Even before the last activity stats came out, we were internally discussing new standards and requirements for the Riksråd, and I thought you would be interested in knowing more about them. We adopted the previous requirement back in February, and it called for a straight average of 3 posts per day for each month, which meant 90 or 93 posts per month depending on the number of days. This was a decent requirement back when were were a new region and building posts was important, but it's inadequate now that we're trying to promote community, culture, and civics.
These new standards took effect last week, and their results will begin to show...for better or for worse...as the month progresses. It is important to realize that the Riksråd is not only an advisory body or a group of Ministers. They are also part of the regional leadership, and anything we can do to promote that leadership will build a better community, build a better government, and in the end build a better region.
As always, if you have comments, concerns, or opinions you need to express about the Riksråd, its members, or the Executive ministries, please contact me. I'm happy to listen and help if I can.
New Standards as Presented in the Riksråd
1) Performance of the Ministry
The most important factor...are the duties of the ministries being performed in a timely and productive manner? At this point every ministry and every member here is important, and if things aren't being done on time, it's harming the region in some way. This not only factors in what you're doing directly, but what the people in under you are doing...everyone has access to The Civil Service, and some ministries have dedicated staff such as ambassadors or mentors, and as the leadership of each ministry, its your job to hold them accountable just like it's my job to hold you accountable. Additionally I will be looking to see if ministries are taking the initiative by presenting ideas or plans for improvement in the Riksråd meetings, which leads to...
2) Participation in Riksråd Meetings
Participation in the topics on this forum have always been a requirement, and I'm going to begin tracking that beginning this month. This is where we come together as a team, get on the same page, and come to resolution about how to best lead the region forward. If everyone isn't involved, we can't be on the same page. There's only a few discussions each month that are open for at least a week, so anyone that's halfway active should be able to be involved.
3) Participation in governmental affairs and civics
I'm going to begin making a big push for involvement in regional civics, and it starts here. As the leadership of the region, not only should we be leading our ministries, but we should also be involved in other civic affairs. We should be participating in all elections, even if we have to abstain on every choice, and we should also be good Civil Servants and be the first to participate in Civil Service projects when the need arises. Even I still do a lot of grunt work, and as people that I hope are most interested in our region's success, everyone in the Riksråd would also want to be involved in the low-level stuff as well.
4) Participation in the region's community, culture, and activities
We have to remember that we're not only regional leaders, we're community leaders as well, and that's a vital importance in a social region like ours...we have to get out and mingle! Be involved in discussions, be involved in our regional culture, and be involved in activities and events that come up. Nobody can be an effective leader if they're cut off from the rest of the region outside of their ministry, and it's imperative that we're connected with the community and not just looking down on it from our ivory towers, so to speak.[/spoilers]
