The Reasoned Decision Template 2.2.6-1

Purpose

The reasoned decision template operationalizes public reason at the organizational level. It ensures that every significant decision is documented with the information needed for others to evaluate, challenge, or build upon it. The template is not a form for its own sake. It is the structural mechanism that makes decisions legible — and legibility is the precondition for correction.

When to Use

Apply the template to decisions that meet any of the following criteria: they affect people beyond the decision-maker, they commit organizational resources above a defined threshold, they create or change a policy, or they cannot be easily reversed. Routine operational decisions that fall below these thresholds do not require the template.

The Template

Decision

State the decision concretely. "Marketing budget for Q3 reallocated from events ($200K) to digital campaigns ($200K)." Not "we changed our marketing approach."

Evidence Considered

Name the specific evidence that informed the decision. Data, reports, observations, expert input, pilot results, historical precedent — each named with its source and date. This section is an evidence inventory, not a narrative. The purpose is to make the information base auditable.

Alternatives Rejected

Name the alternatives that were considered and the reason each was not selected. This section serves two functions: it demonstrates that the decision was not arbitrary (multiple options were evaluated), and it provides a record of what the organization chose not to do — which is often as informative as what it chose to do.

Reasons for Selection

Explain why this course of action was selected over the alternatives. The reasoning should connect the evidence to the decision — not through assertion, but through argument. What does the evidence suggest? What assumptions does the reasoning rest on? What trade-offs were accepted?

This is the section that makes the decision challengeable. A person who disagrees can engage the reasoning directly — pointing to evidence that was not considered, assumptions that may be wrong, or trade-offs that were not acknowledged. Without this section, disagreement can only target the outcome. With it, disagreement can target the reasoning — which is where productive correction occurs.

Review Conditions

Name the conditions under which this decision will be revisited. Include a specific date and, if applicable, a triggering event (a revenue threshold, a performance metric, a stakeholder complaint rate). The review conditions convert the decision from a permanent commitment into a provisional one — exactly the posture that fallibilism requires.

How to Maintain

Completed templates are stored in a shared, searchable repository accessible to anyone affected by the decision. The repository is the organizational equivalent of the update ledger (2.2.3-2) — a growing record of what was decided, why, and under what conditions the decision would change.

Periodically — quarterly or at a cadence that matches the organization's decision tempo — the repository is reviewed for decisions that have reached their review date. The review follows the same process as the sunset schedule (2.2.5-1): evaluate against the stated review conditions, renew, revise, or retire.