Thanks to @deltajuliet for her co-authoring of this post.
Introduction
In order to continue to align with our commitments to transparency and accountability, weâll be rolling out several new governance-related initiatives to double-down on our desire to see more community-led decision making at Gitcoin. The intention of these initiatives is to open up a world of possibilities for what it means to be part of Web3
Our hope is that with these governance initiatives, we continue to build (and rebuild where necessary) trust and credibility with the Gitcoin community and larger web3 ecosystem. These initiatives are also intended to ensure the long-term sustainability of Gitcoin to realize its vision of a world shaped by community-led positive change.
Current State of Governance at Gitcoin
Gitcoinâs current governance structure is (mostly) outlined in this post from April 2022. Since that time, we have launched several products, spun up and wound down several workstreams, elected two Steward Councils, and have seen dozens of contributors come and go. A lot has changed at the organization, but little in terms of how weâre making decisions and engaging with one of our most important partners, you - the Gitcoin community.
Internally, weâve identified several areas of opportunity that we plan to address in the coming months, including:
- Context building for current Stewards
- Clear metrics & KPIs for âgood governanceâ at Gitcoin
- Increased transparency of happenings within the DAOâs daily operations (especially on the product and program side)
- More opportunity to provide feedback and make decisions around the development of Gitcoinâs products and grants program
- Clearer guidelines on how to create proposals that advance Gitcoinâs top priorities (and therefore get funded)
Who is doing what?
- CoachJ (Governance coordinator)
- Maintenance of existing (and evolving) governance processes
- Operationalizing stakeholder communications plans
- Documentation of all governance-related processes
- Researching and proposing new governance-related experiements
- Rena (Chief of Staff)
- Supporting on execution
- Acting as bridge between CSDO, governance and the Foundation
- Stakeholder communications support
- Supporting on upcoming governance-related experiments
- Kyle (Executive Director) w/ support of CoS and external consultants
- Product-based governance strategy and structure
- Gitcoin Grants governance strategy and structure
Key initiatives
Based on the opportunity areas listed above, below is a list of initiatives that will be worked on in the current S19 season (ending at the end of October) and planned initiatives for S20 (starting November 1st, 2023 ending January 31st, 2023).
A note on our rollout: Weâre focused on executing quick wins now and strategizing bigger picture items in the meantime.
S19:
- Update and socialize the DAO cadence (budget cycles, grants rounds, product milestones, etc.)
- Documentation can be found here: https://gitcoin-1.gitbook.io/gitcoin-governance-manual/
- Create more context for Stewards:
- Publicize and socialize DAO happenings
- Make sync and async updates easily available/accessible (details TBC)
- Develop governance metrics and KPIs for:
- Gitcoin as a whole
- Standby for renewed DAO Goals and EssentiaI Intents to be published
- Workstreams Leads are working with [TAG] K2 on further refinements
- Financial sustainability
- Foundation/Workstream budgets to be socialized by early October in a way thatâs easy to digest
- Governance initiative
- Clearly outline current DACI (Driver, Approver, Consulted, Informed) framework for every level of decision making at the DAO, including for Stewards
- Gitcoin as a whole
- Outline and update voting thresholds (currently at +1M tokens, looking to reduce significantly)
- Research Product IP initiative for Passport & Allo
- Research Passport gating the governance forum
S20:
Note: S20 is all about our more nuanced direction. Weâre hoping to work on the documentation and planning in S19 and continue on with more âspicyâ initiatives in S20.
- Updated documentation repository for all things governance: https://gitcoin-1.gitbook.io/gitcoin-governance-manual/
- Comms cadence ossified and increased
- Roll out PIP (Passport) and AIP (Allo) initiative
- Roll out expanded Gitcoin Grants governance initiative
- Rollout of Passport gated governance forum (and solutions to include those who cannot afford to own GTC)
- Explorations of election-based roles at Gitcoin
- Research DAO2DAO governance opportunities
- Monthly Steward onboarding calls
S21 and beyond:
- DAO2DAO Governance experiments rollout
- Exploration of GTC delegation incentives program
If you have any questions about the list above, please leave a comment and we will do our best to address any questions and curiosities you have.
Communication Channels
Expect more updates in the governance forum about progress for all the items listed above. There are also lots of ways to start getting informed about all things happening at Gitcoin:
Sync:
- Monthly Steward Call - 1st Monday of every month
- Reserved for the top 30 GTC token holders, Workstream Leads and the Steward Council
- Others who are interested in watching the calls can find the recorded calls in the meeting notes
Async:
- Gitcoin Monthly - Product-focused newsletter
- Posted to the governance forum and on Gitcoin Twitter at the beginning of every month
- DAO Digest - Bi-weekly recap of everything happening at the DAO
- Posted to the governance forum and sent out via email every 2 weeks
- Gitcoin Pulse - Weekly audio broadcast highlighting the top news at Gitcoin
- Posted weekly to Gitcoin Citizens Twitter and to the DAO Citizens channel in Discord
This is our commitment to transparent, inclusive, and effective governance. Our request is that you get involved - that is how we create our decentralized future: together.
What general comments, questions, concerns, or bouts of excitement do you want to share? We want to hear from you! If you donât know what to say, here are some prompts that weâd love to hear from you about:
General
- What do you think makes good vs. bad governance?
- What do you think are important considerations for rolling out frameworks around how we govern our products and program?
- What DAO2DAO governance relationships have you seen work well and why?
Gitcoin Initiatives:
- Does this sound well-positioned? Are we working towards the things youâd want to see as a leader in decentralization?
- Do you think you have a platform for feedback? If not, what does that platform look like?
- What else should we consider in terms of shaping up our governance?
- What has been done well in similar DAOS that isnât reflected here? What other DAOs could we partner with that you think could make a difference for Gitcoin?
- What are some metrics youâd suggest measuring or KPIs youâd suggest working toward?
Communication
- How do you (as Stewards) understand whatâs happening within the DAO, and quickly? Where do you get your info from now?
- Where exactly could the DAO improve upon our updates, without sacrificing the time it takes to build and work?
- Are prompts more accessible or is just publishing our work enough?