Lido Community Lifeguards Initiative

Lido DAO Proposal

(Proposed by LEGO Council)

With Lido V2, the newly rolled out Staking Router will allow for dramatically increased community participation in the Lido protocol as part of the node operator set. New stakers from the Community (node operators) will benefit from contributors lending a helping hand in understanding how to interact with these modules. This initiative will require coordination and an active public presence to communicate and engage with the Ethereum staking community. In order to further the goal of a more open, diverse and, permissionless operator set, this proposal outlines a pilot “Community Lifeguards Initiative” (CLI) which would identify and reward community participants who would bring together existing DAO contributors, community stakers, and the wider Ethereum staking community.

Objective

This proposal is for the Lido DAO to fund the Community Lifeguards Initiative Pilot as described below. The full proposed (maximum) funding amounts are described in detail, as are the suggested structures for LEGO collaboration with the CLI.

Community Lifeguards will actively engage with new individual community stakers, work to create knowledge bases and educational content, help organize community initiatives, represent community operators in Lido DAO discussions and working groups, and provide information during Lido Node Operator community calls. Additionally, they will work together with community participants, other LEGO grant recipients, and third parties to shepherd and facilitate the exploration and usage of community tooling, including but not limited to, initiatives such as:

• Usage of staking clients or software built to help community operators participate (e.g. eth-docker, Stereum, Dappnode, Avado, Nicenode)
• Dashboards and alerting systems for validators run by community operators (e.g. Metrika Relay Monitor)

Duration

The Community Lifeguards Initiative pilot is proposed to commence within Q2/23 and last until Q4/23, at which point LEGO and the Lido DAO should consider whether this initiative is worth continuing, expanding, or sunsetting. Within the pilot period, the initially identified Community Lifeguard(s) should effectively support the growth and success of community staker participation through the initial V2 rollout and new module implementation. After that period, it may make sense for the initiative to expand into a committee or workstream of its own to allow for more robustness of execution.

Scope & Responsibilities

• LEGO shall make an open call for nominees or self-nominated applicants to participate in the Community Lifeguards Initiative (targeting up to ~2-3 full-time equivalents for the pilot). Community Lifeguards may be part-time or full-time. Applications will be open for the length of the pilot, provided there are slots available.
• Nominees will be vetted by LEGO and accepted, via LEGO Council vote, as members of the Community Lifeguard Initiative.
  • If the proposal is approved, applications will be collected and reviewed for a period of 3 weeks (21 days) immediately following approval of the proposal.
  • The results of the LEGO Council vote will be published, along with a list of all applicants (unless the applicants do not wish to be publicly identified).
• One of the accepted participants shall serve as Coordinator, and join as a guest member of LEGO in order to be involved in the assessment of community staker-focused grants and to report on and assess sub-initiatives / projects.

For the pilot program, a maximum of the below funds should be set aside; if additional amounts are required, they should be requested and approved via a new vote (either LEGO or DAO, depending on the size). Based on the delivery of additional staking router modules that enable community operator entry, it may be reasonable to scale up the amounts below in Q3 and Q4 of 2023, and potentially further in 2024.

The funds will be administered by LEGO plus the above-mentioned LEGO-vetted Community Lifeguard Coordinator (where relevant, see below). Roughly, these funds could be utilized in the following manner:

Amount	Use of funds	Approver
Total Funding Requested: 230K LDO, 50K DAI	See below	See below
up to 120K LDO (40K LDO per quarter)	Compensation for Community Lifeguards, based on time and quality of contribution (i.e. approximate max of 13.3K LDO/FTE per quarter at 3 FTEs, where max would indicate exemplary performance)	LEGO (Note, this is not necessarily all to be spent on compensation, but constitutes a maximum)
up to 60K LDO (20K LDO per quarter)	Up to 3K LDO per use as grants towards exemplary participation, value add, or small-scale initiatives in the scope of the initiative (Larger grants can be approved as per normal LEGO approval requirements)	LEGO (>= 2 council members) + Community Lifeguard Coordinator
up to 50K LDO and 50K DAI (In aggregate for Q2-Q4)	Taking over the currently directly LEGO-funded solo stakers’ related initiatives (e.g. Stereum grants and Metrika support)	Community Lifeguard Coordinator + 1x LEGO Council Member (Must be continuation of previous / existing grants or LEGO grant recipients, otherwise can follow normal LEGO approval)

Vote and operations

This proposal will be suggested for approval by the Lido DAO via Snapshot vote. If accepted - 230K LDO and 50K DAI to be transferred via Easy Track motion to LEGO committee multisig.

