OA Service Structure

The Inverted Pyramid

OA’s “Inverted Pyramid” describes our unique service structure. Unlike a traditional business that has tiers of managers directing those “below” them, OA’s Board of Trustees is accountable to those at the region, intergroup/service board, and group levels. Therefore the “higher” the position a trusted servant holds, the more people to whom the trusted servant is accountable.  Our primary goal is to serve those in the Fellowship as we progress in the recovery process.

Individual Members: OA’s diverse membership consists of more than 6,500 registered groups in over 80 countries and about 60,000 individual members worldwide.

Groups: A group consists of two or more people. Each group practices the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of OA, guided by the Twelve Concepts of OA Service. No member of a group is required to practice any actions to remain an OA member or to have a voice at a meeting. Groups give and receive support from each other by forming intergroups or service boards.

Intergroups & Service Boards: Intergroups and service boards consist of two or more groups. Intergroups are usually formed of meetings within a general geographic area. Service Boards are service bodies that provide support for groups and/or intergroups that are not otherwise served within the existing service structure. This includes: national service boards (NSBs), language service boards (LSBs), and virtual service boards (VSBs). NSBs serve groups and intergroups that speak one language (usually not English). LSBs serve groups and/or intergroups, usually in different countries, that share a common language. VSBs serve virtual groups (online or telephone meetings).

Regions: Regions are composed of groups, intergroups, and service boards within specified geographic boundaries. OA is divided into ten regions geographically. There are eight regions with in North America. Mexico is in Region Two; Bermuda is in Region Six; the Virgin Islands, Central America, and South America are in Region Eight. Region Nine encompasses Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Western Asia. Region Ten encompasses the Far East, Southeast Asia, Western Pacific Basin, Australia, and New Zealand. Virtual meetings are not included in the regional structure but are part of the world structure.

Regions are composed of groups, intergroups, and service boards within specified geographic boundaries and the virtual community. OA is divided into eleven regions.

• OA Region One
  Pacific North West: Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming, Alberta, British Columbia, Northwest Territories, Saskatchewan, Yukon
  
• OA Region Two
  Pacific Southwest: California, Hawaii, Reno/Tahoe area of Nevada, Mexico
• OA Region Three
  Southwest: Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah
• OA Region Four
  West Central: Illinois (except the Greater Chicago area and Central Illinois Intergroup), Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Manitoba, Northwestern Ontario, the territory of Nunavut.
• OA Region Five
  Central: Greater Chicago area and Central Illinois Intergroup, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, Southwestern Ontario
• OA Region Six
  Northeast: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Bermuda
• OA Region Seven
  Eastern: Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia
• OA Region Eight
  Southeast: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, the Virgin Islands, Central America, South America
• OA Region Nine
  Countries and territories in Africa, Europe, the Middle East, Western Asia
• OA Region Ten
  Countries and territories in Australia, New Zealand, South East Asia, the Western Pacific Basin
• OA Virtual Region
  Virtual meetings and virtual intergroups.

World Service Business Conference (WSBC): The WSBC, attended by delegates from around the world, meets annually each May to conduct business of OA and to elect the Board of Trustees (BOT). The 17-member board acts on behalf of all members of the OA Fellowship. The World Service Office (WSO) works with the BOT to provide quality support and services to the entire OA Fellowship. Each intergroup/service board is entitled to delegates to WSBC, in proportion to the number of groups belonging to that intergroup/service board. Thus each individual member of OA, each group, and each intergroup/service board become a part of the collective group conscience of OA as a whole.