SBP8: DAO Primitive Project (P1)
Background
The DAO primitive concept is a line of thinking that has the potential to become a core approach to how we do DAOs and DAO networks.
We want to push forward the DAO primitive work that is already underway by creating a formal project with token funding to build a community of contributors and momentum.
This is to be a “creative cell” with maximum freedom to explore, and thus this proposal is for a relatively small amount of token funding. This means that as this project evolves and progress is made, more funding can be proposed as needed. Making this a “safe to fail” bet for SuperBenefit (Check out https://tinyurl.com/5fftvxyu for more context).
Current work on the DAO primitive models can be seen here:
https://miro.com/app/board/uXjVODY0_-c=/
Note: This proposal follows the Purpose | Design | Momentum format that we have been experimenting with for the DAO primitive concept.
Purpose
Our goal is to develop the DAO primitive concept so that it can become a useful infrastructure for building successful DAO networks.
Our medium-term vision is to develop the DAO primitive concept into a framework that can be used to launch DAO cells (from a cold start) and also launch them within existing DAO networks. And to be able to do this in a principled way so that these DAO networks can successfully scale and evolve into the DAO networks the world needs.
This aligns with SuperBenefit’s ToC and our Purpose of embedding abundance into the core infrastructure of the future.
Design
A DAO primitive out of which all DAO networks can grow (Including those that are vastly complex) is a key design approach that we think is missing currently in Web3.
DAO research so far has largely focused on specific structures to implement instead of the fundamental levers that DAOs can use to shape their communities. We need to refocus onto the basics that allow DAOs to become multiple different things.
We have a starting point from the work that has already been done but are yet to seriously/rigorously explore the different ways that current DAOs are implementing the different parts of a DAO primitive (Team structure, treasury management, project management etc). This project will start by working on synthesising the best of what is currently happening in DAOs and forming this up into sets of options for ways to build DAO cells that can perform the varied roles that DAOs need.
The main features of this work will be:
- Continuing to develop the fundamental DAO primitive model
- Researching the different patterns emerging that other DAOs have used to deliver the archetypal features that every new DAO needs
- Out of this start to map what approaches are successful for what circumstances and develop some theories around which approaches (and tools) are best suited for what
- Test these theories through building our own DAO cells via the nascent SB Consulting and Incubation that SB is planning
- In time we build our own tooling to implement these experiments in DAO primitives and make them available to others to use in building their DAOs and DAO cells.
Momentum
This work is already ongoing and has been for several months.
@Rowan has already done a lot of work on designing the starting DAO primitive model with input from other SB community members. The articles that @Rowan has published under SuperBenefit has been part of the development of these ideas as well. Plus the ongoing progress on SB Consulting and Incubation.
@Ananth’s has done significant previous work on the Rabbithole governance library and Rabbithole’s metagovernance pod to add to this project, as well as @Ananth’s networks and experience in this community. We also have the governance contributions to SBs web3 library that came out of the governance research project.
@Ananth and @Rowan are committed to working on this project and there is interest from several other members of the SB community keen to be involved.
First Steps
The initial scope for this first allocation of tokens is to spend the next 1-2 months getting the project underway: starting work on research into current practice, pulling in contributors, developing relationships around possible experiments, refining the primitive model so that it can be used in experiments.
Then when we have a sense of the scope the different projects shaping up around these different activities and the size and makeup of the core team/contributors, we will put in a proposal for more tokens.
Note: this initial loose scope is a deliberate attempt to experiment with setting up a creative network cell.
Details
SuperBenefit allocates 10,000 $SPRB to the project
- Core team members will decide on where the tokens will be allocated as the project progresses
- Tokens transferred to a multi-sig set up for use by the project
- Core team will set up a DAO-cell nucleus doc so that there is transparency into the work that is being done and how tokens are being allocated