[S16 Proposal - INTEGRATED] MMM Budget Request

[CoachJonathan]

TL;DR

In Season 16, MMM will continue to focus on providing support for the Grants Protocol launch, the Grants Program Success and Community Engagement. To do so, we are requesting a budget of $471,949.

Our top priorities for this season include:

• Finalize overall Gitcoin, protocol, Passport and Grants Program branding strategies
• Launch (or make significant headway in launching) a new gitcoin.co website
• Developing and socializing communications around GR16, the sunsetting of the centralized grants platform (cGrants) and our transition to the protocol
• Developing and releasing an Impact Report to highlight the success of the Gitcoin Grants Program
• Develop and test an engagement strategy that targets three core community audiences (which were identified and researched in S15)

Amount

MMM’s S16 budget is $471,949 (+13% vs S15 budget of $417,543). After accounting for remaining budget & reserves, MMM is requesting $686,239 for Season 16 from the treasury.

There are several reasons for a 13% increase in our budget. Listed below are initiatives that we are newly taking on in an effort to prepare ourselves for a successful launch of our Grants Protocol:

• Absorption of the grassroots initiative
• Building and launching a new Gitcoin.co website [a new initiative]
• Development of more robust strategies around partnerships, influencer marketing and PR & Comms
• Integration of Schelling Point event from a brand & creative standpoint
• Visual refresh of the Gitcoin brand, Grants Program and Grants Protocol
• Increased efforts to market Passport
• UNICEF round promotion

Milestone Report

All in all, MMM performed well in terms of tracking to S15 OKRs. There were many changing priorities over the course of the season which resulted in a lot of . This likely had to do with a change in leadership at MMM and a lack of context on what the DAO needed at the time of budgeting. There were also several that mostly had to do with metrics that were mostly out of MMM’s control. This is a great learning for the team to set OKRs directly related to outputs within our control.

