• Finance Pillar — Workshop Survey

    Interactive Preparation Survey

  • DEADLINE: Submit your completed survey by Thursday, 17 September — 11:00 CDT

     

  • A Discussion Paper of the Finance Pillar

  • Prepared for the SPINE20 New York Strategic Summit — September 2026

    This interactive PDF lets you record your vote on each of the ten proposals directly on screen. Fill in your details below, then use the radio buttons on each page to select your response. Optional comment boxes are provided if you would like to add a caveat or explanation. When you are finished, save the completed file and return it as instructed by the Finance Pillar Team

  • Why your vote matters — and it only takes 15 minutes

    These ten proposals will shape SPINE20's legal structure, funding model and financial safeguards for years to come. Every recorded vote — including a qualified “yes, but” — helps the Executive Board understand how much support each proposal genuinely has before it moves forward. Please take a few minutes to register your view on all 10 questions: most respondents complete the full survey in about 15 minutes, and an unregistered vote cannot be counted.

  • Respondent Information

  • Date*
     - -
    2 digit month, 2 digit day, 4 digit year

  • Introduction & How to Vote

  • Every question in this survey follows exactly the same architecture:

    THE PROPOSAL

    A short, neutral explanation of what is being proposed and why it may be useful.

    THE QUESTION

    Do you support this proposal as a direction for SPINE20?

    VOTE

    • YES — I support the proposal fully

    • YES — I support the proposal, but with a caveat

    • NO / UNSURE — I cannot support the proposal in its current format

    USING THIS FORM

    • Completing all 10 questions takes about 15 minutes — please try to register a vote on every question, since only recorded votes are counted.

    • Click the circle next to your chosen response on each question page — only one selection per question is allowed.

    • Use the optional comment box under each question to note a caveat or explanation (for example, if you chose “with a caveat”).

    • A final page is provided for any additional overall comments.

  • Question 1 — Establishing an Independent Legal Foundation

  • SPINE20 currently operates through the structures and financial arrangements of others rather than through an independent legal and financial platform of its own. The proposal is to establish an appropriate legal entity for SPINE20. This would provide a permanent institutional home through which SPINE20 could hold funds, enter contracts, receive grants and membership income, maintain appropriate governance and financial controls, and provide continuity from one Summit to the next. The precise legal form, jurisdiction and implementation arrangements would remain subject to appropriate legal review and approval.
  • Do you support the proposal that SPINE20 should establish its own independent legal entity?*

  • Question 2 — Agreeing the Principles Before Legal Drafting

  • Before legal advisors prepare statutes or other formal documents, SPINE20 should agree the small number of principles that will determine how the future organization operates. These would include areas such as purpose, governance, membership, Founding Society involvement, financial authority and safeguards for independence. The purpose is not to settle every operational detail at the Summit. It is to provide sufficient strategic direction so that legal advisers can prepare documents reflecting what SPINE20 actually wants to become.
  • Do you support agreeing the essential organizational principles before formal statutes are drafted?
  • Vote*

  • Question 3 — Founding Society Support for the Initial Runway

  • The proposal is for the Executive Board to ask the Founding Societies to provide SPINE20 with a convertible founding loan or equivalent founding financial support. This would provide the initial capital needed to establish the entity, create the necessary financial infrastructure and support a lean professional mobilization period. Support from the Founding Societies would also provide an important credibility signal before SPINE20 approaches grant makers, industry partners or prospective members for funding. The appropriate amount, terms, repayment or conversion arrangements would be determined separately and agreed with the Founding Societies.
  • Do you support the principle of asking the Founding Societies to provide the initial financial runway required to establish SPINE20?*

  • Question 4 — Priorities for the Initial Founding Capital

  • Any initial founding capital should be treated primarily as institution-building capital, rather than as a general activity or Summit budget. The proposed priorities are to establish SPINE20's own independent Legal Foundation as discussed in Question 1 (thus, support of Question 1 necessitates support for Question 4 at the same time), create appropriate banking and financial infrastructure, provide limited professional implementation capacity, prepare grant and membership development, and retain a prudent contingency. Detailed amounts would be developed within the final approved funding envelope.
  • Do you support using the initial founding capital primarily to build the legal, financial and operational foundations of SPINE20?*

  • Question 5 — Limited Professional Capacity to Support Implementation

  • SPINE20 has been built largely through substantial volunteer effort, and volunteer clinical and strategic leadership should remain central to the organization. However, establishing a legal entity, managing finances, developing grants, preparing membership and ensuring consistent follow-through creates operational work that may be difficult to sustain entirely through volunteer availability. The proposal is therefore to introduce limited, flexible professional support, using fractional or consultancy arrangements initially rather than creating a large permanent organization.
  • Do you support introducing limited professional capacity to help SPINE20 implement the agreed 2027 priorities?*

  • Question 6 — Developing Grant Funding as an Additional Revenue Source

  • SPINE20 would benefit from developing funding sources beyond Summit-related sponsorship and support from the Founding Societies. Relevant institutional and program grants may provide an additional source of funding, particularly where SPINE20's work aligns with public health, disability, access to care, workforce participation or other relevant health-system priorities. Grant income should only be recognized once awarded, and grant activity should be developed within appropriate governance and independence safeguards.
  • Do you support developing grant funding as a formal part of SPINE20's funding strategy?*

  • Question 7 — Introducing a Membership Model as a Proof of Value

  • Once the necessary legal, governance and financial foundations are in place, SPINE20 could introduce an organizational membership model. The initial period would be treated as a proof-of-model phase, allowing SPINE20 to test whether societies and other eligible organizations see sufficient value to become paying members. An introductory membership arrangement could recognize that the service platform will still be developing during its first year.
  • Do you support introducing an organizational membership model as a controlled test of SPINE20's value proposition?*

  • Question 8 — Defining How We Will Judge Whether the Model Is Working

  • Before SPINE20 increases its activities or long-term commitments, it should agree how the organization will judge whether the new model is demonstrating sufficient support and financial viability. This would create a shared and transparent basis for future decisions rather than relying only on activity levels or subjective impressions of progress. The measures could include membership uptake, renewal intention, external funding, available financial runway and evidence of demand for SPINE20 programs.
  • Do you support defining a small number of measurable proof points by which SPINE20 can assess the success of the new model?*

  • Question 9 — Creating a Small Formation Team

  • Once the Summit has agreed the overall direction, detailed legal, financial and operational implementation will require further work. The proposal is for the Executive Board to appoint a small Formation Team to work with the appropriate advisers and translate the Summit's agreed direction into an implementation plan. The team would operate within a defined mandate and budget, with significant decisions and the final legal package returning to the Executive Board for approval.
  • Do you support the creation of a small Formation Team to develop and implement the agreed next steps on behalf of the Executive Board?*

  • Question 10 — Financial Guardrails for Future Growth

  • As SPINE20 develops, new activities and commitments should be aligned with the funding available to support them. The proposal is therefore to establish simple financial guardrails so that significant expansion, additional fixed costs or new commitments are considered alongside available funding, recurring income and cash runway. This is intended to support responsible growth while protecting SPINE20 from taking on commitments that cannot yet be sustainably financed.
  • Do you support establishing agreed financial guardrails to guide future growth and expenditure?*

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