex have agreed to attend a couple more meetings to smooth over the transition. Elena, Kerry, Liz and James were the new faces trying on the Core Group for size, and we hope that some or all of them will decide to join the group and make it more valuable than ever to Transition Norwich.

New members are always welcome, so if you are active in Transition Norwich and are interested in joining the core group then let Kerry know (kezereky_the_first@hotmail.com).

Original core member Chris Hull leads Celeste, the Transition Dragon, at the Lord Mayor's Procession, 2009

Now We Are Six - the new core group

Representatives from all theme groups met last spring and thrashed out some constitutional issues for Transition Norwich. One of the things we agreed was that we need to have a Core Group, which should be of 6 people, elected by the membership. We felt continuity is important so agreed 3 people should step down each year, i.e. ideally nobody will serve for more than 2 years. In early summer we asked (via the Bulletin) for nominations, and received only 3, so those people were elected automatically.

The new members are Jane Chittenden, Alex Haxeltine and Tom Harper. They join the continuing members Christine Way, Chris Hull and Tully Wakeman. The core group thanks Greg Colbourn and Sarah Gann, who stood down at this election, for their valuable work during the first year of Transition Norwich (Tully Wakeman/Core)

Jane Chittenden: lives and works in Norwich, running a small communications company. I am a lifelong champion of good food and a "green gardener and a member of the communications, resilience planning, transport and business/economy groups.

Tom Harper: recently moved to Norwich from London. I am a 'Be the Change' Facilitator, trained in jan 2008 and since then have been in a state of 'blessed unrest' regarding environmental sustainability and social justice issues. I am passionate about getting involved on a deeper level with the transition movement here in my new home city

Alex Haxeltine: lives on Stafford Street in the west of Norwich and works as a researcher in the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research at the University of East Anglia, I have some 20 years experience of working on climate change and sustainability issues. and so far have been most involved in the Heart and Soul group, TN2 and the Resilience Plan group.

NEWS: Core Group Reforms!

After two dynamic meetings of the Supercore Group (a temporary forum composed of reps from all TN groups) a process for electing a new core group has finally emerged. Anyone from Transition Norwich who would like to offer their skills for this role is now invited to contact Chris or Tully. This is an informal "first round" stage and more details of the election process will follow shortly (watch this space). At a recent original core group meeting it was decided that three new members should be elected to join Chris, Tully and Christine. Core group membership will run for a maximum of two years. Do you have what it takes? Contact Tully tully@transitionnorwich.org or Chris chrishull@phonecoop.coop.

Core Group

The core group has existed from the very first days of planning Transition Norwich - that is since January 2008.

The core group is not an executive, management or steering group. Transition Norwich is a gathering of empowered individuals who come together in various groups, and the core group doesn't seek to manage that process.

Rather, the core group seeks to "hold" or support Transition Norwich, noticing what's happening across TN as a whole, seeing where there are gaps, opportunities or problems, and looking for ways to fill those gaps.

This means that the role and feel of the core group has changed over the years. Between January 2008 and the Unleashing in October that year, the core group took a lead on raising awareness and preparing for the Unleashing. Then for the next two years the group was active in initiating groups and projects, from organising and supporting the first round of theme group meetings, to suggesting the TN2 initiative, the Resilience Plan and the proposed Transition Norwich Projects company.

From October 2010 it feels like the core group is entering a third phase that is more focused on process than content. That is, the group wants to work with other groups in TN on issues like conflict resolution, consensual decision-making, and creating activities as an alternative to meetings.

A principle of the core group is that its membership should change over time. In its first phase the core group members were self-selecting; in the second they were elected by TN's membership. In this third phase we invite anybody who has been involved for a while with TN and wants to join the core group, to apply to join. Applicants are invited to attend a couple of meetings and then assess their potential contribution to the group. If they want to stay, other members will choose to step aside in order to keep the group to a manageable size.


At its October meeting the outgoing members of the Core Group began the process of handing over to an almost entirely new group. Chris, Christine, Jane, Alex and Tully have all decided to step aside. We thank them all for all they’ve done in starting and supporting Transition Norwich over the last 3 years. Fortunately Tom stays on, while Jane and Alex have agreed to attend a couple more meetings to smooth over the transition. Elena, Kerry, Liz and James were the new faces trying on the Core Group for size, and we hope that some or all of them will decide to join the group and make it more valuable than ever to Transition Norwich. New members are always welcome, so if you are active in Transition Norwich and are interested in joining the core group then let Kerry know (kezereky_the_first@hotmail.com).

Minutes of the Core Group are public and can be downloaded from the "files" section of the tn-announcements google group page.

Pix: Tully, Jane, Chris and Christine at the TN2 First Meeting on June 16, 2009; Christine at the TN stall in the Forum; Chris with Celeste at the Lord Mayor's Procession; Alex feeding ducks.