Success
Incomplete but will hit goal
Incomplete, will not hit goal
Canceled

Initiative/Dept	Objectives Past Season	Key Result
Protocols	Discover & refine product-market fit for Gitcoin’s protocols (with premier partners). We will both shape and communicate our products & protocols. We will shape it by doing customer & competitor research (to help identify unmet needs) and persona development (to better define the target audience). We will communicate it with content and collateral, market education, and coordinated & effective product launches.	Protocol sales materials created and being used by sales team * The grants protocols weren’t mature enough to push for adoption this season
		Protocol product marketing pages integrated into website * The copy and wireframes are complete, but we are still aligning on strategic messaging and creative
		Brand/positioning strategy finalized for protocols
		Complete key website migration changes of Gitcoin.co including homepage and grants page banners to MMM’s control and revised top and sub navigation (aligned with Protocol launches)
		1000 new passports created from content marketing traffic (blogs, Twitter, etc.) * We are still waiting for issues to resolve with Ceramic to verify if this was accomplished or not
		5 autonomous partner integrations from SDK traffic * The grants protocols weren’t mature enough to push for adoption this season
		Publish 3 new branded walkthrough demos * The grants protocols weren’t mature enough
		Finalize names, logos and typography for the grants product suite and each individual product
		10,000 cumulative views on Grants Protocol blog posts * There wasn’t enough alignment on the product vision and roadmap to develop a robust content marketing plan. We remedied this by running several strategy syncs with GPC, putting us in a good position to accomplish this goal in S16
		Grow awareness of the protocol through co-marketing efforts and case study creation with Optimism and Fantom
		5,000 total visitors on Grants Protocol website page * We did not launch the page, and this is ultimately tied to the lack of alignment on the product vision and roadmap to develop a robust content marketing plan
Programs	Grow awareness, comprehension, and participation for Grants Rounds. Awareness, comprehension & participation will grow successively round over round for all target groups: matching partners, grantees & individual funders	10% increased in unique (non-sybil) contributions (15,000) * This goal is not congruent to what MMM has control over and we’ll be setting measurable targets in the future of pieces we have more control over (such as engagement metrics). Many people get stopped at the checkout cart due to a variety of different UX issues. A more accurate measure for MMM might be the number of users we drove to the cart. Beyond that point, we don’t have much influence/control.
		10% increase of grants receiving $5,000+ in funding * This goal is not congruent to what MMM has control over and we’ll be setting measurable targets in the future of pieces we have more control over (such as engagement metrics)
		80% grant saturation for ecosystem and cause rounds
		Comprehensive grants program marketing strategy by end of season * Paused on grants program strategy but doubled-down on audience research and content analytics to create a more robust program marketing strategy for a program re-launch in S17
		Deliver Grants Round marketing internal runbook
		Implement SEO audit recommendations into back-end of Gitcoin.co website
		Develop marketing templates & toolkit for ecosystem partners
Community engagement	Grow Gitcoin community, deepen engagement & improve brand affinity. We will have a unified strategy for community engagement across the DAO & our community will be empowered to champion our vision, mission & activities organically	Develop community engagement strategy to align and coordinate grassroots efforts of PGF, DAO Ops and MMM (including identifying audiences and outlining/aligning on DAO-wide objectives)
		Develop and execute Twitter channel strategy * Rather than developing a Twitter channel strategy, we did an audit of Twitter and allocated resources to audience segmentation and research to inform experiments in S16 that will contribute to a robust channel strategy in S17
		With increased Twitter content outputs, maintain engagement rate of 2.5% (includes likes and RTs)
		Increase number of Twitter followers by 10% (12,000 followers)
MMM OS	Refine our OS for a thriving MMM Workstream & DAO. We will have a world-class marketing team who is working in thriving partnerships across the DAO and in the broader web3 community.	End of season OS health measurement scores of at least 80% * Removed from our list of priorities.
		100% of contributors have their roles and responsibilities documented and accessible to other contributors
		Publish a roadmap for MMM’s activities over the next 6 months in collaboration with all other Workstreams
		All core MMM contributors experience a peer performance review (exact contributors TBC)

Other S15 Wins!

• We double-downed on creating clearer lines of communication between GPC & MMM to support a re-alignment of priorities.
• MMM knocked GR15 out of the park by establishing a solid partnership with PGF
• We identified our target audience segments of our community and started user persona work alongside GPC & PGF
• We conducted donor audience research and supported with grantee audience research
• The vast majority of our roles and responsibilities are fully documented for everyone in the Workstream
• Transitioned our email CRM to Hubspot
• Migrated to a new, highly functional Gitcoin.co/blog
• Launched the new Passport marketing page
• Completed S15 retros and gained lots of insights and learnings for different aspects of MMM including our OS, Programs, Protocols, Brand & Creative, Content & Social media, and Analytics & Development
• Set up process and procedures for a well-oiled Content Pipeline
• Published 23 blog posts with over 20,000 views and counting…
• Continued to run the weekly Gitcoin Digest (most recently released issue #39)
• Created over a dozen pieces of governance including a reimbursement policy, a new Weekly Sync format and a clear process for understanding contributor tiers

S16 Goals

The outcomes below lack metrics compared to last season. The reason for this is:

1. Protocols - over the next 3 months, the Grants Protocol and Passport are still in early stages of development and are not driving toward any particular metrics. As such, MMM will abstain from setting any unnecessary metrics-driven goals.
2. Program - since we will be running a small Grants Round with minimal promotional effort, we will mostly be focused on executing according to requests from the PGF team while monitoring existing benchmarks on Twitter and through email.
3. Research-backed content - this season, our content team is going to be wholly focused on experimenting with different channels and types of content, playing with headlines, formats, etc. in order to better understand our audiences and their needs come S17. Our main focus this season is on running experiments, measuring and running more experiments. With our learnings, we will be prepared come S17 to create high impact, desirable content for our audiences.

