Issues
An issue is something your workspace is following, such as a proposed rule, a ballot measure or a budget cut. Issues are the hub of the workspace:
- research, meetings, decisions and initiatives link to them;
- each issue's timeline collects what has happened to it and to everything linked to it.
Opening an issue
Go to Issues → New issue.
- Title (required, up to 300 characters) and Summary say what the issue is.
- Status starts as Watching unless you choose another.
- Project files the issue under a project. It defaults to the project chosen in the header.
- Scope to location appears when a location is chosen in the header. It ties the issue to that location, so it shows up when you search with that location chosen (Search).
Status
| Status | Use it when |
|---|---|
| Watching | You are keeping an eye on it. |
| Investigating | You are researching it: reading sources, gathering evidence. |
| Acting | You are doing something about it. |
| Closed | It is over, or you have stopped following it. |
Change the status on the issue's page. Every change appears on the timeline. The person who opened the issue is notified, depending on their notification settings. Issues are never deleted; close them instead.
The Issues list shows the most recently changed first. Filter it by status, and by project with the header's project menu. Load more shows the next page.
Links
The Linked records section of an issue's page shows every record linked to it. To add one:
- Choose Add link.
- Search for the record.
- Choose how it relates.
- Optionally, add a note saying why.
You can link issues, projects, and records from the other parts of the app in your plan, such as meetings, agenda items, research notes, initiatives and budgets.
A link has a direction. On this issue it reads "this issue relates to that record". On the other record's page the same link reads the other way round, such as "Evidence for" and "Evidence".
| How it relates | Read the other way | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Relates to | Related to | A general association with no stronger meaning. |
| Evidence for | Evidence | The record supports the other: a source backing an issue, claim or note. |
| Contradicts | Contradicted by | The record is evidence against the other. |
| Context for | Context | Background that neither supports nor contradicts. |
| Derived from | Led to | The record was created from the other, such as an issue opened from an agenda item. |
| Addresses | Addressed by | Work that acts on the other: an initiative or research note addressing an issue. |
| Responds to | Responses | A participation action responding to an opportunity, meeting or agenda item. |
| Outcome of | Outcomes | A recorded result of an initiative or action. |
| Part of | Includes | The record belongs to the other, such as a task that is part of an initiative. |
| Applies to | Subject of | The record concerns a government, district or institution. |
| Supersedes | Superseded by | The record replaces the other, which is kept for history. |
| Mentions | Mentioned in | The record names the other without making a claim about it. |
A record cannot be linked to itself, and the same two records can be linked only once in each way. Removing a link takes it off both pages; the timeline and the audit log keep a record that it existed.
Timeline
The timeline on an issue's page lists, newest first:
- when the issue was opened;
- every status change ("Status changed from Watching to Investigating");
- every edit, naming the fields that changed;
- every link added or removed;
- what happens to the records linked to the issue, as other parts of the app report it, such as a linked meeting's agenda being posted.
Each entry says who did it: a member (by account), the AI (by task), or the system.
Who can do what
| Action | Who |
|---|---|
| See issues, their links and timelines | Every member |
| Open and edit issues, change status, add and remove links | Owners, researchers, editors and project leads; a project's project lead within that project |
Readers and finance stewards read. A project lead for one project can edit only that project's issues. Every change is recorded in the audit log.