Summary
Q3 2025 saw the govNERDs program transition from 9 team members to 4 selected based on attestation criteria. The team executed all charter responsibilities while adding grant review and BD outreach duties mid-quarter. As of October, the team has transitioned to 3 members following a personnel change.
Charter Responsibility Execution
Voting & Governance Operations
Voting Announcements: Executed the majority of governance announcements, including Token House votes and Citizens House votes. Announcements required minimal Foundation edits.
Vote Copy Creation: Delivered copy for Token House votes and Citizens House veto announcements.
Vote Tracking: This responsibility is being redistributed among the remaining team members following recent personnel changes
Platform Maintenance & Monitoring
Documentation Maintenance: Team members updated the charter and governance documentation, with overall documentation requiring minimal updates during Q3.
Internal Operating Procedures: Maintained existing procedures developed in Seasons 6/7, available at the Core govNERDs Hub. No major changes or refinements were needed this quarter.
Daily Forum & Discord Monitoring: Team maintained daily monitoring of forum activity and Discord channels.
Community Engagement: We have restarted govNERDs community calls, which will occur on the first Tuesday of each voting cycle (every three weeks), now listed on the Optimism governance public calendar as govNERDs Office Hours.
Community Feedback Collection: Responsibility for documenting community feedback for the Season 8 reflection period review is being redistributed among the team.
Multisig Operations
Transaction Execution: Team members served as signers on the Operating Budget multisig, reviewing and executing all transactions within a 72-hour SLA. Zero security incidents.
Public Transparency: Created and maintained a public transaction tracker and Community Budget Tracker. See the Season 8 Budget Transparency Report for detailed tracking of fund distributions and council allocations.
Grants Council Support
grantNERD Operations: All team members served as grantNERDs, managing:
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AI-assisted application reviews meet the expectations of the Grants Council Lead
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BD outreach to encourage quality grant applications
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Application process support and guidance
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Direct coordination with the Grants Council
Our outreach efforts yielded applications from multiple well-known protocols, underscoring the value of proactive engagement. Learn more about grants at opgrants.io and see Season 8 updates.
Ongoing Development
Algorithmic Selection Foundation: Season 9 will include assessment and development of the framework for Season 10’s algorithmic selection process, including expanded attestation criteria and automated qualification systems.
Automation Experiments: Season 9 will explore further improvements and feedback in grant review processes and announcement generation to scale operations.
Growth Opportunities
Cross-Team Coordination
Establish a shared CRM system for protocol outreach. Schedule regular sync meetings between govNERDs and Grants Council (specifically Lead and Ops).
Success Metrics
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Grants Council Satisfaction: Exceeded 7/10 target score
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Security Record: Zero incidents on the Operating Budget multisig
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Vote Announcements: Execution rate with minimal edits
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Documentation Updates: Completed pathway documentation
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Community Engagement: Active daily presence in Discord and forums
Conclusion
Q3 2025 demonstrated that the professionalized govNERDs model delivers on all charter responsibilities while adapting to emerging needs. The team successfully absorbed grant review and BD outreach duties mid-quarter, maintaining operational excellence across all functions.
Moving into Q4, we continue to improve while maintaining our standards with a streamlined 3-member team. The govNERDs Office Hours have resumed and are open to all via the Optimism governance calendar.