Generally, MMM is focused on Protocols delivery even/over Program delivery. That said, we always strive to deliver 100% on all fronts.

Objective Name & EI	Objectives	Outcome Description	Likely Initiatives/Projects
What is it?	What will be done?	What impact will it have?	What might the work look like?
Objective: Develop research-based positioning and go to market strategy for Gitcoin protocols EI1: Protocol Adoption	Refine product-market fit for Gitcoin’s protocols. Iterate on product branding to support a clear protocol narrative and to create compelling visual identity. Create marketing collateral, market education, and coordinated & effective product launches. Specifically focus on leveling up our marketing support for Passport.	We will understand our audiences’ needs and are effectively communicating how our protocols solve specific needs for each of our identified users. We will have set the foundations for a strong beta launch in S17 (at ETH Denver).	* Continue protocol audience/persona research * Continue competitor analysis * Continue PMF definition * Launch Protocols website(s) * Develop influencer relations strategy (PR focused, not paid growth) * Create robust product marketing plan for Passport * Start a creative refresh for Passport and other Protocols * Initiate at least 3 co-marketing initiatives with Passport integration partners * Publish at least 2 Passport case studies * Lead and create Passport Product Marketing Fit Pyramid definition for both Developers and Passport Holders * Develop customer journey map and proposed funnel metrics for round operators and project owners (protocol)
Objective: Shape and communicate evolution of Gitcoin Grants Programs EI2: Grants Program Success	Grow awareness and comprehension of the transition of Gitcoin Grants to the protocol. Create awareness & drive participation for a successful Alpha round (“GR16”).	Our grantees, partners and general audience will understand our transition to protocols and what it means for their role in the Gitcoin Grants ecosystem. We will have an aligned and compelling plan and brand for Gitcoin Grants.	* Develop a communications plan to socialize our transition and mitigate risk * Provide minimal promotional support for the alpha round in January * Provide promotional support for the UNICEF round in December * Release 1st version of a “Grants Program Impact Report” * Begin development of a Grantee and Partner testimonial repository * Continue program audience/persona research * Support the development of an overall program & partnerships strategy * Create a program brand strategy & aligned visual identity * Develop customer journey map and proposed funnel metrics for grantees and donors
Objective: Identify and deepen Gitcoin community engagement (distinct from stakeholder engagement and acquisition) EI1 and 2: Protocol Adoption & Grants Program Success	Grow the Gitcoin community, deepen engagement, & improve brand affinity.	We will have refined our understanding of our core community and have successfully grown this community and engaged in (and enabled the emergence of) meaningful connections with them and between them both virtually and IRL.	* Detailed report on the outcomes of the execution of our Season 16 community engagement strategy, which will include a recounting of all the activities + links to recordings of sessions held, surveys of community members and 1:1 interviews, and other findings. * Revised Season 17 community engagement strategy informed by the report’s findings * Create and begin to execute content roadmap leading up to Protocols Launch * Finalize overall Gitcoin branding strategy, and begin implementing the relevant changes * Brand & creative designs for Schelling Point main event * Maintain an average engagement rate of 2.5% per post on Twitter * A series of content experiments to determine our most impactful content leading up to S17
MMM organization & contributor success EI4: DAO Organization	Refine our OS for a thriving MMM Workstream & DAO.	We will have a world-class marketing team of thriving individuals who are working in coordinated partnerships across the DAO and the broader web3 community, resulting in industry-recognized communications and marketing efforts	* Run an S16 peer performance review * Collect monthly OS feedback * Streamline “project management” process

Budget Breakdown

A note on the breakdown below:

MMM is mostly composed of part-time freelancers working across a number of different projects. In many instances, individuals’ work touches all aspects of the DAO and we did our best to reflect that in our budget.

