[Temp Check] Accelerating product adoption via meta-governance

[jengajojo]

Summary

• Trial run a meta-governance squad to spur adoption of the DAOs’ products
• Assist newbies and veterans with DAO2DAO governance
• Compliment the Governance Roadmap by incentivizing community to play an active role governance strategy

Abstract

Metagovernance is the act of one DAO participating in the governance process of another through the use of a token. Further reading here.This proposal aims to establish a public meta-governance workstream with the goal of incentivizing and mentoring passionate contributors to understand and execute on a DAO2DAO governance strategy to accelerate adoption of the DAOs products in the wider crypto ecosystem. The milestone based meta-governance workstream will run over the course of 6 months which will involve a weekly sync, guidance and mentorship for contributors and performance based compensation using direct grants via Grants stack.

Motivation

The Gitcoin ecosystem, with its MMM, Product, and PGF Teams, is robust and driven towards enhancing the adoption of Gitcoin’s products. However, each of these groups lacks the expertise and support to effectively tap into the potential of DAO2DAO (D2D) collaborations. The question then arises: How can we optimise the returns on D2D collaborations to expedite product adoption, without giving the impression of engaging in zero-sum games?

Meta-governance has joined the chat…

Almost a year ago, BanklessDAO faced similar challenges. Vibes were low and product adoption was down. At this critical moment, the DAO approved a proposal to fund a meta-governance workstream. Since then, the DAO was able to raise funds to

1. 50k to fund its humanitarian relief initiative via 1inchDAO
2. Deliver a global education and onboarding campaign worth 100K for OptimismDAO
3. 2x revenues to over 25k from Gitcoin Grant Round
4. 50k+ raised funds from other PGF projects like RPGF2, Octant, ArbitrumFest etc

In order to accelerate product adoption and expand the quantity and quality of contributors, we, DAOplomats, propose to establish and run a meta-governance workstream with the aim of:

1. Facilitating the DAO2DAO governance conversation in Gitcoin
2. Drive adoption of gitcoin products in other DAOs
3. Secure funding for PGF (program rounds)

Specification

Meta-governance Facilitation

If this proposal is approved, the workstream will be kickstarted with a kickoff sync where we will assess the totality of external and internal talent, experience and availability of contributors as well as invite mulit-DAO delegates to join the conversation.We will work with existing stewards and members from core teams to hit the ground running from the get go. We will facilitate a weekly sync for all interested participants along with async chats to help participants in their journey.

Over the course of the program, stewards will be incentivized to participate in governance at other DAOs, gain reputation, increase voting weight, and leverage it to propose gitcoin’s products and services in those communities. The workstream will also invite multi-DAO delegates with pre-existing experience and reputation to assist the squad and accelerate positive outcomes.

We will not only focus on external governance but also assist existing and new contributors towards understanding and innovating on the Governance Roadmap, thus enabling a broader pool of talent to get highly engaged in Gitcoin governance.

Signal your interest by adding your general availability here, so we can identify a time slot that fits most people

Retroactive rewards

Stewards who actively participate will be eligible for retroactive compensation proportional to their results. We suggest that this performance driven compensation be proportional to

• size of funds raised for PGF (program rounds)
• number of passports activated
• number of DAOs adoption grants stack

These payments will be done in the form of direct grants via Grants stack. This mechanism not only ensures that the right contributions are rewarded, but that the DAO continues using its products for its own benefit.

Active stewards will receive base compensation at the end of each milestone. Base compensation will be equally divided amongst all active stewards. The definition of active stewards as well as performance based compensation will be agreed with the participants and posted on the forum.

Roadmap towards self-sustainability:

There are several delegate compensation programs at Aave, Maker, Optimism, 1inch which yield an average of 3-5k/month/delegate in income for the participating group. Stewards who are sufficiently trained and motivated will not only be able fund themselves while helping Gitcoin with product adoption, but will create a long term value flow between DAOs and across the larger ecosystem, which will ultimately help us as a crypto community resist Moloch and unlock the potential of DAOs.

