ISM Agenda Item Criteria

Any member of ITAA may submit an agenda item to our International Service Meetings by sending a message through the contact form to the International Service Meeting Secretaries. Before submitting an agenda item, we encourage you to keep the following points in mind:

• Specific: Motions are concrete proposals for an action or decision to take. They typically specify the “what,” “who,” “when,” and “where.” In other words, the motion is specific about what is being proposed, about who will be affected or who will implement the motion, about when the motion will take place, and about where the motion will be implemented (for example, the script, the website, etc.).
• Formatted: Motions typically start with the words “To” or “That.” An example of a motion might read as follows: “Motion: To set a 2-minute default time limit for shares during ISMs (though anyone may make a motion during an ISM to reduce or extend the time limit, or remove it), and to add the following line to the ISM script after the Reports section: “Would anybody be willing to volunteer to be our timekeeper today? We’ll have two minute shares with a 30-second warning.’”
• Concise: We aim to keep agenda items to less than 150 words.
• Appropriate: Agenda items may not break other members’ anonymity, directly or indirectly, they shouldn’t be disparaging of other members of ITAA, they may not feature graphic descriptions of violence or sexual subject matter, and they may not feature discrimination.

In addition to these points, we often find it helpful to familiarize ourselves with the Twelve Traditions, keeping in mind that the ISM is not a legislative authority but rather operates in service to the groups and our membership. Some motions (such as suggesting an edit to the website or the sample meeting script) may also be better handled by one of our committees.

Please note that agenda items will take at least 3 weeks before being discussed at an ISM, and so it may take multiple ISMs before your agenda item comes up for discussion.

Page last updated on March 2, 2025