What do you get when you have approximately twenty managers, but only about five staffers to do the work of an organization? The answer is a top down bureaucratic management structure that stifles growth, decreases productivity, and wastes the resources of the organization.

Don’t get me wrong, having state and national committees and staff are very much necessary for the future of our party; however, we are a small party. To build a Libertarian future will require a vast amount of work that needs to be completed. We desperately need a subcommittee structure to decrease the heavy workload of our staff and to accomplish the goals of the organization.

What is a subcommittee structure?

A state or a national committee sets the goals and makes the major decisions of their organization or they delegate the making of specific decisions to staff. A subcommittee is given a specific area to set goals for, carry out those goals, and report back to the entire committee on the progress they are making on those goals. A “working” subcommittee consists of members within the state or national committee and could perhaps have volunteers, appointed by the committee, who are not necessarily members of the state or national committee.

What are the benefits of a subcommittee structure?

A subcommittee structure can be added to the state or national committee to allow more oversight and more committee member accountability for results.

The following are just a few benefits of a subcommittee structure:

• Accountability for results
• Better monitoring of progress
• Less confusion
• Less work for staff
• Meeting goals and objectives
• More motivation
• Real work done by committee members and volunteers

What subcommittees do we need?

Here are some ideas. Your list may be different. Some subcommittees could be added, modified, or removed depending on your state organization:
• Affiliate Party Subcommittee
o Monitor problems and progress of each state
o Monitor each college and county organization

• Ballot Access Subcommittee
o Make certain candidates will be on the ballot
o Monitor potential legal changes to ballot access requirements

• Budget and Fundraising Subcommittee
o Determine methods of raising revenue
o Propose a budget for doing real politics
o Raise money

• Candidate and Volunteer Support Subcommittee
o Develop guides and resources to help candidates
o Keep track of appointed and elected officials
o Recruit candidates

• Communications and Marketing Subcommittee
o Developing advertising campaigns
o Distribute press releases

Now that I have addressed the importance of creating a subcommittee structure I ask that you consider trying it. All we are saying is give the subcommittee structure a chance. On the other hand, we could continue to do the same thing we have done since before I was even born. Has that worked very well?