The role of the chairperson and vice-chairperson

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The chairperson (some people prefer the term 'chair') has the most important role to play in making sure that community council meetings run smoothly. But even a good chairperson will find the task exhausting unless the role is respected by all members of community council.

The chairperson is elected in line with the rules set out in the community council's constitution. Your secretary should be able to provide you with a copy. The constitution is very important because it provides the framework of procedures that govern the work of your community council.

The chairperson's job is to make sure that decisions are taken on all of the items which are on the agenda. This usually means that they have to make judgements about how much time to allocate to each agenda item. It also means that he or she may occasionally have to bring speakers back to the agenda and encourage people to make their contributions brief and to the point.

In regular meetings, the role is a formal one and all speakers will be expected to address their comments to the chair. This helps the chairperson to keep control of the discussion. In committee meetings where proceedings need not be so formal, the chairperson may be content simply to steer the general direction of the discussion. These two approaches to chairing meetings are set out below:

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The Formal Chairperson	The Enabling Chairperson
General role and responsibilities
Encourage fair play	Have an overview of the task/goals of the meeting
Stay in charge	Help to clarify goals
Remain neutral	Help the group to take responsibility for what it wants to accomplish
Agenda and timekeeping	Help the group to carry out its tasks
Open the meeting	Have little emotional investment
Introduce all agenda items	Run through the agenda at the beginning and get the meeting's approval for it
Be familiar with all agenda items	Arrange in advance for someone to introduce each agenda item
Get through the agenda in the allotted time	Update latecomers
	Keep track of the time
	Evaluate how the meeting went at the end

The Formal Chairperson	The Enabling Chairperson
Discussion
Select speakers	Encourage and help everyone to participate
Summarise discussion	Encourage expression of various viewpoints
End discussion	Encourage people to keep to the subject
Make sure that people keep to the subject	Clarify and summarise discussion
	Make it safe to share feelings
	Suggest ways of handling conflict

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The Formal Chairperson	The Enabling Chairperson
Decision making and voting
Make sure decisions are taken and agreed	Suggest structures for decision making
Decide when to vote	Look for areas of agreement
Conduct the vote	Test to see if there is agreement
Make sure that the responsibility for action is allocated	Make sure someone will carry out decisions

Rules
It is important to recognise that the chairperson's role extends outwith the meeting itself. He or she may be called upon to act on behalf of the community council between meetings, or to represent the community council in dealing with outside bodies.

Perhaps most importantly of all, the chairperson is expected to know the rules by which the community council operates, and make sure that at all stages of its work it is operating in line with any procedures that are set down. In this context, the Chair can be called upon to act as an arbiter when there is a disagreement about how the rules should be interpreted.

• check that the meeting has been called in accordance with the rules
• have a thorough knowledge of the rules
• rules on points of order and procedure
• act on behalf of the organisation between meetings
• pursue decisions made in meetings
• represent the organisation to outside bodies

The vice-chairperson has no specific duties other than standing in for the chairperson when he or she is unable to be present. Often this year's vice-chairperson is next year's chairperson in waiting.

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