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Topic #017/2025 Creation of a national, standard process for the project management of Advisory Actions.
What do you want Conference to do?
That the GSC approve a small working group of members with professional experience in project management, to create a user-friendly process for project-managing advisory actions based upon Concept 11 suggestions.
Visually and conceptually, the step-by-step process could resemble the 7-step process we already feature in our AA Australia Service Manual relating to Conference Topics. Almost a part B to that process.
What issue does this proposal address?
Right now, AA Australia has no established process, or set of guidelines, outlining how working groups, committee etc manage projects. Once a Topic is voted to become an Advisory action at conference, the working group charged with turning it into a new AA product or process has no established anchor-point upon which to begin work. They literally have to work out how to work things out. This can be both time-consuming, frustrating and, ultimately, unspiritual.
The second issue relates very much to the first above. Currently AA Australia is not taking full advantage of the spiritual project management practices outlined in our Concept 11. These approaches remain an under-utilised opportunity.
Background information that supports this proposal
The lack of a formal project management process for advisory actions (and potentially other AA- related projects) is the only background information that comes to mind.
How will this proposal benefit the fellowship or the still suffering alcoholic?
A three-legacy recovery is a very desirable thing. To not do all we can to embody the spiritual principles as outlined in Concept 11 – to literally not look for an agile way to embody them in a sustainable, effective way, denies those of us who do general service project work an opportunity for this.
Equally, members have sometimes waited years for Advisory Actions to be turned into member-ready products and processes, and at times the outcomes have been less than satisfactory. Having a C11-driven process for project management would rid us of these issues. Working groups could initiate work far more quickly by following clear, simple steps, and, as per C11 suggestions, more working groups would be led by those members with professional industry experience in the matter at hand – e.g. creating a new publication.
What are the estimated costs of implementing this suggestion?
At what level of group conscience (if any) was this topic discussed?
Zero. A working group of members is all that is required.
