Summary
This proposal suggests implementing a six-month trial for a Recognised Delegates Programme(RDP) within Shutter DAO. The aim is to increase governance participation by attracting and compensating skilled delegates who can support the long-term sustainability of Shutter DAO.
Motivation
Out of the 207M+ circulating SHU tokens, governance participation remains low, with fewer than 40M tokens consistently involved in decision-making. Despite holding significant voting power, many top delegates exhibit participation rates below 50%, with some as low as 10% or even 0%. This low participation rate poses a substantial vulnerability, as an attacker would need to acquire just over 40M tokens—currently valued at less than $1M—to potentially exploit the treasury, which holds $5M in stablecoins. Declining engagement (as highlighted in the latest delegates call) in governance will further amplify this risk.
In contrast, several highly engaged delegates, who maintain high voting participation and contribute actively to Forum discussions, provide a crucial layer of protection by helping meet quorum requirements and preventing malicious proposals from passing. To strengthen governance and mitigate the risk of an attack on the treasury, we propose delegating a portion of the 500M SHU tokens held in the treasury to these active, value-aligned delegates. Empowering committed participants will foster a more secure and resilient governance system.
Below is an updated summary of the participation of delegates since the January update
Name | Address | Total Votes | Participation% |
---|---|---|---|
d1xia | 0x39EE88e8c70f289a28892D062aB0D4EB06432Fa0 | 13 | 39.4% |
DAOplomats | 0x057928bc52bD08e4D7cE24bF47E01cE99E074048 | 25 | 75.8% |
Jacob Czepluch | 0x06c2c4dB3776D500636DE63e4F109386dCBa6Ae2 | 29 | 87.8% |
Kleros Labs | 0xffFA76e332cA7afaae3931cb5d513B7fd681C4CF | 16 | 48.5% |
Lanski | 0xB6647e02AE6Dd74137cB80b1C24333852E4AF890 | 16 | 48.5% |
Mikko Ohtamaa | 0x61C2dAE896f93e5f0f10425914CE7868eE8A0e44 | 11 | 33.4% |
Philippe Schommers | 0xF23fd62E9566262a009851D0C0E70B3280e2EAd7 | 0 | 0 |
5pence.eth | 0xe52C39327FF7576bAEc3DBFeF0787bd62dB6d726 | 29 | 87.8% |
Shutter DAO requires efficient governance to support its evolving needs as a protocol focused on mitigating malicious MEV (Maximum Extractable Value) through encryption technologies. Governance specialisation, as seen in traditional organisations, increases productivity and effectiveness within these organisations. Shutter DAO can minimise governance inefficiencies by introducing the Recognised Delegates Programme(RDP) while enhancing strategic alignment and decision-making capacity.
Specification
What is a Recognised Delegate?
A recognised delegate is a reputable and skilled Shutter DAO member who actively contributes to governance and helps grow the DAO. These individuals will collaborate with the community and Shutter’s core team.
Eligibility Criteria:
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A minimum of 500,000 SHU voting weight
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Must have at least 50% participation rate in Snapshot voting, as measured from the three months prior to the date the proposal goes live.
Responsibilities of recognised delegates:
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Review governance proposals and offer detailed feedback.
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Vote on all governance proposals with transparency, providing justifications for votes when relevant.
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Stay informed about Shutter DAO’s key metrics and ecosystem.
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Delegates must set clear goals and KPIs for the six -month trial.
Framework for Delegate Recognition:
To apply, each delegate must create a delegate platform which includes the following items:
Delegate Application
Applicant Information:
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Name:
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Voting address, ENS:
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Twitter:
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Website:
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Delegate profile link on Boardroom:
Applicant Overview
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Brief description
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Key team members and their relevant experience
Performance & Expertise
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Experience relevant to the role’s responsibilities
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Potential conflicts of interest (if any)
Compensation:
Each recognised delegate will receive 70,000 SHU per month during the trial, contingent on the following minimum requirements:
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70% participation in governance as measured from the start of the trial progam.
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70% communication rate, which includes posting short summaries of the voting rationale on their delegate platform thread.
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Maintaining a voting weight of at least 500,000 SHU.
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Attending atleast 70% community calls.
Program Manager
In order to facilitate the smooth functioning of the RDP, we propose having an experienced program manager familiar with such operations in other DAOs. DAOplomats has been successfully running such a program at 1inch DAO for over 1.5 yrs and, barring any objections from the community, will steward this epoch of the RDP
Responsibilities
The program manager will oversee end to end execution of the RDP, which includes:
- Announcing the program kickstart dates.
- Verifying if applicants meet the criteria
- Processing monthly payments as well as gas reimbursements, through a Safe subDAO using decent.
- Keeping track of expenses and reporting the same to the DAO
- Communicating with the stakeholders regarding the ongoing operations of the program
- Submitting a report at the end of the program stating key achievements, learnings, and suggestions for future iterations
If successful, the program manager will receive retroactive compensation of 400,000 SHU upon posting a report of the program activities and achievements.
Gas Fee compensation
All eligible participants will receive a gas fee compensation for each vote they cast, irrespective of fulfilment of the above-mentioned criteria. Gas reimbursement will be paid in SHU tokens at a price equivalent to 30 Day Moving Average of the ETH-SHU onchain price. The gas rebate shall be paid along with the retroactive compensation for the program manager via a separate proposal
Program Timeline
- If this proposal is approved, the program manager will submit a Forum post announcing the commencement of the program and inviting applicants to create a delegate platform. Delegates with an existing platform do not need to create a new post and can update their existing thread.
- The program manager shall submit a final post with eligible delegates and request a budget from the DAO to run the program via an onchain vote.
- The budget shall include a maximum compensation for each delegate for six months.
- The program manager shall submit a monthly post outlining the compensated delegates.
- The program manager shall submit a report within one week of the final payment.
Considerations
Shutter DAO should explore building a dashboard to track delegate performance. This will allow the community to easily audit voting records and delegate contributions.
Next Steps:
Collect feedback from the community.