Proposal Development

Proposal Shepherds are tasked with the role of assisting members in drafting clear, concise proposals that meet the Green Party of Canada's (GPC) drafting standards. 

Tasks of Proposal Shepherds include but are not limited to:

• Assisting submitters in determining if the proposal duplicates or overlaps with an existing GPC policy or with another proposal submitted to the proposal process. When this appears to be the case, the Proposal Shepherd will assist the submitter in determining a path forward. This may include recommendations to revise the proposal so that it amends or replaces an existing GPC policy, to amend the proposal, or merge it with a similar proposal in the proposal process;
• Recommend edits to the proposal so that it meets the GPC drafting standards;
• Recommend edits to the proposal so that the proposal is easy to read and understand, is free of punctuation, spelling and grammatical errors, and conveys the meaning intended by the submitter;
• Ensuring that an adequate translation is provided;
• Flag Official Proposals that overlap or contradict each other.

The role of Proposal Shepherds does not allow for the following:

• Proposal Shepherds are not allowed to alter the intended meaning of the submitter(s) proposal or to insert their own view in the proposal wording;
• Proposal Shepherds are not allowed to tell the Proposal Submitter(s), or decide that the proposal is rejected, because it does not respect their interpretation of Green values or what is an acceptable Constitutional & Bylaw amendment. However, Proposal Shepherds may flag to the submitter content inconsistencies, duplications, or potentially problematic areas such as policy or constitutional conflict. 

Suggestions made by Proposal Submitters are aimed at maximizing the chances of proposals being accepted by the general membership. Incorporating the suggestions of Proposal Shepherds is not mandatory, however, submitters are strongly encouraged to give these suggestions serious consideration.