Summary:
The AdvocatesDAO of The Graph has established a grant distribution process that utilizes community voting and committee reviews for grant vetting and approval. While this method has shown success, it also presents opportunities for significant enhancements, notably in fraud detection, grantee accountability, and applicant reputation assessment. This proposal aims to address these areas with the ultimate ambition of refining the integrity of grant distribution.
The existing process demonstrates competence in managing the distribution of grants. Nonetheless, there are areas that could benefit from improvement:
- Early detection of potential Sybil accounts
- Rigorous monitoring of grantees’ progress
- Deeper insight into applicant reputation within web3 communities
This proposal suggests enhancing this process by integrating tools provided by Gitcoin. Gitcoin Passport will aid in identifying Sybil accounts and assessing applicant reputation. Gitcoin Builder will facilitate applicants in project creation, while Gitcoin Manager will assist the grant committee in project review and progress tracking.
While quantifying benefits at this stage might prove challenging, the proposed changes aim to significantly enhance the quality and accountability of grant recipients and amplify the overall impact of distributed grants. Use of Gitcoin’s established tools aligns AdvocatesDAO with a tested protocol for grant distribution.
Anticipated challenges primarily involve the learning curve associated with the introduction of new tools into the grant process. To facilitate a smooth transition and enhance user proficiency, the implementation of comprehensive training and education initiatives is recommended. These initiatives will help familiarize both applicants and the grant committee with Gitcoin tools, thus showcasing their benefits and boosting efficiency in grant management.
This proposal signifies a crucial stride towards continually refining processes, bolstering community trust, and advancing the strategic objectives of The Graph’s AdvocatesDAO.
Problem Statement
The AdvocatesDAO grant distribution process faces certain challenges in its current form. These include Sybil attacks and some applicants with opportunistic intentions, seeking to extract value from the DAO without sufficient value return.
Existing progress monitoring and applicant reputation assessment procedures are manually intensive and may not accurately reflect an applicant’s commitment and reputation in the web3 ecosystem. This situation is further complicated by instances of grantees not fully fulfilling their commitments, leading to resource misappropriation.
The lack of robust solutions for fraud detection, progress monitoring, and reputation assessment affects the process’s integrity and efficiency. Addressing these challenges is essential to ensure the effectiveness of AdvocatesDAO’s grant distribution and maintain trust within the community.
Objectives
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Enhance Fraud Detection: Leverage Gitcoin Passport for early identification of potential Sybil attacks and opportunistic applications, aiming to improve the integrity of the grant selection process.
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Improve Progress Monitoring: Utilize Gitcoin Manager to develop a more efficient system for tracking grantees’ progress, thereby ensuring the optimal use of granted resources and timely fulfillment of commitments.
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Deepen Reputation Assessment: Employ Gitcoin Passport and Gitcoin Builder to implement a comprehensive system for assessing applicants’ prior engagements, contributions, and standing within web3 communities, providing a more nuanced understanding of each applicant’s credibility.
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Boost Grantee Accountability: Encourage a higher level of responsibility among grantees by implementing stricter accountability measures, fostering a culture of trust and reliability within the community.
Proposed Changes
The proposed changes aim to streamline the entire grant distribution process, from application to post-grant evaluation, enhancing its efficiency, security, and transparency. Ultimately, this will improve the integrity of grant distribution by AdvocatesDAO.
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Application: Recommend the use of Gitcoin Passport during the application process to identify potential Sybil accounts and assess the reputation of applicants within the web3 community.
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Review and Selection: Propose the use of the Gitcoin Manager app by the grant committee to efficiently review applicant profiles and their projects.
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Fund Distribution: Encourage grant applicants to use the Gitcoin Builder app to create projects and milestones. This will assist in monitoring the progress of funded projects and facilitate staged fund distribution based on achieved milestones.
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Post-Grant Evaluation: Define stricter rules for milestone submissions and progress reporting. This will enhance post-grant evaluations by fostering transparency and accountability among grant recipients.
Anticipated Benefits
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Enhanced Fraud Detection: Utilization of Gitcoin Passport for application vetting will significantly reduce the instances of Sybil attacks and opportunistic applications, ensuring resources are allocated to genuine projects.
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Improved Grantee Accountability: The integration of the Gitcoin Builder and Manager apps will enable a more efficient and thorough monitoring of grantees’ progress, ensuring optimal resource utilization and the completion of commitments as per schedule.
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Deeper Applicant Reputation Assessment: The Gitcoin Passport will provide a more comprehensive reputation assessment system, enabling a deeper understanding of applicants’ past engagements and standing within the web3 community.
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Improved Grant Efficacy: Overall, these changes are expected to result in more effective grant distribution with improved accountability, leading to higher quality outcomes from funded projects and a more impactful utilization of AdvocatesDAO’s resources.
Conclusion
This proposal presents a strategic opportunity to significantly enhance the grant distribution process at AdvocatesDAO. By integrating Gitcoin tools, we expect to elevate our capability in fraud detection, grantee monitoring, and reputation assessment, thereby enhancing the integrity and efficacy of our grant distribution.
Anticipated challenges such as the learning curve associated with new tools can be managed through comprehensive training and education initiatives. These changes represent a proactive step towards continual improvement, underlying AdvocatesDAO’s commitment to strengthening our community and advancing our strategic goals.
With careful implementation and monitoring, this proposal can set the stage for a more efficient, accountable, and impact-focused grant distribution process, ensuring that the AdvocatesDAO resources are used to foster meaningful and innovative contributions to the web3 community.