Feasta consciously designed itself to be non-hierarchical and have a flat system of governance, with the minimum passing through the office. Almost every activity has started because someone was enthusiastic about a particular topic and was prepared to work on a project unpaid, at least until funding could be found. Feasta’s role, and thus that of the co-ordination group and the office, is to enable these people, or groups of people, to do things which they would find it harder to accomplish on their own. Part of this role entails putting them in touch with people with similar interests who might like to get involved.
The board of directors (trustees) is elected by the members at the AGM. Apart from their duties under company law, the directors’ role is to keep an eye on the general working of the organisation to make sure that it stays true to its aims and works in the interests of its members. Directors cannot be paid under Irish charity law. The day to day running of Feasta is undertaken by the co-ordination group who are appointed by the Directors. People are invited to join the group because of their interests and experience. Of course if there are problems the Directors can step in and remove an group member or arbitrate on a dispute. This power has never been needed to date.
