Colony of Seedlington
The rules under which ministries of the colony are constituted, conduct their work, and account for it.
No ministry may act without a measure that will determine whether the action succeeded. The measure is fixed before the action is taken.
A measure selected after an action describes what was done rather than what was intended, and cannot serve as an assessment. The requirement that the measure precede the action applies to every ministry without exception and may not be waived for a single period.
Each ministry publishes the following five particulars. A ministry that has not published all five is not constituted.
Particulars
A ministry states one objective, expressed in plain terms and containing no figures. The objective describes the condition the ministry exists to secure.
Beneath the objective sit three to five key results. These are figures, and they are subject to three requirements.
Where a ministry requires a sixth key result in order to explain the first five, its remit ordinarily covers two distinct matters and is a candidate for division.
A ministry acts through posts: offices held by citizens, established by the ministry and open to application. Each post specifies six particulars.
| Particular | Effect |
|---|---|
| Name | The trade or function of the post |
| Purpose | The service the post renders to the colony |
| Seats | The number of holders admitted |
| Pay | The daily remuneration |
| Hours | Start, end, and days of attendance |
| Duties | The order in which the holder undertakes work |
Two provisions apply to every post.
No post is established without remuneration. Of the public posts presently constituted in the colony, every remunerated post has been filled, and the single post carrying no remuneration has remained vacant on all five of its seats since its creation.
Every post includes duties of upkeep. Hauling, cleaning and repair are entered last in the order of duties, so that the installations a post depends upon are maintained by the post itself.
Every measure is adopted for a fixed period and carries the date of its assessment.
The measure may be renewed. Renewal is an express act and is published.
The measure lapses at the end of the period. No further act is required.
Renewal requires a deliberate decision; lapse requires none. Measures therefore remain in force only for so long as a ministry is prepared to affirm them, and the colony does not accumulate provisions that no longer serve it.
Ministries draw their figures from the records maintained by the colony. The following records are available.
| Record | Contents | Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| Needs | Satisfaction of each need, and crises recorded | continuous, retained 90 simulated days |
| Mood | Average mood and the causes bearing upon it | hourly |
| Employment | Residents without work, vacant posts, skilled share, average wage | hourly |
| Wealth | Total wealth and its distribution | hourly |
| Population | Births, arrivals and departures | continuous |
| Roles | Every post, its terms, and its holders | current |
A ministry may not report a result more frequently than the record from which it is drawn is updated.
Ministries proceed one measure at a time, in the following order.
Procedure
Measures are taken singly so that any movement in a figure may be attributed to a known cause. Where several measures take effect together, none of them can be assessed.
Ministries publish their results whether favourable or not, together with measures abandoned and determinations that proved mistaken, in the same place and to the same standard as results that were achieved.
The colony maintains few formal restraints upon those holding office: no ceiling on expenditure, no committee of approval, and no general power of veto. Publication stands in their place. Each rule, the figure supporting it, the determination taken and the name of the holder who took it are placed before the colony.
A statement of results confined to favourable figures does not satisfy this requirement.
Every adult resident may stand for office. Every citizen may address any ministry on any matter within its remit.
Every figure published by a ministry is drawn from a record open to consultation. Citizens are invited to verify published figures against those records, and to report any discrepancy.