[5.17.1] [Social] Funding Request: ENS Meta-Governance Working Group Term 5 (Oct. Window)

Abstract

The Meta-Governance Working Group is responsible for providing governance oversight and supporting the management and operation of working groups through DAO tooling and governance initiatives as well as treasury management for the DAO.

This social proposal is submitted to satisfy the requirements set out in Rule 10.1.1 of the Working Group Rules (EP 1.8) and further required by this snapshot proposal in Nov. 2023 modifying steward rules. If this proposal is passed, the funding request will be included in a collective executable proposal put forward by all three Working Groups.

Specification

This specification is the amount requested from the DAO treasury to the Metagov Multisig to fulfill anticipated budgetary needs through the next formal funding window in April 2025.

| | USDC | ETH | $ENS | | --- |:----:|:---:|:----:| ENS Meta-Gov Main Multisig | 254k|0 | 0 |

This amount will cover all expected expenses outlined below while leaving a 100k prudent reserve to ensure continuity if future funding is delayed.

Description

Current Metagov Wallet Balances

| | USDC | ETH | $ENS | | --- |:----:|:---:|:----:| ENS Meta-Gov Main Multisig | 286k | 83.7 | 51 | *Up to date balance information can be found at https://enswallets.xyz

Expenditures

Meta-Gov sets aside funds to ensure coverage for mission-critical initiatives. While we strive to estimate term expenditures accurately, the final spending depends on pending initiatives.

Expected Expenses through April 2025

| | USDC | ETH | $ENS | | -------------------------------- | ----------- | ----- | ----- | | Steward + Secretary Compensation ¹ | 294k | - | | | Governance | - | - | - | | Contract Audits | 155k | | | | DAO Tooling | 150k | - | - | | Discretionary | 40k | - | - | | Total Balance | 639k | - | - |

Governance Distributions

The governance distribution strategy for Term 6 will be announced and posted as a temp check in the forum. This strategy will then be codified by a DAO vote.

Description of Initiatives/Pods

Steward + Secretary Compensation: Working Group Steward and Secretary compensation as required by revised steward working group rules and totaling $294,000 USDC to cover the costs for all 9 stewards and supporting roles for a 6 month period. ¹This is the expected compensation amount based on existing compensation. The Meta-governance working group is required by EP 4.8 to announce compensation ahead of the next term's steward nominations. The current Term 5 stewards will also be proposing Term 6 compensation numbers to the DAO to ensure consensus. This proposal will take place before the Term 6 nominations to comply with [EP 4.8]

Governance: Fee reimbursements and initiatives related to reducing friction in the governance process. This can also include $ENS distributed in order to lower barriers to the governance proposal process. The $ENS distributions to stewards and service providers falls into this category.

Contract Audits: Meta-governance maintains a balance to be used for contract audits. These audits are performed independently on contracts that are to be included in executable proposals if those contracts impact or affect any ENS protocol or ENS DAO contracts or processes. Examples would be any proposed changes to the ENS DAO governor contract or protocol related contracts such as the registrar. This line item is larger than normal because Meta-governance is anticipating potential audits for both governor upgrades and contracts from Service Providers that are contributing to the ENS v2 work.

DAO Tooling: Developing interfaces and dashboards to improve the governance process and increase transparency across the DAO. An example of DAO tooling spend is our current engagement with Agora as they help build out an enhanced DAO proposal flow to streamline the proposal process.

Discretionary: Funds distributed at the discretion of stewards towards new initiatives + governance experiments. In this cycle, we've consolidated the former DAO Sponsorship category into this discretionary category.

Conclusion

This funding request will allow the ENS Meta-Governance Working Group to continue its essential work in providing governance oversight, supporting the management and operation of working groups, and ensuring effective treasury management for the DAO. The requested funds will enable us to maintain our ongoing initiatives and develop new tools to enhance the governance process. We are grateful for the community's ongoing support and engagement, which is crucial to the success of the ENS DAO. The Meta-Governance Working Group remains committed to serving the ENS community and driving the long-term growth and sustainability of the ecosystem.