Budget (requested) in GTC:

	Milestone 1: 3-months	Milestone 2: 3-months
MetaGov Facilitation	15,000	15,000
Retro Base compensation	15,000	15,000
Retro Performance based compensation	20,000	20,000

Total ask: 100,000 GTC

Benefits

This novel approach is designed based on our research and experience as delegates in several DAOs. Overall it incentivizes

• New ways for the community to engage and potentially be compensated
• Encourages newbies and veterans to strategically place attention toward long term thinking and goals which ultimately help Gitcoin fulfil it’s essential intents
• Offers a flexible pool of contributors, independent of fixed “hired” contributors
• Enables permissionless contribution and allows high quality, result dependent outcomes to be compensated
• Potential to increase DAO2DAO collaboration and increase product adoption

Success measures:

• % of governance proposals in the roadmap emerging from stewards
• Grants stack adoption in new DAOs
• Number of Passports activated
• Total funding raised for matching pools

Milestone 1:

• At least 1 new DAO adopting products or funding the matching pool

Milestone 2:

• At least 2 new DAOs adopting products or funding the matching pool

What do you think?

[CoachJonathan]

Hey @jengajojo, overall I think this proposal is well thought out and put together.

One clarification question is around the milestones

@jengajojo

Milestone 1:

• At least 1 new DAO adopting products or funding the matching pool

Milestone 2:

• At least 2 new DAOs adopting products or funding the matching pool

Effectively, the promise here is that for 100K GTC (about 90K USD) this initiative will be at the source of 3 DAOs adopting our products or funding the matching pool.

At first glance, that seems like a pretty low target. If Gitcoin to hire a FT sales person to do the same work, I am confident that they could fulfill a much higher target than that.

My main hesitation around accelerating our decentralization process is that we are still in a PMF-finding phase, and my understanding from reading time and time again is that decentralizing before finding PMF is a bad idea.

Otherwise, this seems like something we have never done before and sounds like it worked really well at Bankless.

[connor]

This is an interesting idea and could be a fun experiment. But on the surface, I feel like we still have a lot to improve on coordinating governance within our own DAO, and keeping stewards engaged in general. I’m not sure we’re ready to add in governing other DAOs and vice versa.

Otherwise, Gitcoin has trended towards consolidating workstreams and creating leaner more efficient teams. I’m not sure this warrants an entire new workstream. Even with a novel approach, this feels like it mainly falls under biz dev and partnerships. So perhaps this could work better within an existing workstream (ie. PGF or the potential future GSD workstream *TBA).

[jengajojo]

Thanks for the feedback @CoachJonathan @connor

I understand the hesitation given that the DAO is consolidating resources into the existing workstream, and I am happy to include this project inside one of the existing WS if the leads agree to this suggestion.

This project does not create new products, it’s main goal is to compliment existing and any new products which the DAO may produce for the long haul. While the goals may seem low from a BD perspective, we have sufficient evidence from legacy governance systems that delegates who can directly influence flow of funds at the parliamentary level generate 10-100X magnitude more sales revenue than any BD/sales teams do in a corporate setting. In the same way, if we can influence the flow of funds directly from key sources such as top DeFi protocols, L2s, etc… and install aqueducts via meta-governance then we’d have an easier time implementing ‘Always on funding sources’ as mentioned in 50mm GMV to 500m GMV. This approach compliments the hunt for PMF because it get’s the testing and feedback loop going in multiple key communities at the same time.

The approach suggested in this proposal brings in governance talent from around the ecosystem, which can be leveraged to improve governance at home as well.

[carlosjmelgar]

I’m generally in favor of this proposal.

@connor

we still have a lot to improve on coordinating governance within our own DAO, and keeping stewards engaged in general. I’m not sure we’re ready to add in governing other DAOs and vice versa.

I agree with Connor - we have lots to work on within the DAO to create more community and steward engagement.

This is why I think it’s important to tap into experienced stewards/ delegates across multiple DAOs by creating a delegate rewards program. I would much rather see a governance sub DAO, which includes dao2dao collaboration, over a new workstream.

@CoachJonathan

My main hesitation around accelerating our decentralization process is that we are still in a PMF-finding phase, and my understanding from reading time and time again is that decentralizing before finding PMF is a bad idea.

PMF and DAO structure can be developed in parallel. D2D is an opportunity to meet goals as detailed in the new EIs

@deltajuliet

Objective: To encourage active participation, effective governance, and widespread adoption of Gitcoin’s initiatives and platforms. We aim to create an environment where community members feel empowered to actively contribute to Gitcoin’s evolution

@CoachJonathan

At first glance, that seems like a pretty low target. If Gitcoin to hire a FT sales person to do the same work, I am confident that they could fulfill a much higher target than that.

Finding a sales person with knowledge of public goods funding mechanism, Gitcoin products and rapport with DAOs/ projects with treasuries we can tap into sounds like a unicorn.

