Governance Nest - Season 1 Review
IndexIntroduction
Index Coop DAO season 1 kicked off in February 2022, and we are now approaching the end of the season. We plan to use this post to take a look at how we’ve done so far against our season 1 proposal 3. We invite all other nests to do the same ahead of season 2 to allow for reflection, and make the transition to season 2 as frictionless and informed as possible.
Structure
The Governance Nest season 1 proposal only had provisions for two functional areas (Pods) namely Operational Governance and MetaGovernance. And while these two Pods have been successful in their operations, we have since added an extra functional area, Governance Communications. Governance communications have done an excellent job so far supporting the two original Pods through increasing communications and awareness of Governance Nest operations. Some of the successes of the Governance Communications Pod so far have been to improve visibility on internal Governance operations, socialize how to use our Governance process, and externally communicate how Index Coop manages the governance process. Therefore, moving forward the GovComs Pod is likely to be included in the Season 2 proposal.
Primary Objectives
During Season 1 Governance Nest had the primary objective of ‘creating and maintaining several transparent and trusted governance processes in conjunction with providing content highlighting the value of MetaGovernance and how it pertains to the INDEX token.’
We had started with the mantra, “Simplify Governance” and moved to more detailed objectives in concert with the Index Council v1, as follows:
- Provide and manage a streamlined, transparent and open governance process
- Ensure INDEX metagovernance voting rights are utilized
- Grow awareness and opportunities to utilize Index Coop’s metagovernance influence
- Improve the UX and participation of INDEX voters
Pods
Operational Governance Pod
The Operational Governance pod is responsible for maintaining the Index Coop’s governance process and providing support to community members interacting with the process. This Pod will endeavour to boost participation, improve the existing process, and will work with token holders to promote awareness of the INDEX token’s governance influence. This pod will be the owner of all internal Index Coop elections for groups like the Index Council.
The GovOps Pod had the Primary Objectives to:
- Provide and manage a streamlined, transparent, and open governance process
- Improve the UX and participation of INDEX voters
This was broken down into the following deliverables and responsibilities:
1. Provide and manage a streamlined, transparent, and open governance process:
| Commitment | Deliverable | Status | S2 Recommendation |
|---|---|---|---|
| A transparent IIP governance process that any contributor can follow within the community handbook | The Process is available on the IC Forum and IC Gitbook | Met | Continue |
| Transition towards enabling more community members to manage their own improvement proposals over time | Multiple training sessions for GovReps were held, these can be viewed here and here. The IC Snapshot has also been opened up to anyone who meets the minimum threshold of 1000 INDEX tokens, so any community member can run the process independently. | Met | Kill |
| Facilitate awareness, education, improvement, discourse, challenges, record keeping, reporting and accountability of our community governance processes, across the business. | Initiated a monthly report, launched a Twitter account, started a daily Gov Connect 1, developed an asset tracker and outlined “North Star” principles 1 to improve. | Met | Continue |
| Maintain a directory of all open improvement proposals and follow up on those not yet implemented. Provide Nest level updates during regularly scheduled community calls | An IIP tracker was created to track all open IIPs, however, we still need to develop a formal process for follow up of non-implemented IIPs. | Partially Met | Continue |
| Develop a prototype dashboard/tool which provides visibility to projects, outstanding tasks, metrics and issues. | Dashboard launched 1 | Met | Kill |
2. Improve the UX and participation of INDEX voters
| Commitment | Deliverable | Status | S2 Recommendation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Increase the INDEX token participation rate as a fraction (%) of circulating supply | Actual INDEX participation increased although the percentage participation rate as a fraction (%) of circulating supply fell. GovNest has however so far been unable to directly influence this metric in a significant way. | Not Met | Continue |
| Provide support for Snapshot/Forum proposals and community updates on upcoming votes | Twitter announcements and Discord announcements 1 | Met | Continue |
| Incorporate into the existing quarterly survey, a questionnaire seeking feedback on the governance process and implementing improvements to improve the participation rate with results published via the Monthly forum report. | Seven questions included in the Owl Pulse Survey, results captured 1, and actions being worked on. | Met | Continue |
Success Metrics
| Commitment | Deliverable | Status | Season 2 Recommendation |
|---|---|---|---|
| INDEX voter participation rate (%) tracking as a percentage of circulating supply held outside of Index Coop internal wallet addresses | February: 11%, March: 12%, April: 10%, May: 9%. Set a target for Season 2 ~ 20% | Partially Met | Continue |
| Percentage of IIPs processed by non Governance Nest participants each month | February: 0%, March: 20%, April: 40%, May: 100% | Met | Kill |
| 95%(->100%) error-free process-execution as measured by adherence to established governance processes | February: 100%, March: 100%, April: 100%, May: 100% | Met | Continue |
| Number of Monthly reports detailing IIP and Metagovernance votes published within the first 10 days of the month | Monthly reports consistently published on time from February to May | Met | Kill |
MetaGovernance Pod
The Meta-Governance Pod is to support all metagovernance activities across the Coop and with future partners using Index Coop’s influence to implement improvement proposals on other protocols. The core of this pod is to maintain a transparent and trusted meta-goverance process which includes the MGC that votes when INDEX holders fail to quorum. This pod will work closely with other areas of the Coop to support product sales and integrations with other communities.
