Given the current state of the DAO as well as internal talent pipeline challenges within the DAOStewards project all assets and responsibilities will be handed over to DAOplomats
Background
DAOStewards was a project kickstarted in 2022 in order to steward the DAO’s accumulated governance power in other DAOs and leverage them in order to steward the bankless movement. Over the lifecycle of the project DAOStewards was able to raise over 500K USD worth of revenue for BanklessDAO and it’s projects. However, due to the current lack of funding, direction and willingness from the DAO to continue the status quo coupled with challenges attracting reliable talent to drive the project forward, we believe that the best course of action is to handover responsibilities to a professional governance-as-a-service organisation which is driven independently by current and former members of the DAO.
Specifications
About DAOplomats
DAOplomats is a governance-as-a-service organisation that empowers DAOs through effective governance, treasury management, grants programs, and community-building initiatives. The org leverages its expertise to help DAOs achieve their full potential by fostering collaboration and maximising positive outcomes.
We have started the transition process of rebranding from DAOStewards to DAOplomats, this process includes rebranding all delegation platforms in DAOs. DAOplomats will focus on Optimism, Arbitrum and SAFE governance. The transition includes renaming and updating the delegate platforms, onchain voting profiles, merging voting banks as well as redirecting traffic on other social channels. The voting addresses will remain the same however the ENS will be updated to reflect the change. Any leftover assets will be migrated as well as core contributors have been offered opportunity to be sub-contractors or employees with DAOplomats.
DAOplomats do not see major governance activity in collab.land and vita DAOs, hence there will be no governance activity in these communities unless something changes.
Next Steps
All DAOplomts contributors are current or former BanklessDAO members and DAOplomats will continue to assist the DAO in finding it’s new direction, mentoring upcoming governance talent, and assisting in other possible ways. DAOplomats hopes to continue maintaining a positive relationship with BanklessDAO and it’s current and former members. It’s doors will remain open for future collaboration opportunities on our collective journey in this new frontier.
I support this proposal, as the ethos of bDAO will continue with DAOplomats, especially with its team of current and former members of the DAO. I’m also encouraged that DAOplomats will continue its relationship with the DAO, with an open-door policy for future collaborations.
Before any decision can be made, more details need to be provided. While I appreciate the intent, a full and clear proposal should be made before any actions are taken.
I see DAOstewards and DAOplomats as entirely distinct: the latter is (presumably) entirely for-profit and has little or no oversight from bDAO. While it’s great that DAOplomats consist of current and former bDAO members, it doesn’t guarantee they will effectively represent the interests of bDAO.
Further, based on some of the conversations going on in Governance, it’s unclear what bDAO will become, so it’s premature to divest governance responsibility to an external actor. Maybe this is something to consider once the DAO has some clarity on its mission, structure, and function, but for now any governance rights currently being stewarded by DAOstewards should be returned to the DAO.
I disagree. Given the permissionless nature of this space, while it may seem like a good idea to divest governance representation and responsibility to a group of current and former bDAO members, it doesn’t mean they will effectively represent the best interests of the DAO now or in the long term. The DAO currently has the means to represent itself without having to employ an external representative.
I totally understand your comments, @Rowan . I do know, that if this proposal is passed by the DAO, the existing DAOStewards are all aligned with the ethos of bDAO, and most of them are actively involved in the current Governance discussions about the future of bDAO.
I have complete confidence that the current DAOStewards who will transition to DAOplomats will always have a tight affinity towards bDAO. It’s in their DNA.
It is difficult to vote on a proposal that lacks information. Can you share details of who is part of DAOplomats and who is part of DAOstewards? I guess that would be a first step.
We do not aim to represent bDAO in any of the organisations. With this merger, DAOplomats seeks to acquire the much-needed talent to expand and ensure the continued operations of the former DAOstewards team.
We will not be engaging in VitaDAO and Collab, where the BanklessDAO is directly represented through a token swap or a genesis allocation. We will be setting up a new Delegation platform on Safe. Other Delegation platforms that haven’t received any direct delegation from BanklessDAO will either be taken over as it is or merged with existing DAOplomats platforms (Euler, OP, and Uniswap).
Out of the current members of DAOstewards (trackable on the DAO notion), @Jengajojo, @hirokennelly, @WinVerse, and @thinkDecade have already or will be offered the option to continue their engagements through DAOplomats. DAOplomats is also open to covering with any former members who are willing to join our course.
I appreciate your concerns about this sudden change and encourage the DAO to make the necessary next steps in light of this announcement.
