Context Tab

The Context tab is the governance hub for your committee. It brings together the foundational elements that define your committee’s purpose, responsibilities, and organizational structure.

Mission

The Mission section describes your committee’s purpose and reason for existing.

• Rich text editor for detailed formatting
• Click “Edit” to enter editing mode, then “Save” to confirm changes
• Visible to all members with access to the committee

Tip

A clear mission statement helps new members understand the committee’s role and keeps discussions focused on what matters.

Charter

The Charter section defines your committee’s governance principles and operating rules.

• Rich text editor for detailed formatting
• Use it to document decision-making processes, meeting frequency, quorum requirements, and other procedural guidelines
• Click “Edit” to enter editing mode, then “Save” to confirm changes

Mandates

Mandates are the formal responsibilities assigned to the committee. They define what the committee is accountable for.

Mandate Fields

Field	Description
Title	Concise name of the mandate (required)
Description	Detailed explanation of the responsibility
Priority	High, Medium, or Low

Managing Mandates

1. Add a mandate

   Click “Add” in the Mandates section and enter a title, description, and priority level.

2. Edit a mandate

   Click on a mandate to open its details modal, where you can update any field.

3. Reorder mandates

   Drag and drop mandates to change their display order. Mandates are automatically numbered sequentially.

4. Set priorities

   Use priority levels (High, Medium, Low) to indicate the importance of each mandate.

Note

Mandates help the committee stay focused on its core responsibilities. Review them periodically to ensure they remain relevant.

Leadership Roles

Leadership roles define the organizational structure within your committee. They are separate from platform permissions (Owner/Contributor/Reader).

How Roles Work

• Custom role names — Create roles like Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, or any role your organization needs
• Member assignment — Assign one or more members to each role
• Multiple roles — A single member can hold multiple roles

Managing Leadership Roles

1. Create a role

   Click “Add” in the Leadership Roles section and enter the role name.

2. Assign members

   Open the role details modal to assign committee members to the role.

3. Edit or remove

   Click on a role to update its name, change assignments, or delete it.

Tip

Common roles include Chair (leads meetings), Secretary (manages documentation), and Treasurer (oversees finances). Define roles that match your committee’s actual needs.

Documents

The Documents section stores references to external resources that support your committee’s work.

Document Fields

Field	Description
Name	Document title (required)
Description	Brief summary of the document’s content
URL	Link to the document (required)
Type	Category of document

Document Types

Documents can be classified as:

• Report — Formal reports and assessments
• Study — Research studies and findings
• Analysis — Analytical documents
• Policy — Policy documents and guidelines
• Framework — Reference frameworks
• Survey — Survey results and data
• Statistics — Statistical data and reports
• SharePoint — Documents stored in SharePoint
• Other — Any other supporting documents

Managing Documents

1. Add a document

   Click “Add” in the Documents section and fill in the name, URL, and type.

2. Edit a document

   Click on a document to open its details modal, where you can update any field.

3. Reorder documents

   Drag and drop documents to change their display order.

4. Open a document

   Click the link icon to open the document URL in a new tab.

Decisions

Decisions made by the committee are displayed in the Context tab, providing a complete governance record in one place.

For full details on recording, tracking, and managing decisions, see the dedicated Decisions page.

Visibility

Each section in the Context tab can be individually shown or hidden based on the committee’s component configuration in Settings. If governance components are disabled, some sections may not appear.

Best Practices

• Write the mission first — It sets the direction for everything else in the committee
• Keep mandates specific — Vague mandates are hard to track and evaluate
• Assign leadership roles early — Clear roles prevent confusion about who does what
• Link relevant documents — Keep reference materials accessible to all members
• Review context periodically — Update the mission, charter, and mandates as the committee’s scope evolves

Next Steps

• Overview — Understand the full committee structure
• Managing Meetings — Schedule and run meetings
• Decisions — Record and track formal decisions