The MetaGov Pod had the Primary Objectives to:
- Ensure INDEX metagovernance voting rights are utilized
- Grow awareness and opportunities to utilize Index Coop’s metagovernance influence
This was broken down into the following deliverables and responsibilities:
1. Ensure INDEX metagovernance voting rights are utilized
| Commitment | Deliverable | Status | S2 Recommendation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manage the metagovernance Snapshot process with a MGC in place to vote on proposals which do not meet quorum | GovNest has managed the process throughout the season, MG votes that have hit our Snapshot can be found here. The MetaGovernance Committee however has been assessed as inefficient, and we are looking to improve on the process. | Met | Continue |
| Promote INDEX metagovernance appeal | The Value of Metagovernance and why should I care?, Levered Metagovernance FEI and INDEX: Rewards for a Job Well Done, Leveraging Metagovernance for Change, Early 2022 Survey of Metagovernance, Metagovernance now Enabled for Index Coop on Messari Governor | Met | Continue |
| Work with Business Development to explore solo proposal strategies that drive value to our products and sustainability for our community. i.e: Use metagovernance to support product sales | GovNest had a few meetings with the Business Development team, around MetaGovernance centered initiatives, but there was no material outcome. | Not Met | Continue |
2. Grow awareness and opportunities to utilize Index Coop’s metagovernance influence
| Commitment | Deliverable | Status | S2 Recommendation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Increase the INDEX token participation rate as a fraction of circulating supply | February: 1% , March: 1.7%, April: 3.7%, May: 5.5% | Met | Continue |
| Publish educational content promoting INDEX token’s metagovernance appeal | The Value of Metagovernance and why should I care?, Levered Metagovernance FEI and INDEX: Rewards for a Job Well Done, Leveraging Metagovernance for Change, Early 2022 Survey of Metagovernance, Metagovernance now Enabled for Index Coop on Messari Governor | Met | Continue |
| Explore ways to attract requests to support submitting governance proposals on other protocols | No work has been done on this front, perhaps a potential conversation with Governance House | Not Met | Continue |
Success Metrics
| Commitment | Deliverable | Status | S2 Recommendation |
|---|---|---|---|
| INDEX voter participation rate tracking as a percentage of circulating supply held outside of Index Coop internal wallet addresses | February: 1%, March: 1.7%, April: 3.7%, May: 5.5% | Met | Continue |
| Number of inbound requests to utilize Index Coop’s metagovernance influence on another protocol | No inbound requests have come in to utilize IC’s MetaGovernance influence throughout the season. | Not Met | Continue |
| Number Medium article published highlighting the value of the INDEX tokens meta-governance influence | 5 Medium Articles Published so far in Season 1 | Met | Continue |
New Initiatives
| Commitment | Deliverable | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Alt-Gov (Contributor Snapshot Space) | Handoff from AG workshops - Index Coop DAO Snapshot Space | Active |
| JPG Index Snapshot Space | Set up a JPG Snapshot Space and establish ongoing touchpoint with methodologist/manager | Active |
| Governance Communications | Bring intentionality to channels and touchpoints. | Active |
| SubDAO at Index Coop | How to form a subDAO and subDAO IIP process | Complete |
| Sunsetting of the MGC & ICC delegation management | Provide support for transition from MGC backstop. Provide greater context to ICC on metagov. Proposal to Sunset MGC. | In Progress |
| Drive positive change by defining GovNest beliefs, principles, and commitments | Define GovNest North Stars | Complete |
Contributors
Core contributors to the Nest have remained more or less the same throughout the season, with a few contributors dropping out throughout the season to contribute in other areas. A few contributors have joined GovNest through the GovRep program, but they are not core contributors and only contribute to the Nest on an AdHoc basis while keeping their primary contributions in other areas of the Coop.
The current composition of the GovNest contributors can be viewed in the table below:
| Contributor | Owl Level | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Mel.eth | Gold+ | None |
| Shawn16400 | Silver | Bronze → Silver |
| SixtyKeys | Silver | None |
| Puncar | Bronze | None |
| Lavi | Bronze | Silver → Bronze |
| Asira | Bronze | Joined during S1 |
| Pujimak | Bronze | Joined during S1 |
| Mringz | Gold+ | Left during S1 |
| RonaldPhone | Bronze | Left during S1 |
The season 1 proposal had a provision for 8 extra contributors throughout the season, 1 Gold, 2 Silver, and 5 Bronze. However, only a single Bronze contributor has joined after balancing out changes in Owl Level and accounting for contributors who have left the Nest.
Finances
A detailed breakdown of the Season 1 forecast monthly spend and overall seasonal budget is shown below. Actual spend to date is also displayed below:
| Season 1 | Monthly | Over/Under | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core Hire | |||
| Forecast | $58,333 | $11,666 | - |
| Actual to date (May 2022) | $46,664 | $11,666 | - |
| Flexible Contributor Rewards | |||
| Forecast | $110,000 | $22,000 | - |
| Actual to date (May 2022) | $86,475 | $21,619 | -1.73% |
Conclusion
As an inaugural season, the Governance team met expectations, and when asked to pick up new challenges, did so with success. When resourced adequately through the season, the team did what they said they would do. Where the team experienced resource gaps and turn over (metagovernance) expectations were missed.
Looking forward to Season 2, the team has the right to continue building ecosystem leadership and evolving governance into the new paradigms required to successfully coordinate resources in web3. Recognizing that Governance can be a positive driver of Coop culture, the team continues to focus on being a positively collaborative force within the Index Coop, and Defi.
Season 2 adjustments are being collected in the following document 6.
