...
In the event of a reported violation, a member of the Response Team assumes the role of Incident Responder. The first responsibility of the Incident Responder is to take the incident report and confirm the safety of the people. Based on the report details, an Incident Team may be formed from a subset of the Response Team, and an Incident Lead is named. The size of the Incident Team should be as small as needed, and the names of the members should not be intentionally publicized or hidden; they should be shared only as is helpful or on a need-to-know basis. The Incident Responder may continue to serve as the single point of contact for the reporter, or may turn over this responsibility to another designated member of the Incident Team if appropriate or necessary.
Collectively, the Incident Team shares the responsibility to:
Protect the reporter’s privacy
Discuss the incident
Determine if a violation has occurred
Make decisions as the investigation unfolds
Follow up with the reported person
If necessary, suggest a behavioral modification plan
Articulate the consequences of not adhering to the modification plan
Respond to the impacted person
Throughout the process, communicate updates as necessary to: reporter, accused, event attendees/community, witnesses
Document the incident
When the incident is considered handled, the Response Team hands off any related documentation to the Samvera Board, who is responsible for maintaining it as part of the organization’s records.
Sections of the Incident Response Manual related to the Response Team are (to be linked once the manual is posted):
"Preparing Response Team Members For Incident Handling"
"Onboarding Response Team Members"
"Assemble Incident Team" (step 6 on the checklist)
...
View the Samvera Code of Conduct Incident Response Manual
Current Incident Response Team Members
Carolyn Caizzi, Northwestern University
Esmé Cowles, Princeton University Library
Hannah Frost, Stanford University
James Griffin, Princeton University Library
Alicia Morris, Tufts University
Simeon Warner, Cornell University
Responsibilities of the Response Team
Samvera’s Code of Conduct Response Team holds primary responsibility for responding to violations of our Code of Conduct and/or Anti-Harassment Policy. The Code of Conduct Response Team (“Response Team,” for short) is a separate body from Samvera’s Helpers, though membership may overlap (individuals may serve in both capacities, but do not have to do so).
Response team obligations:
Incident reports are infrequent events that require a quick response when they do occur. Response Team members should monitor Team channels for incidents and participate in a response when appropriate.
Every Response Team member will not participate in the response to every incident report. When an incident is reported, the Incident Responder will assemble a team based on team member availability, conflicts of interest, and the seriousness of the incident.
Response Team membership is not an obligation to be available at all times for an incident response, or to attend every Samvera event. Members are expected to make a good faith effort to participate when they are present and available.
Response Team member responsibilities:
Onboard to the response process by attending a Response Team training
Participate in an annual review of policies
Monitor the Response Team email group for any reports and participate in incident response when appropriate
Act as a Response Team member for Samvera events (both in person and online) when available
Serve on an Incident Team when appropriate. An Incident Team is a subset of the Response Team formed to address a specific incident. The Incident Team is disbanded when response is deemed complete. The Team includes the Incident Responder who is the primary contact for the report throughout the response process.
Process for joining the Response Team
...
The Samvera Community uses a vetting process to ensure that Code of Conduct Response Team members can operate with the trust of the Samvera community.
Read and make sure you can agree to uphold the Code of Conduct and Anti-Harassment policy. If you have any questions about these documents, contact the Community Manager.
Fill out the Response Team volunteer form to nominate yourself.
The Community Manager will inform the Community that someone has been nominated as a Response Team Member, and solicit feedback with a specific deadline. The Community Manager will direct people to provide feedback about the nominee privately.
If the prospective member is approved to serve, the Community Manager will make an announcement to the Community with a brief introduction to the new Response Team member.
...
Manual for full details of the vetting process.