--- title: "Configuring circle settings for my organisation" description: "Circle settings in Talkspirit define how all circles operate, role assignment, elections, main roles and decision-making, and which of those settings each circle can change for itself." category: structure-governance section: chart-and-circles tags: [admin] type: Tutorial lastUpdated: 2026-08-26 locale: en canonical: https://support.talkspirit.com/en/structure-governance/how-to-configure-circle-settings-for-my-organization --- # Configuring circle settings for my organisation ## Configuring circle settings for my organisation Circle settings define how every circle in your organisation works by default: who assigns roles, whether roles are filled by election, and how governance changes are adopted. You set them once under **Structure > Structure settings > General**, and they apply to every circle that has not personalised its own settings. Each one is a default that a circle can override only where you allow it, where you don't, the circle's own control is read-only or absent. You need administrator rights to open this page. ## Where do I manage circle settings? 1. Open the **Structure** app. 2. In the left navigation, open **Structure settings** and select **General**. The page is titled **General settings** and holds four tabs: **Circles settings** for the organisation defaults, **Circles dashboard**, **Role templates**, and **Decision settings**. **Note:** your organisation can rename *circle*, *role* and *main role*, so the words on your screen may differ from the default names used in this article. ![The Structure module panel with the "Structure settings" entry at the bottom outlined.](/images/structure-governance/how-to-configure-circle-settings-for-my-organization/01-structure-settings-entry.png) ## How do I set the role defaults for all circles? Open the **Circles settings** tab. It holds two cards, and every switch applies as soon as you set it. **Role assignment** - **All members can assign roles**: on, any member of a circle can assign members to that circle's roles. Off, assignment is reserved to the assigner roles each circle picks in its own settings, and only main roles can be picked there. **Role elections** - **Roles can be elected**: lets circles fill roles through an election. - **Roles must be elected**: makes election the only way to fill a role. Members already assigned keep their roles; new members must be elected. Both cards also carry **Allow circles to override this setting**, covered further down. ![The Circles settings tab showing the Role assignment and Role elections cards, with the "All members can assign roles", "Roles can be elected" and "Roles must be elected" switches and an "Allow circles to override this setting" switch beneath each of the first two.](/images/structure-governance/how-to-configure-circle-settings-for-my-organization/02-circles-settings.png) ## Where do main roles, circle links and assigner behaviour live? On the **Role templates** tab. Open a template to edit it: five switches decide how the roles created from it behave. - **Main role**: the role is grouped under **Main roles** at the top of the role list in every circle it belongs to, which makes it easier to find. - **Electable**: the role can be filled by election. - **Manages assignments**: the role assigns members to the other roles in its circle. - **Represents parent circle**: the role carries information from the parent circle down into this one. This is how the **Lead Link** is set up. - **Represents sub-circle**: the role brings the sub-circle's tensions up to the parent circle. This is how the **Rep Link** is set up. **Important:** a template change applies only to roles created from that template from now on. Roles that already exist stay exactly as they are, and a new circle is created with no template roles at all. To add the role to circles that already exist, use **Save & apply to existing** and tick **Also create the missing ones**. **Important:** deleting a role template deletes the template only. Every role already created from it stays in its circle, with its members still assigned. Nothing is cleaned up for you. If you want those roles gone, remove them circle by circle. ![The Role templates tab listing one template, with columns for Name, Main, Electable, Assigner, Rep. parent and Rep. child, and an "Add template" button.](/images/structure-governance/how-to-configure-circle-settings-for-my-organization/03-role-templates.png) ## How do I set how governance changes are adopted? Open the **Decision settings** tab and find the **Proposal adoption** card. 1. Leave **Require proposals for governance changes** off to keep **Evolutions are applied freely**, members change the structure directly, with no validation step. 2. Turn it on to switch to **Evolutions must be submitted to circle members**. Every governance change goes to the circle as a proposal. 3. With proposals required, choose when an unopposed proposal is adopted: **After** a number of **days, if no objections are raised**, or **Immediately**. ![The Proposal adoption card with "Require proposals for governance changes" switched on, showing the two adoption options: after a set number of days if no objections are raised, or immediately.](/images/structure-governance/how-to-configure-circle-settings-for-my-organization/04-proposal-adoption.png) ## How do I decide which settings circles can change? Two settings can be delegated to circle admins: role assignment and role elections. Each carries **Allow circles to override this setting** on its card in **Circles settings**. - On, circle admins set that setting for their own circle. - Off. The organisation's value applies, and the circle cannot change it. The circle is never shown a control it can't use: its elections control turns read-only, or disappears altogether when elections are switched off for the organisation, and its assignment control shows the notice *"The organisation settings define that all members can assign roles."* Decision settings work the other way round. There is no organisation switch for them, so every circle chooses for itself between **Use org default** and its own value. The **Allow circles to override this setting** switch under each card is what decides this. When it is on, each circle may choose for itself in its own **Circle Settings**; when it is off, the organisation-wide choice applies everywhere and the circle-level control is not offered. ## Which article covers what? - This article covers the organisation-level defaults, set once for every circle. - [Personalising a circle's settings](/structure-governance/personalizing-your-circles-settings) covers the circle-level side: what a circle admin changes when your organisation allows an override. - [Main roles and the Core badge](/structure-governance/understanding-core-roles) covers main roles: what ticking **Main role** on a role template changes, and where a circle shows them. They are set on the template, not on this page. - [Setting up consent decision-making for my organisation](/structure-governance/how-to-set-up-consent-decision-making-for-my-organization) goes deeper on the decision settings above. ## What's Next? - [What a circle page shows](/structure-governance/circle-page-tabs) - [Assigning or removing a member from a role](/structure-governance/how-to-assign-or-remove-a-member-from-a-role) - [Governance Overview in Talkspirit](/structure-governance/governance-overview)