Many of you may know about our Cross-Stream DAO Operations, or CSDO, powerhouse team. If you donât, CSDO is all about creating coherence. We provide the space and conditions for higher-stake cross-workstream decisions to be vetted and discussed, enabling our DAO to efficiently and responsibly fulfill its purpose.
With all the world-regenerating weâre doing - from questioning the foundations of our knowledge to building scalable infrastructures for public good - itâs easy for things to get lost. Thatâs why weâre introducing this monthly CSDO Digest! Weâll be breaking down all the most important CSDO outcomes from every month, so letâs dive into January!
DAO-Wide Updates
Website Refresh
MMMâs CoachJ shared an update on the timeline for the website update launch, and that can be expected in April!
Proposals
Budget Logic Update
CSDO voted on a proposal surrounding our budgeting logic and proposed updates. For now, we will keep our current budget logic and do another âlightâ/âoffâ season while continuing to evaluate & research where we are heading. During this process, we will be taking into account feedback from CSDO, steward council and other key decision makers.
You can read the full passed proposal here.
Workstream Evaluations
DAO Opsâ Saf brought forward a proposal for updating the workstream evaluation process, stating that the current format isnât ideal for increasing accountability to stewards. This proposal didnât pass, but discussions will be continued async and this topic will be brought back up at a future date.
You can read the full proposal, which will be continued async, here.
Key Discussions & Thoughts
Essential Intents Review
CSDO got together to workshop and rank their thoughts on each essential intent. These were the results:
Protocol Adoption
CSDO believed that we should keep this essential intent, but make minor changes.
Grants Program Success
CSDO believed that we should keep this essential intent, but make minor changes.
Financial Sustainability
CSDO believed that we should keep this essential intent, but reached a tie between making minor changes or leaving it as-is.
DAO Organization
CSDO believed that we should keep the spirit of this essential intent, but make major changes.
Ultimately, CSDO decided to pause on this review after this exercise to focus on the âmost important things.â You can check out the notes, voting breakdown, and workshopping exercise here.
Steward Council
The Steward Council kicked off this month! Our elected Steward Council members began meeting to help advise on high-level and external matters impacting the DAO. You can check out all the notes and thoughts going on in our council in the Steward Council Notion Hub.
Other Discussions
DAO Opsâ Kris asked for clarification on how to move forward with budget planning for Season 17 - do we want to keep our current budgeting process or switch to the new process proposed by Saf? The consensus around moving to the proposed budget process was positive, with the need to minimize any disruptions to workstreams as a key element in the success of the transition. The need for a bridge budget to cover the time between the transition was also flagged. Later in the month we changed course on this and decided to not move forward with this proposal but keep the existing logic. More under [hyperlink] decisions.
DAO Opsâ Saf solicited a temp check to see if Pods are meeting the goals/vision that was originally set for them. The group seemed aligned on Pods not currently meeting their potential, but providing a valuable avenue for cross-stream information sharing. We decided to revert back to the logic of giving workstream updates, with a focus on cross stream collaboration. DAO tooling is looking into an updated discord logic for pods.
MMMâs CoachJ asked for information surrounding sponsorship policies, budgeting, and approach. He wanted to better understand the DAOâs policies on sponsorships and how workstreams can appropriately budget for sponsorship opportunities. There will be further async discussion on this topic.
GPCâs Kevin asked how CSDO & the DAO can better seek input from the broader community. We have received feedback that itâs hard to keep up with CSDO and the decision making process if youâre not in the meetings. DAO Opsâ Kris and PGFâs Scott will begin initially thinking about how we can further improve transparency, context-sharing, and feedback solicitation within CSDO and the DAO.
MMMâs Laura wanted to better understand who is driving/owning the DAO strategy work that is being done right now. There are a number of docs going around related to DAO strategy, but understanding who the main driver is has been challenging. DAO Opsâ Kris volunteered to be the driver for this initiative, and Laura will continue adding feedback to the proposed strategy docs outlining missing key areas.
PGFâs Janine re-ignited the discussion on the importance of bringing an experienced finance professional into the DAO. We are currently working with a fractional CFO, but are seeing a need for more strategic financial advice. Janine, GPCâs Olsen, and Foundation/GPCâs Kyle will be meeting to identify the problems we are hoping to solve with the addition of this role.
FDDâs Joe solicited a temp check on how to spend the money they received from Aave Grants DAO. We currently do not have any written policies covering this scenario, and Joe will be putting his thoughts together in a Notion document to share with the rest of CSDO to get this started.
Foundation/GPCâs Kyle asked if CSDO would permit using the CSDO gnosis safe to pay the upfront cost ($30k) for the Schelling Point space. This money will be repaid through funding from sponsors. There were no objections.
DAO Opsâ Kris asked if we could pay the Steward Council members through the CSDO Gnosis Safe as these payments werenât originally in DAO Opsâ budget. There were no objections, and moving forward DAO Ops will budget for these expenses.
DAO Opsâ Jodi asked about the value in creating a single DAO-wide budget that reflects the spend of the entire organization. This has been a repeated ask from external stewards, but fully understanding the value that can be provided from this exercise still needs to be worked out. Jodi will continue to ideate on this and bring it back for further discussion.*
PGFâs Janine got a temp check from the group on their thoughts surrounding the reorganization. The intention is to define a future-facing vision for the organization, then break it down into structure and identify where each workstream fits into that vision. The CSDO group will discuss this further in person at the team retreat.
DAO Opsâ Jodi shared the results from the Community Health Survey that was shared with contributors. Next, DAO Ops will be meeting with Converge to discuss and analyze the results. This will inform DAO Opsâ S17 outcomes, as well as team retreat facilitation.*
FDDâs Joe and Alex asked about the best place to introduce fraud/risk management & protection within product streams. Kyle, Olsen, and Nate pitched in aligned that allowing risk & product to work more closely will create aligned priorities and reduce tension across the product development lifecycle.
MMMâs Laura gauged the groupâs sentiment surrounding creating norms for moving difficult topics to the forum. DAO Ops will create this guidance to help reduce tensions and provide structure for contributors interested in having these types of conversations publicly.* Some initial suggestions included moderation questions the poster should ask themselves before posting and giving any impacted parties a heads up.
DAO Opsâ Kris raised the question of workstreams requesting stables to pay contributors. There was tension within the group on this topic, as having stables provides the DAO with a safety net but may reduce psychological safety within the organization. For now, workstreams will not request stables until a long-term plan can be created around allowing this.
For more information on how these discussions went, you can check out all of the CSDO Meeting Notes to read more, or the Gitcoin Transparency YouTube Channel to watch recordings of CSDO calls!
*In light of DAO Ops getting dissolved in S18 some of these items will be put on hold, while we reevaluate our internal workings.
And thatâs it for this month! Keep checking back monthly for future editions of the CSDO Digest!