consensusdriven

Consensus-driven, sometimes written as consensusdriven, refers to processes and cultures that prioritize broad agreement among stakeholders when making decisions, rather than relying solely on majority votes. It emphasizes inclusive participation, shared ownership, and transparency in how decisions are reached. The goal is to achieve a solution acceptable to all stakeholders, or at least free of well-founded blocking objections.

Key principles include equal voice for participants, facilitated discussions to manage power dynamics, clear criteria for evaluating options, and iterative testing of proposals. In some models, a consent standard requires no serious objections rather than unanimous approval.

Common methods include structured facilitated meetings, small-group work, proposals and amendments, dissent handling, and recording decisions. Formal frameworks such as sociocracy or holacracy offer explicit processes for achieving consent, with tools like rounds, clear roles, and decision logs.

Applications include open-source projects, cooperative enterprises, community organizing, participatory budgeting, and governance structures in organizations that value inclusive input. Benefits include greater legitimacy, more durable decisions, and better integration of diverse knowledge; challenges include time requirements, risk of stalemate, scaling difficulties, and the need for skilled facilitation.

Critics argue that consensus-driven processes can slow action, suppress minority dissent if not properly designed, or become a false consensus when no one voices concerns. It is closely related to participatory governance, sociocracy and other inclusive decision-making approaches.