[Consultation prepared by Rev. Jan Christian, using various resources, for Unitarian Universalists of Petaluma]

Roles and Responsibilities

A “RACI” analysis is a simple analytical practice used in organizations to help make roles and responsibilities clear.  The essence is that you take the basic tasks of church life, and for each one you identify who is accountable (meaning the person or group whose job it is to make sure something gets done), responsible (the person or group who actually does the work), who gets consulted before a decision is made, and who gets informed afterwards.

There are three important notes here: The first is that the uses of “accountable” and “responsible” as used in a RACI analysis are slightly different than the way we use those words in regular English.  “Accountable” here means “the buck stops here” – the person or group that has the final say about something.  “Responsible” means that this is the person or group who has been given the responsibility (by the “accountable” person) for getting the work done.  For example, a Worship Committee might have the “R” for filling the pulpit during the minister’s off Sundays and during the summer, but the minster retains the “A” and has the ultimate call on what does and doesn’t happen in worship services.  In many situations one person or group has both the A and the R, of course.

The final note is that traditionally only one group or individual can receive the “A” for any particular task.  Making that decision is the most productive part of this exercise.

In practice, of course, most church work is done in partnership between the minister, the staff, the congregation, and the leadership.  However, it can be quite useful to establish early on who is actually accountable for the various tasks so as to forestall potential misunderstandings when difficult situations arise.

This is a good exercise when new ministers or other religious professionals are beginning or when roles are being renegotiated.

This technique can be very helpful in getting at both practical questions about how to run a congregation and also to highlight philosophical differences that might exist among members of the congregation.

Who is Responsible?  Who is Accountable?  Who is Consulted before a decision is made?  Who is Informed after a decision is made?

Possible Tools for Going Forward (Short Term)

• Complete RACI
• Covenant of Right Relations (Begin with Leadership Covenant)*
• Four Webinars  S3000 Developing Healthy Congregations Series (January 7 and 28 and TBD)
• Leaders  Complete “Assessing Group Skills/Habits” and “Assessing My Relationship Habits”
• Review “Examples of Unhealthy Congregational Norms”
• Create Questions for Going Forward

Possible Questions for Going Forward   (Gil Rendle)

• Who are we and who are we called to be?
• What are we called to do in this chapter of our history as a congregation?
• What are the goals/objectives that we set out to accomplish in our ministry?
• What are the appropriate strategies for our ministry, and how will we measure its attainment?

How to do a RACI?

Role & Responsibility Charting (RACI) (pdf,14 pgs) By Michael L Smith and James Erwin

(See RACI Template too, by Sandra Diaferio)