Parliamentarians of the ‘third kind’ (see Q1) can perform a variety of functions, depending on the needs of each organization. Most commonly, a parliamentarian will attend meetings, including conventions and annual general meetings (or AGMs), and will sit close to the chair or presiding officer to provide advice and assistance during the meeting, if required. The same basic process can be followed in virtual meetings.
Beyond attending specific meetings, however, a parliamentarian can act as a consultant, providing advice on procedural matters in advance of a meeting, including the preparation of agendas, and the drafting of motions, resolutions, and committee or board reports. Some organizations ask their parliamentarians to write scripts that can be used as guidance for presiding officers and committee chairs during a meeting.
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Parliamentarians help clients draft constitutions and bylaws, bylaw amendments, and committee terms of reference, and can prepare a formal parliamentary opinion to help in interpreting an unclear or disputed bylaw provision. Most parliamentarians will also offer training workshops (e.g., on rules of order, presiding techniques or drafting minutes and reports), and may also be asked to provide independent supervision of elections.
Organizations seeking a parliamentarian solely to assist at a convention are strongly advised to involve the parliamentarian in at least some of the planning of the agenda beforehand, as early as possible. As Robert’s Rules of Order notes, ‘the parliamentarian’s most important work may well be performed before the convention opens’, essentially mitigating problems before they happen.
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Parliamentarians are also asked to chair meetings (occasionally, even just a portion of a meeting), when an organization requires a neutral, independent and professional presiding officer. This is recommended in cases where the topic may be particularly contentious, or where a member-chair may be in a conflict of interest, or where the regular presiding officer wants to provide leadership from the floor during debate on an important matter. When a parliamentarian is presiding, he or she is not functioning in the role of a parliamentarian, although it is the knowledge, skills and experience of a professional parliamentarian that make for a good chair.
For further background, take 20 minutes to listen to this interesting 2017 episode from the ‘Every Little Thing’ podcast. The episode is entitled ‘The Senate Whisperer’, and although it begins with an examination of the role of the Parliamentarian in the United States Senate, it broadens out to feature interviews with a number of professional parliamentarians about their work with non-governmental associations.
Source: https://t-tees.com
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