Budget Category	Description	Amount GTC	Amount USD
Protocol	- Strategic Lead (Laura - FT) - Operations Lead (CoachJ - FT) - Content manager (Mathilda - FT) - Product marketing specialist - Grants Protocol (Julia - PT) - Product marketing specialist - Passport (Scott M3 - PT) - UX/UI (IO - PT) - Technical Lead (Gerrit - PT) - Art Director (Laura Helen - PT) - Designer (Jvck - PT) - Social media manager (Jess - PT)	TBC	$159,023
Programs	- Strategic Lead (Laura - FT) - Operations Lead (CoachJ - FT) - Content manager (Mathilda - FT) - Growth marketer (Jonas - FT) - Art Director (Laura Helen - PT) - Brand Strategist (Alexa - PT) - Impact Reporter - Stories (Armando - PT) - Impact Reporter - Data (Umar - PT) - Designer (Biux - PT) - Social media manager (Jess - PT)	TBC	$92,925
Community engagement	- Strategic Lead (Laura - FT) - Operations Lead (CoachJ - FT) - Community engagement and content strategist (Gary - FT) - Brand Strategist (Alexa - PT) - Content manager (Mathilda - FT) - Art Director (Laura Helen - PT) - Social media manager (Jess - PT) - Designer (Harry - PT) - Gitcoin Digest Lead (Alex - PT) - Merch store strategic lead and coordinator (TBD)	TBC	$159,810
MMM OS	- Operations Lead (CoachJ - FT) - Project management (June Chin - PT) - General Ops Support (McKennedy - PT) - Accountant (Jonas - FT)	TBC	$60,191
MMM S15 Budget	33.69% Protocols 19.69% Programs 33.86% Community 12.75% MMM OS	TBC	$471,949
60 day reserves		TBC	$314,633
S15 reserves+budget remaining (est)		TBC	$95,000
Request from Treasury (est)		TBC	$686,239

Note:

A denomination in dollar amount will be prioritized in budget proposals over GTC - if the spot price assumed at the time of posting ($2.40 on Nov.7, 2022) this document on the forum changes between then and when the budget gets proposed on-chain, the GTC amount will be readjusted to reflect the USD amount above. GTC amounts are rounded values.

[linda]

Thanks for sharing! I read through the budget request and it’s great to see what was accomplished in S15 and what MMM’s focus is on for S16. It seemed clear and straightforward to me.

[lthrift]

Thanks for the detailed review of S15 and what you’ve got planned for S16!

Passport efforts seem to be very lightly referenced in this request aside from denoting a contributor being hired specifically to support Passport. Could you provide some more color to what the goals are for Passport product marketing in S16?

[kyle]

I am supportive of this budget, and have been so excited for the work MMM is doing. It feels like so much of our marketing, our protocol understanding and our community engagement is starting to take shape.

Having Schelling Point this season (which was outside of this budget as @Pop lead this work) always brings such great energy, marketing and excitement. I am really pumped to see that there may be more collaboration between the SP team, and the MMM team as well.

I want to summarize some of my understanding for the work ahead - this is the first season we will be really building and marketing three distinct protocols, at the same time we are transitioning our grants program from cGrants to Protocol (which reduces the marketing burden of “running a round” but increases the burden in our general website, and brand positioning and understanding). Does that seem accurate?

Overall, I really appreciate the thoughtful approach, growing the budget and team in a way that is still manageable and prudent, and then also scoping projects with clear deliverables.

[annika]

Thanks for sharing – and great list of S15 wins. A lot to celebrate! I want to specifically echo the cross-workstream partnerships & clearer lines of communications between different workstreams – that was such a huge shift in S15 that will set the DAO up so much better heading into protocol launch, kudos to MMM for leading much of that DAO-wide.

Overall I echo others’ sentiments that the proposal is solid and the magnitude & increase of budget is reasonable, given the net new areas MMM is absorbing this season.

