MOCHA, DARCI, RACI: three role-assignment tools. Pick one and use it. Roles named at the start prevent half the conflicts later.
In project management, roles are clearly defined at the beginning of a project. The three most common tools are MOCHA (Manager, Owner, Consulted, Helper, Approver), DARCI (Decision-maker, Accountable, Responsible, Consulted, Informed), and RACI (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed). They overlap heavily; the differences are mostly vocabulary.
The Management Center popularized MOCHA in nonprofit settings. The big move in MOCHA is naming a single Owner — one person whose responsibility it is to ensure the work happens. Not two co-owners. Not "the team". One human, by name. The Helper(s) do the work. The Owner does not necessarily do the work; the Owner makes sure the work happens.
A real MOCHA for a community event might look like: Manager (ED), Owner (the event lead), Consulted (program director, comms director), Helper (three volunteers by name), Approver (board chair, if the budget requires it). Put it at the top of the project scope. Update it as people's availability changes.
Whatever framework you pick, the rule is the same: every task has exactly one Accountable person. If two people are accountable, neither is. If nobody is, the task does not happen. The framework is just a way to make this discipline visible.
Learner action
For your project, build a MOCHA, DARCI, or RACI table. Name every role with a real human's name (not a team or title alone). Share it with that named human and confirm they accept the role.
Action: Complete the learner action above, then slide to continue.