0.3 Getting involved
Summary
Sapiens First has a role for anyone, whatever time you have to give: stay informed, join an event, bring people together, or take responsibility for ongoing work. Start with a commitment you can keep, find the people already working on what you care about, and tell them if your availability changes.
0.3.1 First steps and finding a useful contribution
Why people get involved. AI raises questions that reach into ordinary life: how we earn a living, who makes decisions about us, and how we keep our communities safe. We call this the AI Crisis, and we believe these choices are too important to leave only to the people building and owning the technology. You don't need technical expertise to care about the outcome, and you don't have to become an organizer to be part of the response: staying informed, talking with people you know, and showing up all help. The first step below points to the full account.
Your first steps.
- Get to know the movement. Read our story (the AI Crisis and the future we want), strategy (how we seek change) and culture (our values and red lines).
- Join us. Use the Sapiens First website to find current ways to join and upcoming events. Explore the campaigns and choose an activity you can support.
- Meet other people. Introduce yourself in the community space you're invited to. Share where you're based, what you care about, and how you'd like to contribute.
- Choose a next step. Attend a gathering (often something simple, like a picnic or a town hall discussion, with room to get to know people; see A.2.6 Running gatherings), help with an activity, invite someone you know to get involved, explore the Fellowship (0.3.2), or talk to a role holder about work listed in Atlas.
Start with a commitment you can keep. Let people know if your availability changes.
For role holdersYour first week
- Read your role's purpose and responsibilities in Atlas.
- Confirm your priority project and who will support you.
- Agree on what you can decide, what needs consultation, and what needs approval.
- Get access to the tools and files needed for your work.
- Arrange your check-ins and choose the first useful step.
Fellows should also follow the Fellowship pathway in 0.3.2.
Ways to take part. If you want to take ongoing responsibility for organizing, continue to 0.3.4 Where to start as an organizer. 1.4.4 Participation, responsibility, and employment explains the ways to participate: supporter, member, and organizer.
0.3.2 Volunteer and Fellowship pathways
A structured volunteer program: each Fellow takes responsibility for a project, with support from people working on related priorities.
The Fellowship is a structured way to contribute to Sapiens First. Each Fellow takes responsibility for a project that helps the movement, with support from people working on related priorities. You'll build skills in strategic analysis, planning, and leadership. You'll meet people working on AI and politics, help create something others can use, and have fun along the way. Every Fellow accepts the Fellowship agreement before starting.
What to expect. Fellows aim to contribute 5–10 hours a week during their program. The Fellowship is a volunteer program, not employment. Let your contact know if your availability changes.
Fellowship practice includes:
- Discord for communication and coordination.
- A standing weekly 1–1 with Rohan.
- A team meeting or a written update memo every two weeks.
- General meetings to learn about the movement and connect with other Fellows.
As the program grows, support may be assigned to other role holders. Check your onboarding instructions and current assignments in Atlas; don't assume that change has already happened.
Source of truth
Atlas holds current Fellowship assignments and support contacts. This page explains what the program involves.
Your first weeks.
| Stage | What to do | What you should have afterward |
|---|---|---|
| Get oriented | Read the welcome pages, join Discord, arrange a check-in, and confirm a priority project | A project and someone to turn to for support |
| Scope | Define the audience, outcome, outputs, boundaries, and decision rights | A written scope reviewed with your project contact |
| Plan | Choose an approach, identify dependencies, and work backward from the deadline | A realistic plan with meaningful milestones |
| Make a first version | Create something useful early enough to get feedback | A draft, prototype, pilot, or initial result |
| Test and improve | Learn from users, colleagues, or other relevant evidence | A better result and clearer understanding of what works |
| Finish and hand off | Check success criteria, organize the work, and explain what comes next | Work another person can use or continue |
Projects differ. Research, organizing, and software projects won't follow an identical calendar. Use your cohort schedule and agreed plan for actual dates. Each stage is explained in 3.2.6 Project execution and handoffs.
For role holdersPreparing for your first project conversation
Bring your interests, available time, and questions. Discuss who will use the result, why it matters, and what is achievable during the Fellowship. Use the scope template to capture what you agree.
If you're unsure how the project helps the mission, ask. Understanding the purpose makes good decisions easier as the work develops.
Keep people in the loop. If you can't complete an action item, attend a meeting, or need time away, let your team know. Share blockers while there's still time to help. A useful update says what changed, what you learned, and what you need next. See 3.4.5 Written updates and follow-through and 3.2.6 Project execution and handoffs.
After the Fellowship. You might continue as a Fellow, take on a coordination or leadership role, or use what you learned elsewhere. Discuss the next step with your contact and arrange a handoff if you're leaving a project.
Atlas describes a further engagement level for Fellows after three months and graduation; see 1.4.4 for how organizer role types fit together. Confirm the current progression process with your Fellowship contact.
0.3.3 Finding current people, projects, and contacts
Find people and work. Atlas is where you find who's responsible for the work you care about. It has views for roles, domains of work, and people: look up the work that interests you, then find the linked role or circle. That gives you a starting point for asking questions.
If nobody is listed, ask for help finding an owner. A missing assignment doesn't grant authority to commit the organization.
Source of truth
Atlas holds current roles, circles, and work assignments. Use it to find who's responsible for something today.
The handbook explains how we work; Atlas records current roles, projects, and responsibilities. See 0.2.3 Where authoritative information lives.
Stay in touch. Use whichever channel your group has agreed on. Groups agree their own communication channel; the Fellowship uses Discord for day-to-day communication and coordination, and some groups also use Signal. The website helps people find events and ways to participate. Email keeps supporters informed.
Keep project decisions and useful work somewhere others can find them, and link to them from the relevant work record. Protect passwords, member data, donor information, and private conversations. See 3.4 Facilitation for check-ins, written updates, and general meetings.
0.3.4 Where to start as an organizer
Organizers turn shared concerns into collective action, with clear responsibilities and support from one another.
An organizer is anyone taking ongoing responsibility for organizing. The lists below suggest a reading order: work through the earlier material when you need the foundation, or jump to the article that answers today's question. They don't define permissions or graduation requirements; current assignments and decision rights are recorded in Atlas.
Organizers hold one or more role types: Individual Contributor, Directly Responsible Individual, and Player-Coach. See 1.4.4 Participation, responsibility, and employment and E.1 Expectations.
Understand the vision and strategy.
Learn how we organize.
- 0.2 How the handbook works
- 1.4.6 Atlas and the handbook
- 1.4 Structure
- 1.4.2 Roles, circles, accountabilities, and decision rights
Put it into practice.
- Weekly planning and project execution
- 3.4 Facilitation: meetings and updates
- Field guides overview
- The Organizer Conversation
- Gatherings
- Peaceful actions
- Templates
- Glossary
Govern and share authority. Revisit 1.4.2 Roles, circles, accountabilities, and decision rights, then study 1.4.3 Governance and changing the structure. These explain how we share authority today.
Support a circle.
Help people grow.
Direct the work and help the organization learn.
- From mission to objectives
- Metrics
- Strategic decisions and hypotheses
- Reviewing performance of the strategy
Staff and compensation.