Just one point of feedback on the proposal – the “top priorities” listed in the TL;DR don’t quite map to the S16 goals… I found myself a little disoriented flipping back & forth and trying to reconcile them (e.g., the first bullet in the TL;DR talks about GR16 communications as a focus, whereas under goals the point around “Program” minimizes the effort of that area). I appreciate the clear “protocol/program” even/over articulation, but when I look at the objectives under programs, there is a LOT still there. No specific question – just sharing those observations for the team’s consideration.

[epowell101]

Hi Laura and Jonathan -

Thank you for your patience with me. I thought unpacking the areas of potential quantifiable progress were particularly valuable; I also learned quite a bit about our approaches to DevRel and about the overall operating context of building MMM while shifting our focus as a DAO. Thank you for taking the time to educate me and other Stewards.

On the whole - at the risk of being a lonely voice in the wilderness - I think we should consider whether the DAO is leaning forward too aggressively given unavoidable risks.

Is Gitcoin over its skis? should we hold spending flat while addressing unavoidable risks?

In today’s Steward’s call, I raised the question of whether Gitcoin might be “over our skis”. In this post, I’d like to explain my question and offer some evidence in support of the hypothesis that we are actually “over our skis.” Skiing? The metaphor to be over one’s skis refers to emphasizing a course of action to such an extent that it constrains freedom of maneuver - implicitly in conditions in which one might want to be able to change direction. When you lean far forward when sk…

[CoachJonathan]

Hey everyone, I appreciate all the feedback that has been provided and have updated our budget accordingly.

@lthrift

Passport efforts seem to be very lightly referenced in this request aside from denoting a contributor being hired specifically to support Passport. Could you provide some more color to what the goals are for Passport product marketing in S16?

We have gone ahead and added several items to reflect our increased commitment to seeing Passport expand in S16, including:

• Initiate at least 3 co-marketing initiatives with Passport integration partners
• Publish at least 2 Passport case studies
• Lead and create Passport Product Marketing Fit Pyramid definition for both Developers

@kyle

I want to summarize some of my understanding for the work ahead - this is the first season we will be really building and marketing three distinct protocols, at the same time we are transitioning our grants program from cGrants to Protocol (which reduces the marketing burden of “running a round” but increases the burden in our general website, and brand positioning and understanding). Does that seem accurate?

I would say this is mostly accurate. We are still finalizing some details but TL;DR related to what you highlighted:

• We are doing a lot of building and marketing of our protocols in the background, in anticipation of a heavy marketing play in S17
• We are not 100% sure if we plan to marketing three distinct protocols vs. two (Passport and Grants). We are still determining what the best course of action is to ensure that our messaging is clear and accurate for our different audiences.
• Transitiong our grants program from cGrants to Protocol - 100% correct. Everyone should see a comms plan circulating internally in the next week or two.

@annika

the “top priorities” listed in the TL;DR don’t quite map to the S16 goals…

This is a great point. I’ve gone ahead and re-organized the priorities to put Protocols even/over the Grants program. Our more external facing activities will be quite focused on the Grants Program in S16, though lots of work will be done in the background to prepare for awareness building of the protocols.

@epowell101

Thank you for taking the time to educate me and other Stewards.

Thank you for asking questions and challenging our thought process! I speak for both myself and my co-lead @Viriya - we are 100% dedicated to Gitcoin’s success and are completely uninterested in being right about how we get there. Our #1 focus is to serve the DAO. Questions and challenges help us ensure that we are taking the right approach to getting to where we all want to go.

[SLBK123]

I am in support of this budget proposal. Upon reviewing all the accomplishments from Season 15 and looking ahead to all the great things planned for Season 16 really excited to see all the new developments.

How has the peer performance review process been going so far from Season to Season and how has it affected the MMM work stream team overall? Especially in terms of planning for future successes.

[CoachJonathan]

Great question, Sabrina.

S14 was the first time we ran them. I think they only went OK - there was a major focus on showing each other appreciation vs. creating a culture of high performance. I think this is because our culture at the time wasn’t as open to receiving that kind of feedback.

