Many of you may know about our Cross-Stream DAO Operations, or CSDO, powerhouse team. If you donât, CSDO is a group of workstream & initiative leads that come together to ensure alignment, transparency, and integrity across the DAO. These troopers do everything from starting important conversations to ratifying organization-changing proposals, each one aligned with our essential intents & purpose and aiming to make Gitcoin a better place to work.
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 October!
DAO-Wide Updates
Team Retreat
DAO Opsâ Jodi began the discussion around a team retreat around the same time as ethDenver and Schelling Point (March 2023). The consensus was generally positive, with members from PGF and MMM joining in to help with planning. More updates to come!
Branding Redesign
MMMâs CoachJ expressed concern about meeting the current launch timeline for the brand redesign due to the workstream experiencing many roadblocks. Moving forward, MMM will own this initiative while using a participatory design approach, soliciting feedback from different workstreams when necessary. The hope here is to get the initiative back on track and reduce the expected completion timeline from 1+ years to 6-8 weeks.
Proposals
Planning Cadence
The planning cadence proposal from September didnât pass, but it did lead to two further proposals by GPCâs Lindsey and PGFâs Scott. Lindsey voiced concerns the current planning cadence and budgeting process, and proposed additional allocations for budgeting that would allow workstreams to receive 1-2 months of runway while CSDO continued addressing the operational inefficiencies. She suggested workstreams put forth an OKR update and a request for continued funding at their current burn rates, giving each workstream autonomy while CSDO focuses on solving the process problems.
Scott furthered this idea by proposing that S16 be an âoffâ season to simplify the budgeting process. Workstreams would propose the same budget for S16 along with updates toward milestones. This allows the DAO to focus on mission-critical initiatives, like planning for the protocol launch.
You can read the full passed proposal here.
In-Person Leadership Retreat
FDDâs Joe proposed an in-person leadership retreat for November. The proposal was tabled due to coordination & timing difficulties, and it was decided to link this to the upcoming full team retreat, happening in February â23.
You can read the full failed proposal here.
Pods
During ethBogota, discussions were had surrounding the efficiency of cross-workstream collaboration. These discussions led to the introduction of a new type of working group that weâll be experimenting with within the DAO: Pods! Pods are temporary working groups for cross-workstream contributors where they can collaborate together on shared initiatives. The aim here is to shift perspective surrounding the DAOâs approach to cross-workstream collaboration, and not meant to introduce a new organizational structure.
You can learn more about Pods and their initial proposed structures here.
You can read the full proposal written by DAO Opsâ Saf here.
Key Discussions & Thoughts
Planning Cadence
FDDâs Joe organized a team workshop to tie up loose ends and put forth additional documentation surrounding the next steps for the DAO Operating System and budgeting processes in response to the proposal for âlight seasonsâ passing. Moving into S16, the focus will be on improving budgeting processes and re-evaluating workstream transparency & collaboration.
You can read the additional thoughts here.
DAO OS
DAO Opsâ Jodi suggested using the 11/4 strategy call to begin the conversation surrounding workshopping the DAOâs operating system. Scott chimed in wondering if now is the right time to focus on this effort when each workstream is aligned on their immediate S16 goals, focused on the launch of the protocol. The DAO OS is a large and ongoing conversation that is reprioritized in S16, spearheaded by DAO Ops.
Code of Conduct Policy Committee
PGFâs Janine started a discussion surrounding the creation of a committee to help enforce + decide the DAOâs Code of Conduct policy. The focus would be less on changing the structure and instead on effectively communicating the current structure. DAO Ops volunteered to assist in the development of this committee & related policies.
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!
And thatâs it for this month! Keep checking back monthly for future editions of the CSDO Digest!