Some Alternatives to Robert’s Rules of Order

Most people have heard of Robert’s Rules of Order (formally known as Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised), which is the <a href="https://medium.com/@mmouritsen/why-roberts-rules-of-order-3e7630266d92" rel="noopener">most popular and comprehensive parliamentary authority</a> adopted by organizations in Canada and the United States. Originally published in 1876 by Henry M. Robert, the current 12th edition, at 714 pages, was released in August 2020. You may not be aware, however, that there are alternatives, as well as a few books that provide an excellent, plain-language summary of procedural rules. Although surveys indicate that Robert is used by over 90 per cent of organizations that adopt a parliamentary authority, these alternative manuals and other resources answer the call for something perhaps less intimidating, and more user-friendly, than Robert. Even if your organization uses Robert, any of these books can serve as helpful introductions to the subject of parliamentary procedure. Whereas the National Association of Parliamentarians (NAP) focuses exclusively on Robert’s Rules of Order, the American Institute of Parliamentarians (AIP) supplements the study of Robert with others, primarily the <a href="http://aipstandardcode.com/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">AIP Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure</a>. The Standard Code was originally written by Alice Sturgis, who taught courses at the University of California and Stanford University. Her manual was known as the Sturgis Standard Code when it was first published in 1950. It was intended as a more concise and less technical guide to parliamentary procedure than Robert (although there are some procedural differences between the two authorities). The publication of the Standard Code essentially forced the authors of Robert’s Rules to substantially revise their manual and make it more self-explanatory. After Professor Sturgis died in 1974, her family negotiated with the AIP to take over responsibility for updating her book, and the current 2nd edition of 428 pages was released in September 2023. <a href="https://medium.com/@mmouritsen/some-alternatives-to-roberts-rules-of-order-279491f03fe0">Read More</a>