In this past season (S15) we ran a session with less of a focus on appreciation (which we have a ritual of doing each week at our Weekly Sync) and more on creating commitments to high performance. Not only was the feedback given/received by everyone more impactful, our group session gave everyone the opportunity to share learnings and insights from their feedback and to create public commitments about what they are going to strive for next season.

The main gap I see from last season that we will look to rectify this season is creating clear accountability around those commitments (by writing them down somewhere and tracking how they performed against those commitments).

If you (or anyone else) have ideas on running effective peer/performance reviews, please post them below or send me a DM in Discord (CoachJ#0481) - would love to learn how to improve our process!

[SLBK123]

This is great. Yes def! We are in the midst of reviews as well right now. I will get something over to you in the coming days on discord.

[abigailcarlson]

Thank you for this detailed budget! It’s great to see progress made since S15 and learn more about the direction MMM is headed in. I was curious about organizing it by headcount (a question I know was brought up in one of the most recent MMM meetings), but outside of the overall organizing structure, I think think the allotments suggested make sense. I’m in support!

[shawn16400]

I am supportive of this budget, the sheer volume of work MMM has underway is inspiring and the recent “takeover” of the weekly stand up indicated to me there is plenty of substance being developed. In a prior life I worked for what was essentially a marketing company and the rigor I see starting to be developed reverberates with brand building frameworks I am used to, but at a much price point and eons faster.

Via back and forth in Discord, MMM has helped me understand their work and budget. As we move into and past season 16, I will be looking for these things:

• How Season 16 was transformative from a community perspective
• Brand strategies (community, passport, Grants)
• Grants program impact report <<< this is going to be great
  Additionally, in successive seasons, I will be looking to see how we align GPC goals with MMM work.
  Last point, there is a lot of planned work and ideally MMM nails it on all fronts. But. It might be good to think about what may have to be stopped to free up capacity for higher order priorities.

[krrisis]

Highly supportive of the MMM budget. I’ve read up on the above comments and replies, in the context of the ‘light’ budget approach as decided in CSDO and combined with the earlier live session we had to review the draft commitments and budget I’ve gathered enough feedback to vote confidently yes here.

[ZER8]

Since I joined a year and smth ago I have closely watched the evolution of the MMM workstream. It has evolved from a kinda centralized action based team to a more decentralized one(imo).

Just the talent pool, dedication and impact of this workstream should be enough to justify the budget. The workflow, efficiency, inclusiveness and the crucial role that it plays in the future of DAO, the protocol and the impact it has on the future of PG makes this a clear YES(small GTC hodler though, others may disagree).

@CoachJonathan

Merch store strategic lead and coordinator (TBD)

I don’t want this to sound weird and idk if anyone remembers because I talk a lot … but last year I actually mentioned the issue around merch and web3 during a Gathering Hour. Ironically that in web3 everybody has a regen mission, but the clothing they sell is kinda the exact opposite. As a fashion lover, newbish fashion illustration designer and friend of a fashion founder I am delighted that Gitcoin’s merch will be regen, sustainable and adapted to the mission of the brand.

Extremely happy to see that this is at long last a priority

PS. Would love to help out in this area as @CoachJonathan probly already knows

[shawn16400]

To note - This proposal is now live on Snapshot and will be open for your vote through Nov 23, 2022, 6:00 PM EST

https://snapshot.org/#/gitcoindao.eth/proposal/0x35010aec1b8a754dc250ac714c6b3c7337663d1d82a601537eb72f3afee99249

[lefterisjp]

While I do appreciate all the work this workstream has been putting I can’t agree with the budget request.

I echo what @epowell101 says and can promise him he is not alone in his thinking.

We are going through one of the most aggressive bear markets with the whole crypto sentiment being as negative as it can be. At the same time the macro outlook of the global economy is also terrible which points us to really hard times ahead.

