We would like to make life easier for the Stewards by aligning all the âstructuredâ workstreams budgets to begin and end on the same dates. To do this we passed a proposal in the CSDO which establishes a format all workstreams have agreed will work for them.
TL;DR
Starting with âSeason 13â to align with GR13
Season start dates = 2/1, 5/1, 8/1, 11/1
Does this require a steward vote? No. CSDO decisions are not binding. They are opt in suggestions for the workstreams to agree on shared infrastructure and processes.
About the Proposal:
I drafted the original proposal, then amended after a round of discussions. After consulting with @simonapop, we aligned on this model and brought the proposal back to CSDO.
Here is the proposal as passed by CSDO
Proposal 1 - Adopt standard Quarters or Seasons for budget proposals and working cadence (Joe)
Tension:
It is confusing for Stewards (and everyone else) to have all the workstreams using different dates for their Quarter start and end dates
Most* workstreams are doing the cadence mentioned below
Doing the dates off-the-natural quarters (1/1, 4/1, etc) is nice because it gives time after grants rounds to retro and review before making the next proposal
Rather than calling them quarters, we call them season so we people arenât confused by the offset dates from standard âquartersâ
Really, it doesnât matter to me exactly what we decide. I think this is a perfect opportunity for making the decision by consent rather than consensus (Joe)
Proposal:
Ratify âseasonâ start dates
Season 13 - 2.1 to 4.30 (GR13 | 3.9-3.24)
Season 14 - 5.1 to 7.30 (GR14 | 6.8-6.23)
Season 15 - 8.1 to 10.30 (GR15 | 9.7-9.22)
Season 16 - 11.1 to 1.31 (GR16 | 11.30-12.15)
and ongoing - any changes for holidays or other interruptions would be voted on by CSDO
Recommendation for Workstream Budget Proposals
Have your proposal up on the Governance Forum using the workstream accountability format by the Friday (2.4 this coming quarter) prior to the Monthly Steward call (Feb 7th \ first Monday of every month)
Snapshot on Wednesday, then tally when it passes.
Clarifying Questions:
Kyle: How can we encourage other people to âsnapâ to the new system? Should we just include just another month? Joe: Just add some extra time & budget. Do a slightly shorter or longer season this next one to align.
Annika: Weâll be approving budgets after the start of the season, is that ok? Joe: Most workstreams have funds to last beyond the end of their quarter, we should have a steady stream/cadence - other workstreams can help out if needed Simona: We can do it this time and adjust if needed.
Huxwell: How long will the review time last? Will stewards not be flooded by proposals? Whole flow should be able to work in a week because we group them. Quick succession moments because we have their attention span.
Reactions:
Kyle: Supportive.
Annika: Supportive, starting with s13 makes sense
Brittney: Supportive
Kevin: Supportive
Huxwell: Supportive
Simona: Supportive
Amendment notes:
No
Objections:
No
Proposal passed?
Yes!
What Are âStructuredâ Workstreams?
A âstructured workstreamâ is one that chooses to opt into the decisions made by the Cross Stream DAO Operations (CSDO) council. This is a group with one representative per workstream and one from Gitcoin Holdings which aims to ensure modularity/composability between workstreams. If a decision will affect all workstreams, then CSDO approves it first.
For example, if Moonshot Collective wanted to build a login site for all GitcoinDAO contributors, the CSDO would be good to consult first. By getting the CSDO approval first, they would know that the other workstreams have all elected to cooperate with the plan rather than defecting.
By participating in CSDO, the structured workstreams benefit from better cross collaboration, access to DAOops accounting and legal services for their workstream, and having their voice heard in matters concerning shared infrastructure.
Thanks for sharing, @DisruptionJoe - I feel the closer we get on event alignment, the better positioned we will be for sustainable governance engagement.
If I am reading this correct, would this mean that Season 14 budgets are due on April 29th the Friday before the Stewards call that would be on Monday May 2nd?
Yes. That is why I am pushing CSDO to do the Leadership Retreat workshops on the week of 4/3. (I originally said week of 3/28!)
Here is the proposal with initial timelines laid out
Proposal 1 - [Joe] Agree to have CSDO âretreat weekâ during the week of March 28th
Tension: Workstreams donât take the time to collaboratively design a shared product pathway, outcomes, roles and responsibilities and update these on a regular cadence.
It takes time for the workstreams to design their OKRs for the next quarter. Having this info done a month before budget proposals are due will give the workstreams time to align
Imaginary timeline of how workstreams will form their budgets
- Week of 3.28 - CSDO sets Top Level Goals and agrees which workstreams should own each
- Week of 4.4 - Workstream Retros of GR13
- Week of 4.11 - Top level goal committees (workstreams plus sme & cross functional input) set or update Essential Intent and round over round metrics and explore potential 90 day outcomes for s14
- Week of 4.18 - Workstreams workshop their 90 day outcomes, assign outcome ownership, draft OKRs
- Week of 4.25 - Workstreams draft budget requests to post on 4.29 and review on steward call on 5.2
Proposal: Agree to have CSDO âretreat weekâ during the week of March 28th (and in the future always the week after grants rounds end)
We block off 2-3 hours for 2 or three days during the week to workshop top level goals and ownership of the outcomes
This is how we might continue the learnings from the retreat
It might help us to be able to identify the âtotal DAO budgetâ to be able to say what percentage is used by each workstream
It would allow us to arrange all of our work in hierarchies of importance
It could be spearheaded by a committee of CSDO members
Clarifying Questions: None
Reactions:
owoki: happy this is a proposal; strongly in support doing this at some point as calendars allow
scott: supportive; easiest solution to make sure ws are coordinated; week of 3/28 will be hard - aim for early April
sean: love breaking out the time; week of planning after the grants round - open to week or two after
Jodi: supportive. annika & jodi touched base on this. Happy to help coordinate to make this happen. Could also help setting the agenda for that first call. supportive as calendars allow.
simona: Supportive; Szn 14 from 1st of may to 30th of july. first week in april ideal.
huxwell: supportive; devconnect and schelling point could be the venue
chase: supportive
Amendments:
Format and agenda should be hammered out before setting time
Following the CSDO call and the prep for S14 budgets! These are the dates:
4/28 - Forum Post
5/2 - Stewards Call to review
5/4 - On Snapshot (ideally)
5/10 - On Tally
~5/19 - Execution
All proposals should follow the templates we worked on in S13, making things as clear as possible, as digestible as possible. Ensure a clear tl;dr at the top (we should know the drill), post proposals on forum AND share in the steward channel.
Because we are using Tally alpha gov until we scope out migration, we have 48 hrs until a vote goes live, 48 hrs cool down before a vote is executed.
As part of aligning workstream budgets, it can be confusing to have workstreams using different GTC prices and different amount of reserve days in their budget. For example, some workstreams use a GTC price of $5.50 for S14 while some use $6.00. Some use 45 day reserves, some use 60 days. Agreeing on number of days and a GTC price could simplify. Or simply having budgets only in USD until they move to Tally (as I think FDD is doing)
Thank you for sharing @owocki - extending the deliberation period for S14 felt important so stewards do not feel overwhelmed by the number of proposals and density of information to digest. Itâs paramount decisions are made considering as complete of a picture as possible but without potentially stifling the great work being done by workstreams.
