TL;dr

This proposal suggests extending my engagement as a DAO Facilitator and Coordinator for another 6 months, following the DAO’s compensated contributor guidelines. I aim to enhance DAO dynamics, foster accountability, and drive decentralized decision-making. Furthermore, I’ll help bring the new grants program and its strategy into action and support the SSV Foundation on its way to self-sustainability. The proposal is valid from July 1st to December 31st, with a monthly compensation rate of $8,500 in SSV. I dedicate approximately 20 hours weekly and regularly report activities and recommendations to the DAO.

Proposal

Objectives H2 2024

Objective 1: Accompany the SSV Foundation on its final steps towards taking over the IP and operations from SSV Labs, and reach self-sustainability.

• Facilitate the handover of all DAO applications and platforms to the SSV Foundation (Collaboration, Domains, Tooling, etc.).
• Help finalize the SSV Foundation’s budget and service provider selection to guarantee its self-sustainability.

Objective 2: Facilitate the transitioning of the Grants Program to its new strategy and establish proper governance around it.

• Working on the future strategy of the grants program and ensuring its effectiveness through requests for proposals.
• Establish a clear framework for long-term partnerships with grantees leveraging the SSV Foundation.
• Establish a suitable future mode of operation for the grants committee, including new personnel to maintain long-lasting relationships.

Objective 3: Further enhance Team Collaboration and Communication

• Facilitate decision-making and summarize activities in 100% of all cases I engage as a circle’s secretary.
• Implement information hubs or tools that increase transparency and accessibility of information, resulting in an x% reduction in miscommunication instances.
• Establish a feedback loop between all DAO core contributors through effective facilitation and regular all-hands meetings.

Past Key Results (H1 2024):

• Effective continuation of the SSV grants program with several grantees reaching the finish line and several new grants approved by the grants committee.
• Successfully orchestrated the SSV Networks DAO bug-bounty program.
• I represented the DAO's needs, wishes, and activities on several occasions, most notably the first SSV Meetup in Lisbon and several public DAO calls.
• Facilitated decision-making around several proposals in H1 2024.
• I have fostered communication across several working groups by establishing new channels for communication, target at “all-hand” DAO-core contributors. This includes a new “all-hands” meeting happening every 6 weeks and a central place of the SSV’s Discord serer. I have acted as the secretary/facilitator in the dGC, VOC (partially), GC, the Multi-Sig, and the SSV Foundation Working Group.
• I suggest continuing my work on all of the above objectives, further improving the overall collaboration within the DAO and making sure that more contributors can step up and that there is high awareness and transparency among the various contributors.

About Me

👋, my name is Ben (BenAffleck#9383). With a strong presence and extensive involvement in the DAO community for the past three years, I have been actively engaged in various roles and committees. As a DAO ambassador, a member of the DAO genesis committee, a content moderator, and a contributor to various committees such as the verified operator committee and the grants committee, my past contributions can be found across the forum, SSV Network blog, Notion, and Discord. This experience has equipped me with a deep understanding of the DAO’s principles and operations, making me well-positioned to serve as a DAO Facilitator and Coordinator. I am eager to leverage my familiarity with the community and my expertise in facilitating collaboration, low-code automation, and decision-making to further enhance the DAO’s success and growth.

Background

I have dedicated the past few months of my DAO journey to honing my skills as a facilitator and coordinator within dynamic organizational structures. My passion lies in empowering individuals and fostering a culture of autonomy, accountability, and collaboration. I have actively contributed to numerous activities, committees, and working groups, consistently demonstrating my commitment. Some of my notable achievements include:

• Facilitating the transition towards more self-organizing and decentralized structures, resulting in increased engagement, creativity, and ownership among team members.
• Coordinating cross-functional initiatives, ensuring effective communication, alignment, and collaboration across departments and stakeholders.
• Implementing systems and processes that promote transparency, trust, and distributed decision-making, resulting in improved efficiency and effectiveness within teams.

Responsibilities

As a DAO Facilitator and Coordinator, I will undertake the following responsibilities:

• Facilitate and coordinate the most important circle meetings, ensuring all voices are heard, decisions are made collectively, and actions are documented and followed through. Where not available, I’ll take over the role of a secretary in each circle according to the DAO constitution.
• Foster a transparency, trust, and accountability culture by creating systems that encourage open communication, information sharing, and feedback loops. This includes the creation of automated workflows and info hubs on the various platforms used by the DAO, e.g., Notion and Monday. My professional background in low-code technology allows me to be highly effective.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to drive alignment, facilitate decision-making processes, and ensure effective collaboration across circles, especially at the beginning of strategic activities with many unknowns and missing structures.
• Develop and implement frameworks and processes that enable decentralized decision-making, adaptive planning, and continuous improvement, supporting the various activities as part of the DAO genesis and its successor.

Terms of contribution

I shall act under the established compensated contribution guidelines. Logistics and mechanics follow the same guidelines if this proposal does not state otherwise.

Validity

This proposal is valid for 6 months, starting from the 1st of July and ending on the 31st of December 2024. During this time, I will dedicate my expertise and energy to contribute to the success of our DAO and its mission.

Compensation

For my time and effort, I’m asking for a monthly rate of $8500, which is significantly lower than my previous engagements. This is mostly due to the excellent progress of the SSV Foundation and the more effective governance structures, which require less facilitation. To account for this excellent development and as a sign of respect to the DAO and my past activities, I will also remove the bonus clause which was included in my previous engagement.

All payments will be denominated 100% in SSV based on a 30-day trailing price average calculated on the 1st day of the following month. According to the compensated contributor guidelines, I will not receive any additional compensation from working groups, circles, or committees I work with as part of this mandate.

Any committee compensation (grants committee, multi-sig committee) I have received during the validity period of this proposal and the actual date it passes shall be deducted from my first monthly compensation.

Commitment

This is a part-time engagement with an estimated weekly demand of ~20 hours. Over the last three years, I have shown excellent time management and engagement beyond that level in times of high workload or crisis. My primary area and preferred time zone for the length of this engagement are Central Europe and UTC+0, respectively.

Reporting

I will report the activities I perform per my objectives and responsibilities. Reporting shall be done publicly to the DAO on the forum and a specified DAO advisory or steering board at least every second month. The report should include the main objectives for the upcoming month(s), a recap of the activities worked on in the past month(s), ongoing work, and any side objectives, including recommendations to improve the DAO’s efficiency and governance. These objectives are subject to change based on the DAO’s needs.

Acknowledgment and clarifications

As an applicant for a role within the DAO, I acknowledge and understand the effective compensated contributor guidelines and their impact on my role. I appreciate the DAO’s commitment, and I am aligned with the DAO’s values and mission. I acknowledge that these guidelines can be changed at any time, are subject to the DAO’s voting and consensus process, and that continuous refinement is a key aspect of the DAO’s governance structure.

This engagement is not an employment agreement and does not create an employment relationship. As such, the contributor must cover their own tax, healthcare, and workspace expenses, and they shall not be entitled to any benefits such as a pension or health insurance associated with an employment relationship.

The contributor warrants that all activities in the context mentioned in this proposal shall be put to the service of the DAO and the ssv.network and not to any of its members to whom the contributor has no direct relationship or obligation. The contributor does not have the power to commit on behalf of the DAO and shall not present themselves as having such power.