This DAO spends like nothing is happening. I firmly believe there should be aggressive reduction in expenses and the MMM workstream seems to me like a good to have, but not essential to the operation of Gitcoin. As such I am voting No.

[griff]

I agree with lefteris, MMM does great work, that said, IMO, we need to make cuts and the only way the stewards can signal it is by voting no.

I am going to vote no on all work streams until we get our spending under control. This is the only thing I can do, and I hope other Stewards will follow suit. We have given strong warnings over the last few seasons and they don’t seem to be working.

We cannot spend this much money in this market.

I am happy to work with the Gitcoin Hiring team to explain how Giveth finds intrinsically motivated high caliber contributors in lower income countries to keep our budget at 1/10th of the cost.

[kyle]

@lefterisjp

I firmly believe there should be aggressive reduction in expenses and the MMM workstream seems to me like a good to have, but not essential to the operation of Gitcoin. As such I am voting No.

@griff

we need to make cuts and the only way the stewards can signal it is by voting no.

I appreciate these perspectives and I really look forward to having the Steward Council active so that folks can help advise on where/how they would like to see cuts.

So much of what MMM does has far reaching impact, and we are still working to evolve as the Protocols come online. As I look what the team is doing, there is maybe 20% of it I could see us punting on (for 3-6mos) but it would put us behind (IMO).

Startups hit a trough of spending right before they break out of the atmosphere. In our case, our ambition is to launch the protocols and really work to make sure those are impactful for communities who want to build on them. I am not sure that meaningful cuts would allow for us to have that impact. but, I am certainly in the forest and may be having a hard time seeing through the trees.

[myceliumcoordinator]

@kyle

I am not sure that meaningful cuts would allow for us to have that impact. but, I am certainly in the forest and may be having a hard time seeing through the trees.

I think it is worth connecting directly with Griffith to learn more about how Giveth is run.

How is it that Giveth has launched a half dozen protocols on 10x less budget than Gitcoin has? See Griffith’s comment below.

@griff

Giveth spends around $120k a month with 40+ paid contributors, ~50% being full time, and GTC is spending 10x that, but it is not an org 10x the size

[GClayMiller]

Brand new Steward, lacking context. Apologies if questions and comments are naive while I get my footing

MMM has been the work stream I have followed most closely since engaging with Gitcoin—and also where I have the most friends in the organization—so I know they have been doing great work. However, it is a bit shocking to see an increased budget request for marketing during current market conditions. In fact, Gitcoin is the ONLY non-institutional organization I have spoken to in the last 6 months that plans to increase their marketing budget, which is usually the first to be cut in circumstances like these.

Granted, with the rollout of the protocols there is a necessity for making people aware and driving user acquisition—I just wonder if there is a better cadence or sequence of events that would allow for product development to proceed while MMM ‘HODLs’ until conditions improve. I noticed a lot of S15 goals were not hit due to “grants protocols weren’t mature enough” which signals to me that there is misalignment on roadmap & timeline between work streams. Similarly, MMM’s task of protocol adoption will be significantly more challenging in the current market. It is a bit relieving to hear that you are pulling back on metric-driven goals related to adoption until the protocols have matured, but I would still encourage the team to set any relevant KPIs around the research & strategy objectives under the ‘Protocol’ and ‘Community’ pillars. Further, despite very similar budget requests for Protocol & Community (~159k each), it would appear that Community has a much lighter lift of tasks. A further breakdown or KPIs would help explain this.

Despite these concerns, I know the work that MMM does is essential and that their contributors are hardworking & well-intentioned. This proposal is well thought out and thorough, but arrived at a time when there seems to be a wider ongoing debate on the DAO’s spending. From reviewing all 5 of the recent budget proposals, my gut tells me that there is a lot of money, time, and energy to be saved with better effort on Cross-DAO-Coordination efforts. Duplicated efforts and misaligned roadmaps/timing often results in a lot of waste! Looking forward to following the discussions on this moving forward.