OCUL Operating Principles
All OCUL projects and initiatives must align with the following principles:
- OCUL initiatives are developed and sustained in a climate that encourages new ideas, enables effective collaboration and builds consensus.
- Initiatives are proposed, considered and agreed upon according to OCUL’s governance practices and the Rules of the OCUL Bylaws.
- Initiatives must be congruent with the OCUL strategic plan.
- Initiatives must balance risk (financial, legal, reputational, etc.) with opportunity (new relationships, new revenue streams, etc.)
- Initiatives involving subsets of OCUL members are OCUL initiatives when they are enabled by OCUL (i.e., opt-in, cost recovery services).
- Initiatives involving subsets of OCUL members may be considered as OCUL initiatives when there is some likelihood of others joining at a later date, when information about the work is regularly shared with the membership as a whole, and when OCUL as a whole is expected to benefit from the experiences of the subgroup.
- Initiatives must respect (and not jeopardize) COU’s status as an association of not-for-profit members.