--- title: "Governance in the Structure module" description: "Governance in Talkspirit lives in the Structure module: circles, roles, and the proposals that change them. Here is the map and who can change what" category: structure-governance section: governance-basics tags: [permissions] type: Reference lastUpdated: 2026-08-26 locale: en canonical: https://support.talkspirit.com/en/structure-governance/governance-overview --- # Governance in the Structure module ## Governance in the Structure module Governance in Talkspirit is the live record of how your organisation is organised: its circles, the roles inside them, and the decisions that change either one. It all sits in one module, **Structure**. Governance is not a separate module, and neither are proposals: both live inside Structure. > **In summary:** open **Structure** from the navigation rail. Its **My organisation** section holds the organisation chart, the directory, proposals and working agreements. Circles and roles hold the content, and proposals are how that content changes. ## Where governance lives Select **Structure** in the navigation rail. The app panel opens on the **My organisation** section: - **Explore organisation**: the organisation chart, in three views (**Circles & roles**, **Hierarchy** and **Network**). - **Circles & roles directory**: the same content as a searchable flat list. - **Proposals**: every proposed change, grouped by the stage it has reached. - **Working agreements**: the documents a circle publishes, policies included. - **Timetravel**: your structure as it stood on an earlier date. Below that, **My circles & roles** lists what you hold yourself, and **Structure settings** sits at the foot of the panel for administrators. ![The Structure module open on Explore organisation, with the My organisation section listed in the app panel and the organisation chart drawn as nested circles](/images/structure-governance/governance-overview/01-structure-app-explore-organisation.png) If Structure is missing from your navigation rail, or a link into it drops you on the Cockpit, your account has no read access to the chart. An administrator can grant it. ## What circles and roles record Work is described by roles, not by job titles. A role is a piece of work with a **Purpose**, the **Domains** it owns, the **Accountabilities** it delivers, and the **Policies** it has published. People are assigned to it afterwards, and one person usually holds several roles. A circle groups roles and sub-circles, and carries those same four fields for itself. ![The Support role open as a side panel, showing its Purpose, an empty Domains section, four Accountabilities, a Policies section and two people on the Members tab](/images/structure-governance/governance-overview/02-role-details-purpose-accountabilities-members.png) Circles and roles open the same tabs: **General**, **Members**, **Working agreements** and **Attachments**, then **Metrics**, **Checklists**, **Projects**, **Goals** and **Meetings** where your organisation uses them. > **Note:** an administrator can rename circle, role, purpose, domain, accountability, policy, proposal and working agreement across the whole organisation, so your own screens may use different words. ## Who can change the structure The permission that decides this is **decision maker**, and you hold it circle by circle. Everyone assigned to a circle becomes a decision maker of it by default, so the status is one you remove rather than one you grant. A decision maker of a circle can add roles and sub-circles inside it, and can raise proposals there. Changing the circle's own name, purpose, domains or accountabilities asks instead for decision-maker status in its **parent** circle. Administrator rights are not a substitute: when you create a proposal or vote on one, the server checks your decision-maker status in that circle and refuses administrators who do not have it. ## How a change is made Your organisation picks one route in **Structure settings → General → Decision settings**, and any circle can override it: - **Require proposals for governance changes** switched on, which is the default: a change is drafted as a proposal and applies only once it is adopted. - The same switch off: changes apply straight away, with no proposal. On the proposal route you build the change, select **Submit**, and it appears on the **Proposals** page under the stage it has reached. ![The Proposals page inside Structure, listing proposals under the Submitted, Clarifying, Reaction, Consent Round and Amending stages](/images/structure-governance/governance-overview/03-proposals-page-in-structure.png) > **Note:** with the settings a new organisation starts with, the controls that adopt or reject a proposal belong to the facilitator of a live governance meeting. A proposal submitted outside a meeting waits until one is held, or until an administrator sets a review period under **Proposal adoption** in the same **Decision settings** tab. ## What's next - [Circles in Talkspirit](/structure-governance/circle-overview) - [Roles in Talkspirit](/structure-governance/role-overview) - [Decision makers in a circle](/structure-governance/what-is-a-decision-maker-of-a-circle) - [Proposals Overview](/structure-governance/proposals-overview)