The Alma Organization
A Steering Committee, elected regularly from among membership, is responsible for all strategic planning and operations. Overall objectives are to be maintained in accordance with the Alma Charter and consistent long-term strategic goals, but the Committee retains discretionary power to adapt to changing circumstances, arrange short and medium-term priorities and manage resources. The Committee oversees Fund management and has final authority over investment and distribution decisions, as well as directing Physical and Digital Operations, which maintain separate but coordinated organizational structures. Physical Ops coordinates and directs overall Landsite programming and development, but individual Landsites operate with a high degree of autonomy, balancing Alma-wide strategy and development goals with local constraints, surrounding community priorities and site-specific methodologies. Digital Ops is responsible for all infrastructure and Alma-wide information management, including digital platforms and media, member communications, and data archives. Additionally, Digital Ops coordinates outreach, activism actions, and other non-Landsite operations.
Each Landsite is compromised of paid staff and volunteers, all organized among one of three trades. A three-member council, appointed by Alma leadership, is responsible for decision-making, operations, coordination with sister sites and Physical Ops oversight, dispute resolution and community engagement. Paid staff in each trade oversee volunteers and provide in-field training; everyone participates in maintenance tasks and contributes to data collection and outreach efforts. Staff and volunteers are allocated among Landsites according to need: new sites may require a greater balance of Builders, any site might requisition specialized expertise for certain projects; Responders could be mobilized at short notice for disaster relief staging from particular sites as needed. Volunteers work for set time periods but may move among Landsites as opportunities arise, or advance to paid posts with experience if desired; Alma standardized certifications and testing protocols within the trades will determine fitness to lead teams and provide training. Project-wide databases and communication forums will consolidate knowledge, allow resource sharing and coordinate research and development. Over time, the system will evolve into a network akin to a guild system, with large and increasing pools of embodied practical knowledge and standardized protocol for advancement, ethics and education.