Welcome to our world of optimistic activists!
Without our incredible volunteers, we wouldn’t be so strong. We also owe this tremendous energy to our full-time staff.


Our governance
Those doing the work make the best decisions!
If there is one sentence you will never hear at makesense it is: “I have to ask my boss’ boss”. Here there is no boss, no more than there is a hierarchy. Searching since its founding for the ideal organizational structure, makesense landed on both Frédéric Laloux ‘s idea of the ‘liberated organization’ as well as nonviolent communication to define its own organizational model, validated by 100% of the employees in the summer of 2018. Here are the main principles:
This is undoubtedly the pre-requisite for any liberated organization: trusting its collaborators and allowing everyone the possibility to make mistakes (not every 5 minutes, though). At makesense, error is part of the learning process.
Our mission requires us to be nimble and creative; no holding anyone back! All personalities are encouraged to express themselves, to cultivate their differences. “Come as you are” could have been our motto if it hadn’t been co-opted to sell French fries.
Seeking advice is the central pillar of our organization and is based on the idea that the decision-making power should go to the person most concerned by the subject. Through a well-oiled process, this person consults all the people impacted by the decision and all the experts in the field. They then make their choices contentiously and with confidence.
We are not a team of Care Bears and not everything is rosy even in the best of worlds, but we strive towards it by cultivating a culture of feedback to defuse conflicts. When something goes wrong, we express it using the codes of non-violent communication. A team of mediators can also be called in when dialogue becomes more difficult.
No more hallway discussions about the big boss’ bonus (which does not exist here)! The salary scale is transparent and allows everyone, according to their expertise, seniority, and role in the organization, to set their remuneration. This is reviewed each year during the development committees, a kind of annual peer review.
Originating from dynamic governance, this process makes it possible to collectively designate the person who will take responsibility for a role, a position or a function without there having been any candidates beforehand. This is how the members of the waterline, our internal body of wise people, are designated. They are consulted when a decision can endanger the finances or the image of the association.
This whole system, all these processes are regularly put to the test by reality and are revised, readjusted and challenged. Our liberated organization is very much a living one.
Our team






























































