@jengajojo

While the goals may seem low from a BD perspective, we have sufficient evidence from legacy governance systems that delegates who can directly influence flow of funds at the parliamentary level generate 10-100X magnitude more sales revenue than any BD/sales teams do in a corporate setting. In the same way, if we can influence the flow of funds directly from key sources such as top DeFi protocols, L2s, etc… and install aqueducts via meta-governance then we’d have an easier time implementing ‘Always on funding sources’ as mentioned in 50mm GMV to 500m GMV.

+100 to everything expressed here except the part about goals being low.

[PaigeDAO]

Overall I think this is a solid proposal - well researched and laid out.

And while DeFi is not my forte, I did understand enough of the Bankless article you @jengajojo linked to to get that FEI was able to leverage their governance rights 9:1 by their investment in the INDEX metagovernance token.

To your points -

@jengajojo

1. Facilitating the DAO2DAO governance conversation in Gitcoin
2. Drive adoption of gitcoin products in other DAOs
3. Secure funding for PGF (program rounds)

These all seem worthy goals and goals 2 & 3 are essential, I’d say. For 3.DAO2DAO governance it seems this would be a formalizing mechanism for what already takes place in the context of token swapping between DAOs, but, yes it could widen the conversation.

More to the point that I found most relevant (less about the mechanics) is widening the aperture for contributors to Gitcoin’s larger mission - Fund What Matters and now also make the products more widely known, understood and used.

Zooming out even more - I would like to see a wider focus not just on other DAOs but also on other sectors in addition to web3 and crypto native communities.

How I would think of this is as an Ambassadorship program. It’s hard not to become an ‘ambassador’ after participating in a few Gitcoin rounds or attending a couple of Schelling Points. So this enthusiasm and goodwill needs to be leveraged, appreciated and incentivized.

I, unfortunately, don’t personally know too many of the other stewards. But I imagine they are all involved deeply in their own communities and potentially could harness significant attention towards Gitcoin products and services.

So, in summary, I am for this proposal. I think DAO2DAO is a good place to start, but should not be the only sectors we focus on for Gitcoin products and services PMF. I wonder if employing the phraseology of Ambassadorship program might make it easier for people to understand at first glance?

Thank you for this proposal @jengajojo and for your thoughtful comments above fellow Gitcoiners.

[connor]

Thinking about this more it makes much more sense as a GCP than as a workstream. Workstream implies some permanence imo, and should have a higher barrier, where this is proposed more like a GCP with specific defined milestones and outcomes. Perhaps that’s more aligned with what you were thinking? Context:

Gitcoin Community Proposal (GCP) Template

This post will walk through a proposed format for making a governance proposal on Gitcoin. A Gitcoin Community Proposal (GCP) is a formal mechanism for making decisions about how our community grows. Key points to keep in mind include: Title - Post each proposal with a clear title around its objective. This will look as follows: [Proposal] - XXXXXX Ordering - Please do not assign a number to your GCP. The ordering of the proposal will be assigned by community moderators. Detail - While we …

Update on Gitcoin Community Proposals (GCPs) - July 2023

We are thrilled to see all of the engagement with the Gitcoin Community Proposal (GCP) process! In case you’re new here, GCPs are mechanisms that community members propose changes or improvements to the Gitcoin ecosystem. They follow a specific format and are open to community feedback and voting, ensuring the community has a voice in Gitcoin’s governance and development. GCPs can vary broadly in their goals and requests and may ask the community to endorse a specific policy and procedure or a…

[owocki]

My gut take: I applaud the effort and energy put into this proposal, but I’m leaning no. I’d be supportive of a credible DAO to DAO BD effort though.

This leans way too much into meta work and governance for me. I’d vote for something that is more focused on organizing + pushing proposals to get other DAOs using Grants Stack/Passport. Especially if the team has a proven track record working across DAOs.

Especially if product, marketing, or BD leaders who know what it takes to get product signed, sealed, and delivered voted yes. (@Sov @Viriya @kyle @meglister etc)

[meglister]

I’d be really interested in the DAO to DAO BD effort for grants stack – have talked a bit with @Sov and @Viriya about this as a high potential channel for us. I think we would fund that as a GCP with test budget for 1 season and have the function managed by either BD or Marketing.

@jengajojo if you decide to rework the proposal in that direction would love to chat!

