There’s not much I can really add to what’s been discussed above, but I’d like to offer a few thoughts as the inaugural RFG lead and one of the main proponents of getting something like this started in the first place.
For governance to work in distributing resources, it must first resolve what we are trying to achieve as a collective and on how best to get there. Intents are a huge step in this direction, and I think RFGs are another. In both cases, these initiatives have helped push Optimism’s grants program toward a more proactive and forward-thinking orientation, something that is rare (and necessary) in the space.
Internally, RFGs focused on three core objectives, all intended to increase the number of active builders on Optimism:
- decreasing startup costs (RFGs 2, 3, 5)
- improving developer quality of life and advancing infrastructure (RFGs 1, 4, 8)
- supporting developer communities across key verticals (RFGs 6, 7)
Several of these RFGs are effectively shifting the burden of responsibility from app developers to Optimism as a community, something no ecosystem fund to my knowledge has done; we’re going to be the first to, for instance, assist projects with audits and key infrastructural services, and that’s potentially a huge deal.
Pursuing this strategy was risky; we had no idea how many projects were even going to go for this. I’m happy to say that the response blew past our expectations, and I’m hopeful that this is going to yield some big things for Optimism in the near future.
I’m grateful to all the proposers who took the risk of partnering with us at this early, experimental stage. Although I’m not a badgeholder, I hope that Citizens recognize the leap some of these proposers have made when considering how to distribute RPGF this season; simply showing up to contribute is going to have big impact for us.
I’d also like to thank voters for trusting me to contribute to the grants council this season; special thanks go out to my fellow councilmembers who’ve been supportive through a challenging season, to @danelund.eth for the chance to give this new structure a shot, and to @lavande for being a tireless guide for us and for governance. It’s been a marathon, but I think we can be confident that at this stage, through RFGs and everything else we’ve been iterating on, we’re pushing the limits of what a decentralized community grant program can do.