Gov Update #4: Kicking off Season 2
After taking some valuable time to reflect on Season 1, we’re refreshed and ready to kick off a new and improved Season 2! This governance update includes a summary of updates from the Reflection Period, a recap of Voting Cycle #5, and all the information you’ll need to contribute in Season 2.
What’s New?: Reflection Period Recap
After wrapping up Season 1, we took two weeks to reflect and make improvements to the OP governance process. This iterative feedback process resulted in the following governance updates for Season 2:
- an updated Operating Manual v2
- an updated Grant Proposal Template (including additional guidance on the purpose and use of grant funding)
- Introducing Committees
- a new Committee Formation Template (only applicable for Special Voting Cycle #5; committee formation proposals cannot be submitted during Season 2.)
Season 2 will operate according to the policies outlined in the above documents, which will be re-evaluated in the next Reflection Period in November.
While we provided some additional clarification as to the purpose of the Governance Fund during the Reflection Period, we’ve received additional feedback requesting more guidance on the goals of the Governance Fund.
Purpose:
“The purpose of the Governance Fund is to incentivize sustainable growth of projects and communities in the Optimism ecosystem. This does not mean that all grants must be incentive programs. The Token House is welcome to consider any and all proposals which would drive growth or address a gap in the Optimism ecosystem, including public goods projects.
However, it does mean that funding should come with an expectation of growth-related deliverables. It is not the intended purpose of the governance fund to retroactively fund public goods without an expectation of future work—there is a distinct OP allocation dedicated to this, which will be distributed via the Citizens House at a later date.”
Near Term Goals:
Target L1 applications with PMF: To the extent that Ethereum has legitimate usage on L1, we should seek to migrate that usage to Optimism. The Governance Fund should support the migration of trusted, proven applications currently deployed on L1s.
Grow population of values-aligned builders: To be the home for the next wave of novel applications, the Governance Fund should support developers launching novel applications that will draw new users to Optimism.
Introducing Committees
Reflection Periods culminate with a Special Voting Cycle. Special Voting Cycle #5 focused on establishing a set of experimental committees for Season 2. We’re excited to announce the implementation of 4 new committees:
Committees aim to alleviate the amount of work required of delegates by segmenting proposals among smaller, focused groups. These committees will primarily perform information filtering and synthesis, making non-binding recommendations to other delegates. Delegates that specialize in a particular topic can defer to the recommendation of relevant committees on topics outside their area of expertise/interest. Delegates may also choose to vote against the recommendation of any committee, provided they provide their reasoning for doing so. Committees will post their recommendations in Forum threads for reference by other delegates no later than 3 days after Week 3 of the Voting Cycle begins.
Committees are experimental and will be implemented throughout Season 2. They will be re-evaluated during the next Reflection Period and any committees that continue on in Season 3 will need to be re-approved during Special Voting Cycle #9. You can read more about committees here.
Kicking off Season 2: Voting Cycle #6
Season 2 has officially begun with the kick off of Voting Cycle #6, which will run from September 8th - September 28th at 7pm GMT.
Voting Cycle #6 will follow the new three-week voting cycle:
Week 1: Community feedback (← we are here at time of posting!)
Week 2: Delegate feedback
Week 3: Voting
This Season, Committees will make recommendations on proposals. Proposers should specify which committee they want to review their proposal in their grant proposal. Delegates should consider the recommendations of committees but are not obligated to vote according to their recommendations. Delegates that choose to vote against the recommendation of committees should provide their reasoning for doing so.
Up Next: What to Expect in Season 2
- Season 2 will run from September 8th - November 9th at 7pm GMT
- Season 2 will be followed by a 1 week Off-Season, during which time Committees will create reports on their activity throughout the Season and allocate the retroactive component of their compensation
- The 3 week Reflection Period will run from November 17th - December 7th at 7pm GMT
- A Special Voting Cycle #9 will begin after the Reflection Period and will run for 13 days, from Dec 8th until Dec 21st at 7p GMT. This voting cycle will only include process improvements and will not include grant proposals
- Season 3 will begin on December 22nd with Voting Cycle #10, which will resume all proposals. The governance process will follow any new processes introduced and approved during the Reflection Period and subsequent Special Voting Cycle.
Thank you to our community for your feedback, consistent engagement, and commitment to iterating with us to make OP governance better each Season.
As always,
Stay Optimistic!