Workspaces and groups¶

Rhizome maps organisational structures across three levels: workspace, groups and project groups. This structure has been deliberately chosen to suit as many organisations as possible.

Workspace¶

The workspace is the top-level unit. Everything an organisation does in Rhizome takes place within a workspace. Every team and every organisation has exactly one workspace in which all members collaborate.

Groups¶

Groups are the second level below the workspace. They bring together people who have something to contribute to a particular subject area.

Depending on their organisational structure, groups can represent different things:

• Departments – e.g. Human Resources, Marketing, Production
• Thematic circles – e.g. in start-ups or co-operatives, where groups are organised by topic rather than by hierarchy
• Circle organisations – groups can represent circles in which members take on different roles

Every workspace automatically has a default group which all new members join. It acts as a plenary session or all-hands meeting and can be renamed.

Visibility and Safe Spaces¶

Groups are private spaces. A topic belongs to one or more groups. Only their members can view it – throughout its entire history, including archived posts.

Individuals can be added to a topic.

Cross-group topics¶

To encourage cross-functional collaboration, topics can be assigned to several groups and project teams at the same time. All members of the groups involved can then view the topic and contribute to it.

Project groups¶

Project groups function in the same way as regular groups, but follow a different logic:

• Groups represent the permanent organisational context – they may be created as early as the first day and sometimes remain in place for as long as the organisation uses Rhizome.
• Project groups are set up for a fixed period. They have a start and an end and are archived or deleted once the project is complete.

When project teams are a good idea¶

• Projects often operate according to a different logic of participation than the regular organisation. People who contribute little to financial matters in a global context may be responsible for project finances within a project context.
• Project topics would quickly overwhelm the organisation-wide context. Project groups separate the signal from the noise.