Purchase Proposals
Purchase proposals (PPs) are the way the majority of new tools, machines and things are bought for hackspace. Any member can put together a purchase proposal.
We encourage members to think what would be useful, and cool to have at Hackspace rather than what's on sale at this very moment. We would much rather invest £5000 in a cool machine, that will be easy to set up, learn and maintain, comes with a manufacturer warranty and will attract more members, than spend £800 for the black market knock off with dubious safety, frequent down-time and requiring constant volunteer hours to fix. Tools at Hackspace get professional levels of use-hours over their lifetime, so it's important we're buying durable equipment.
Purchase proposals can be put forward by creating a thread in the “Purchase Proposals” section of the forum using the draft form (click New Topic to load the template).
Info
Purchase proposals should be not change once posted. If there is likely discussion to be had or decisions on what to buy, please have this in a separate thread before posting to the purchase proposal category.
Proposal System
A purchase proposal should consist of the following: - A clearly defined aim, including who it will affect and how. - State any resources required and who will undertake any work needed. - Name/description of each item - A budget, this may include: - Itemised costs - Number of units - Total cost of proposal - Any expected on-going consumables - Link to item on suggested store
Some other considerations you may wish to discuss: - Where will it be stored/installed? - If this replaces existing equipment, what will happen to the old? - Risk assessments and health & safety considerations - Inductions process if required
A proposal is a commitment to the membership that in return for their agreement to grant you the funds, you will buy and suitably commission the proposed item for the community's benefit. Ensure your proposal contains enough detail for members to be satisfied they understand your intents, and that the costs include everything that will be needed to get the thing useable, e.g. do we need to also buy storage boxes, shelving or a table for your proposal?
Warning
If a proposal needs to materially change after it has already recieved support, please close the proposal and create a new one. E.g. if you have proposed a woodworking jig then change the size of storage box it will live in, this doesn't change the intent of the proposal, however if you chaged the brand/model of the jig you should raise a new proposal.
Approval
Purchase proposals require member support and board member approval before they are approved for purchase. Levels of support required are grouped by price, see Proposal Bands below.
Member Support '+1s'
Members can show their support for a proposal by commenting affirmatively (e.g. “+1”, “I support this proposal!”) on the purchase proposal thread. To make verifying reimbursement requests easier, support can only be lent via the forum thread, by the user themselves.
Board Member Approval
Board members fulfil a procedural role in ensuring the proposal is aligned with the aims, ambitions and constraints of Hackspace. Board members will review proposals by considering at least the following: - Financial viability - Health and safety/risk assessments - Compliance with legal duties - Effects on membership - Impact on the physical space.
Board members will show their approval on the final thread by commenting affirmatively, and mentioning that their support reflects board member approval. E.g. “+1 board”.
Board members may choose to lend their support to a proposal as a general member or procedural approval as a board member. Doing both will generally be avoided.
Proposal bands
Purchase proposals are grouped by price, with each band having a different number of independent supporting members/board members to be approved.
| Band | Price Range | Board Approval | Member Support |
|---|---|---|---|
| Micro | £0 to £100 | 1 | 2 |
| Small | £100.01 to £250 | 2 | 5 |
| Medium | £250.01 to £750 | Majority | 10 |
| Large | £750.01+ | See below | See below |
Large Proposals
Large purchase proposals represent a significant investment for the Hackspace, and must be taken to the next members meeting for discussion and an in-person vote for approval.
We aim to hold at least 4 members meetings per year (including our Annual General Meeting), and the agenda for each members meeting is published 7 days before the date of the meeting. If a large purchase proposal is made after the meeting’s agenda has been published, it will be added to the agenda of the following meeting instead.
Further Info
Large proposals are more likely to benefit from pre-proposal discussion threads, as a failed proposal will have to wait roughly 3 months before any amendments can be voted on again.
The in-person votes for large purchase proposals work as per the voting rules in our articles of association, with the additional rule that 'A present member can only represent 3 proxy votes.'
The default voting options for a large purchase proposal will be “Yes”, “No”, and “Abstain”.
A large purchase proposal can include suggestions on alternate voting options, which the board will consider during their approval review and will discuss with the author before the proposal’s inclusion in the meeting agenda.
Purchase & Delivery
A proposal is considered approved once a proposal has reached the required member support & board member approval thresholds. Delivery should be arranged by the proposer, see Delivery for further information.
Purchase proposals are permitted +10% margin to cover any small changes in price since the proposal was made. This should not be used for last minute upselling or alternate purchases.
See reimbursement for further information.
Auctions
Our purchase proposal system encourages well thought through implementation plans. We understand that time is of the essence with auctions, and allow provisional proposals to be put through in advance of anything being found at auction.
We have a history of members spontaneously buying large broken machines, promising to fix them and dumping 100kg of unusable equipment in the space, never to be fixed or removed. This burdens Hackspace and has cost us 4-figure waste disposal fees in recent years, so please don't do this.
Example
Woodwork wants a router table. After some research a member writes a specification for the core requirements and niceties, and suggests that they come up for auction occassionally for £400-900.
A purchase proposal is written and approved for up to £900 for a router table meeting the specification. The funds are set aside for the next 12 months.