[jengajojo]

Thank you for your feedback @owocki @meglister

@connor

more sense as GCP than as a workstream

GCP works too!

@owocki

I’d vote for something that is more focused on organizing + pushing proposals to get other DAOs using Grants Stack/Passport. Especially if the team has a proven track record working across DAOs.

Imo, there are two ways of going about this, either onboard a service provider which has a track record of pushing proposals across various DAOs or build this talent inhouse.

Option A: Usually professional delegates, and most of them are hesitant to shill only 1 service in order to avoid looking biased.

Option B: While legacy sales techniques can be effective in DAOs which run governance theatre, the challange arises in those that don’t. The current sales efforts are sufficient at ‘DAO theatre’ crypto foundations imo.

In DAOs that are further along in their decentralization roadmap the boundaries are unclear, account management needs to be done towards a broad set of actors and customer success is a function of small teams such as grant councils (grant manager) as well as the larger community (passport users/donors on QF etc)

Bonus option: Start a DAOlitical party which offboards many of the challanges in option B to delegates and incentives them to independently shill. Over the long run this is more sustainable than funding BD teams which require the DAO to have a treasury in order to fund employees, vs. letting other DAOs fund loyalists from GitcoinDAO.

@meglister

DAO to DAO BD effort for grants stack

Happy to hear your thoughts on the specific implementation and I can rework the proposal in that direction

As a general comment, maybe I am missing something here, but do we actually know any nonDeFi DAO2DAO BD efforts in any DAOs that have been successful?

[owocki]

@jengajojo

Option B: While legacy sales techniques can be effective in DAOs which run governance theatre, the challange arises in those that don’t. The current sales efforts are sufficient at ‘DAO theatre’ crypto foundations imo.

i find this to be a little bit dismissive, moralizing, and a bit of straw man, as if there is no other option than your Option A.

all we really need is someone who is friendly/knowledgeable/organized/reputable/helpful going to other DAOs and representing grants stack or allo or passport. like what lindsey from hedgey is doing here to optimism => https://gov.optimism.io/t/using-hedgeys-token-grant-platform-for-onchain-grant-payouts-at-optimism/667.

then a bit of organization to manage the feedback/CRM.

adding all this metagovernance language just complicates what should be a pretty straightforward BD effort.

that said, id heavily weight my opinion based on what @Sov thinks.

[ale.k]

I’m generally in favor of all kinds of experiments in governance, and I think exploration of how to deploy thoughtful, multi-talented stewards can only benefit the DAO.

I worry slightly that the narrowness of these performance metrics:

@jengajojo

We suggest that this performance driven compensation be proportional to

• size of funds raised for PGF (program rounds)
• number of passports activated
• number of DAOs adoption grants stack

doesn’t directly seem to action on #1 stated here, which I’m most excited for:

1. Facilitating the DAO2DAO governance conversation in Gitcoin
2. Drive adoption of gitcoin products in other DAOs
3. Secure funding for PGF (program rounds)

Recently, some personal experiences facilitating conversations in DAOs, emerging DAOs and non-DAO community orgs have manifested a few ways-of-working-together that I want to also suggest as potential outcomes, if deploying the DAO2DAO strength of this initiative:

• Hyper-local use cases for protocols/blockchain tech (a la “do what doesn’t scale”)
• Research and writing that expands the audience for blockchain-initiatives beyond the normal purview
• “Market discovery” - almost a misnomer, but not sure what else to call this - for Gitcoin’s path, I think this means exploration of who needs QF-enablement IRL
• Huge benefit of any teams building tech: product feedback focus groups (@jengajojo mentions this above in response to CoachJ on PMF- but deserves re-centering)

Overall, I’m in support of more active stewardship to shepherd Gitcoin and I think the theme @jengajojo highlights about multi-DAO involvement is a great superpower to tap into.

[Viriya]

Sorry for my late reply here @jengajojo
I agree with @meglister and @connor here that I think this would be a really interesting GCP that I would likely vote yes for. I feel that we’re missing BD resources to support with meaningful D2D outreach (correct me if I’m wrong @Sov) through engagement with governance.

Sov, Meg and I have chatted about this being a channel we’d like to experiment with but it’s not a strategy that we’ve proven will actually work for us…which is also why I don’t think a FT hire as @CoachJonathan suggests is the way forward.

I think starting out with a lean experiment to see how it does would help move this proposal along. I recommend working directly with myself, Meg and Sov to make that GCP successful if you go that route.