Gitcoin Community Proposal (GCP) Template

This post will walk through a proposed format for making a governance proposal on Gitcoin.

A Gitcoin Community Proposal (GCP) is a formal mechanism for making decisions about how our community grows. Key points to keep in mind include:

  • Title - Post each proposal with a clear title around its objective. This will look as follows: [Proposal] - XXXXXX
  • Ordering - Please do not assign a number to your GCP. The ordering of the proposal will be assigned by community moderators.
  • Detail - While we encourage everyone to participate, please try to consider all viewpoints and provide a deep level or detail regarding the thoughts that went into a proposal.
  • Voting - Not every proposal will be ratified. There is no hard criteria regarding what deems a proposal eligible to be implemented, though a good rule of thumb is the more engagement it has, the more likely it is to be incorporated.
  • Ethos - The goal of governance is to create a more inclusive and empowering system for all stakeholders. We encourage proposal creators to center their ideas around how a proposal helps Gitcoin users, partners and team members better interact with one another, and how these changes create a more fluent ecosystem for all those interacting with the protocol.

When you’re ready to submit a proposal, please follow this format to the best of your ability.

GCP Format:

  1. Summary - 2-3 sentences on what the proposal is and what changes are being suggested without going into deep detail.
  2. Abstract - Expanded summary introducing the proposal, what it entails and details around what would change should the proposal be implemented.
  3. Motivation - Describe the motivation behind the proposal, the problem(s) it solves and the value it adds. This is your chance to show why this proposal is necessary, and how the changes would benefit Gitcoin if implemented.
  4. Specification - Describe the “meat & potatoes” of the proposal. Go into deep detail around the changes that will happen both on a technical and social level. The more detail, the better.
  5. Benefits - Point out core benefits of the proposal implementation and how it will affect the system.
  6. Drawbacks - Highlight any drawbacks from implementing the proposal and points to consider regarding the upgrade.
  7. Vote - Clearly outline what voting “yes” and “no” entails. Please link to Snapshot or include a forum poll directly on the forum to get a temperature check under Setting > Build Poll to vote.

When mapping out a vote, remember the following:

For - Formalizes the community is “for” the details outlined in this proposal including xyz…
Against - Formalizes the community is “against” the proposal including xyz…

For questions, comments or concerns on any of the above, please comment below or join the Gitcoin Discord!

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Oh i should have read this before making my proposal. i will make another one or edit the existing with the params you have given.Thank you

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Having a standardised format is an awesome idea, will make it so much easier for the community to review and compare proposals.

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Bumping this one up - recall if you have a proposal to make, please use this GCP template. Also - as we evaluate making adjustments to our governance processes - happy to have suggestions on how to improve this existing template.

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If folks want to iterate on this, please make sure to do so in a new discussion thread :pray:

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