[1IP-54] Recognized Delegates Program Renewal

Simple Summary Renew the Recognised Delegates Program for 12 months, by allocating 100,000 USDC. This program promotes community-led governance in 1inchDAO by incentivising active participation and retaining talent.

Abstract

Inspired by the success of the original RDP, this proposal suggests renewing the Recognized Delegates Program (RDP) by 12 months and funding it with 100,000 USDC. This move will promote further decentralisation and community led governance for the 1inchDAO.

Motivation

The Recognized Delegates program, which was proposed last year, was able to incentivize high-quality delegates to contribute to the governance of the 1inch DAO as well as incentivize new delegates to participate in the governance of the DAO. Inspired by this success, we believe that renewing the current version of the program will continue to create positive change in the management of the 1inchDAO

Specification

Overview: A recognised delegate is an elected, paid position of reputable, diligent and qualified 1inch DAO members who will work closely with the team and contribute to the growth and sustainability of the 1inchDAO.

Recognized delegates fall into three categories, called ‘Tiers’, based on their performance and voting weight. Irrespective of which tier a delegate belongs to, as long as a delegate fulfils the responsibilities outlined below and gets accepted via a snapshot vote, the delegate shall be considered as a ‘Recognized Delegate’

Responsibilities:

Read, understand, and provide feedback if necessary on governance forum posts. Always vote in the best interests of the DAO and the community over their personal interests. Actively vote on governance proposals and explain the thinking behind each vote when relevant. Understand the 1inch Network, its key metrics and the overall ecosystem. Compensation: This Recognised Delegates Programme aims to attract and retain entities and individuals who will actively participate in governance on behalf of 1INCH token-holders as governance specialists. Hence we suggest compensating the delegates based on minimum participation and performance.

Delegates will be compensated based on the tiers.

Compensation eligibility: Minimum Participation: A delegate must maintain at least ‘x’% participation rate. Participation is measured as voting in any “temperature check” or a snapshot governance vote.

Minimum Communication: A delegate must maintain at least ‘y’ % communication rate. Communication is measured as providing for any “temperature check” or a snapshot governance vote, a summary, a voting position, and a justification for that position. A missed vote will still require communication to avoid a lower communication rate.

Minimum Delegation Threshold: To remain eligible for delegate incentives, a delegate must maintain voting weight of at least ‘z’ Unicorn Power (UP)

*above calculations will be made from the time a delegate is accepted as a recognized delegate by the DAO by following the procedure outlined below

Procedure: In order to get accepted as a ‘Recognized delegate’ by following the process below:

Phase 1: Announce your candidacy by filling the Recognized Delegate Application Template [here] and posting it to the Recognized Delegates category of the forum

Phase 2: Contact relevant stakeholder to gather feedback and support

Phase 3: Open a temperature check poll to gauge consensus

Phase 4: Post your proposal on snapshot

Recognized Delegates: DAOplomats and StableLab were voted in by the 1inch DAO via governance as tier 3 recognized delegates and will continue in the same position as we advance.

We suggest that new delegates, Michigan Blockchain, FranklinDAO, and Curia should be upgraded to become tier 1 delegates upon receiving sufficient voting weight in delegation. The DAO should take steps to help these groups reach T1 status

Rationale

This renewal will promote further decentralisation and community led governance for the 1inchDAO by retaining current talent and providing incentives for new delegates to increase their activity.

Considerations

The DAO should takes steps in order to speed up the governance process in order to keep delegates engaged in the program

In terms of budget, we suggest setting aside 100,000 USDC to run this program over 12 months. This budget includes compensation for existing delegates according to their tiers as well as a small buffer for potential new delegates who can join this program