What Is a Group Inventory
and Why It Matters
In CoDA, every part of our Fellowship, from local meetings to national service, is guided by our Twelve Traditions and the spiritual principles that underpin them. Just as individuals take personal inventories in recovery, groups also take time to reflect through what we call a Group Inventory.
A group inventory is a collective moment of self-reflection and accountability. It allows a CoDA group to ask, “Are we following our Traditions and spiritual principles?” and “Are we serving our primary purpose — to carry the message to the codependent who still suffers?”
This process helps ensure that the group is functioning in a healthy, balanced, and spiritually guided way. It is not about criticism or blame, but about growth, unity, and clarity. When done thoughtfully, a group inventory strengthens fellowship and deepens recovery for everyone involved.
Why Attendance and Participation Matter
Every member’s voice matters in CoDA. The group conscience is how our Higher Power expresses guidance through the collective wisdom of members. When you show up to a group or service inventory, you help shape that conscience.
Your participation ensures that decisions reflect the whole fellowship, not just a few voices. In CoDA’s structure, the most important people are the members of the groups, those meeting together in recovery, week after week. Service structures such as local, regional, and national committees exist only to serve those groups, not to direct them. As Tradition Two reminds us, “Our leaders are but trusted servants; they do not govern.”
When members attend and share in inventories, it reaffirms CoDA’s commitment to inclusivity, transparency, and service rooted in love and humility.
CoDA UK’s National Service Committee Inventory
CoDA UK is now holding the first part of its National Service Committee (NSC) Inventory, open to all members from national meetings and representatives of regional groups.
This process mirrors a group inventory but at the national service level, examining whether the NSC is functioning healthily, in alignment with CoDA’s Twelve Traditions and spiritual principles.
It’s a valuable opportunity for all members to have their voices heard about how CoDA UK’s national service is operating. Through honest reflection, shared experience, and reliance on Higher Power, we continue to strengthen the Fellowship together.
The current format follows the CoDA Guidelines for Following the Twelve Traditions in Service Work (2024–2025 cycle), ensuring that all service is grounded in CoDA’s principles of unity, humility, and trusted service.
A group inventory helps us pause, listen, and align our service with our spiritual foundation, so that CoDA can continue to carry its message with clarity, integrity, and love.