Additional 2 / 3 multisig (signers to be 2 LEGO council members and 1 Community Lifeguard Coordinator) to be set up which will receive expected monthly grants limited as per above table. In the future (if the pilot considered successful and the initiative continue is approved by the Lido DAO) it may be extended with other participants to accommodate a greater amounts according to Lido DAO ops multisigs policy.

The multisig address and participants to be provided in replies to this proposal upon settling.

The Community Lifeguards will be responsible for the following tasks

• Engaging with Lido Community Operators, documenting their concerns, and collecting feedback.
• Representing the voice of the Community Operators in Lido internal discussions, ensuring that their interests are considered in the decision-making process.
• Providing regular Community Operator-focused updates during Lido Node Operator community calls.
• Collaborating with Lido’s marketing and communication teams to develop and implement strategies for increasing Community Operator engagement and awareness.
• Identifying opportunities for LEGO grants (e.g. community staker tooling) and facilitating the grants process for such initiatives (e.g. via RFPs, one-offs, or repetitive/milestone-grants).
• Identifying opportunities for collaboration with other Ethereum staking projects and fostering new initiatives within the Ethereum staking community.
• Participating in community events, webinars, and AMAs as members of the Lido ecosystem and staker community.
• Creating knowledge bases for stakers interested in participating as Lido Node Operators across different module design types.

Goal

The goal of the Community Lifeguards initiative is to significantly increase and diversify the operators participating in the Lido on Ethereum protocol while fostering a vibrant and inclusive community.

Vision

The Community Lifeguards Initiative envisions a collaborative and supportive environment where all stakeholders can actively engage in the Lido ecosystem. It aims to create a strong sense of community that encourages participation, facilitates knowledge sharing, and fosters innovation within the Ethereum staking community.

Metrics

The success of the initiative can be gauged using the following metrics:

1. Working closely with contributors, operators, module developers to determine what kinds of potential would be realizable by Q4 2023, and reporting on the results.
2. Defining what kinds of success metrics may be used by the Lido DAO and contributors to assess the success of an expanded (post Q4 2023) Community Lifeguards Initiative.
3. Engagement in Lido community channels: Measuring the activity levels in Lido-related community channels (such as Discord, Telegram, and forums) will indicate the level of participation and enthusiasm within the community.
4. Satisfaction survey results: Conducting periodic surveys to assess community operator satisfaction with the support provided by Community Lifeguards will offer insights into the effectiveness of the initiative.
5. Educational content created and shared: Tracking the number of knowledge base articles, guides, and tutorials produced by Community Lifeguards will help evaluate their efforts in educating community operators and the wider Ethereum staking community.
6. Attendance and participation in community events: Measuring the level of engagement in community events, webinars, and AMAs will help assess the impact of the Community Lifeguards initiative.

By monitoring these metrics, LEGO and the Lido DAO will be able to determine the success of the pilot and decide whether to continue, expand, or sunset the Community Lifeguards Initiative after the pilot period. This data-driven approach will ensure that resources are allocated effectively and that the initiative delivers tangible benefits to the Lido ecosystem and the broader Ethereum staking community.

Qualifications

Community Lifeguards should possess the following qualifications

• Deep understanding of Ethereum staking and familiarity with staking as a solo operator.
• Familiarity with Lido’s vision, objectives, and technology stack.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with a proven ability to engage and motivate community members.
• Experience and expertise in creating educational content, simplifying technical writing, and leading community sessions.
• Community Lifeguards Coordinators may be part-time or full-time.

Conclusion

As Lido V2 introduces the infrastructure for new modules and expands its offering to the Ethereum staking community and solo stakers, having a dedicated Community Lifeguards will be crucial for fostering engagement and ensuring effective communication with community stakeholders.

If you are interested in applying, please contact LEGO. Applications should all be public on the research.lido.fi forums.