[SEP 52] [OBRA] Contribution Efficiency System (CES) Bridge Extension - Areta

Please refer to the full proposal text on the SafeDAO forum. Some parts may have been removed to fit within the character limit on Snapshot.

Title:

Contribution Efficiency System (CES) Bridge Extension

Authors:

@bernard @fin_areta

Abstract

The CES has established itself as the operational layer enabling the seamless functioning of OBRA. Essentially, the system manages all interactions with initiatives, including onboarding, tracking, monitoring, payouts, and reporting.

Building on its successful performance during the first term, the CES was voted to extend its mandate for an additional 3 months to continue supporting OBRA operations until there is greater clarity regarding the revamped council structures. This phase is now approaching its conclusion.

With the new council structure taking shape, the CES is assisting in the council’s initiation and exploring ways to integrate its best elements into the revamped council framework. For the interim period, the CES proposes to continue its support for an additional three months to align with the extended timelines for council restructuring.

Aligned strategy:

[Strategy 5]: Increase governance participation

Funding request:

$21,000 USDC

Reduced pricing reflects the streamlined operation of the program and is contains goodwill, given our history of collaboration with SafeDAO to meet the current OBRA budget constraints of $21k left in the strategy.

Relation to Budget:

Total Budget: 7%, Remaining Budget: 0%

Metrics & KPIs

The CES KPIs are building up on the last 2 phases and are streamlined to focus on core operation outcomes. Find key KPIs below:

1. Overall CES Onboarding and MS-setting takes 30 mins
   [Onboarding & Milestone Setting]

2. 90% of OBRA initiatives give updates on time
   [Tracking]

3. CES meaningfully supports set-up of OBRA Council
   [OBRA Council Support]

Initiative Description

Since its inception in January 2024, the CES has been an essential component of a functioning OBRA.

A comprehensive report on its key learnings has been shared within Governance, and these insights have been incorporated into the most recent iteration of the program. In the last iteration, the team successfully streamlined many of its operations. While the outcome report for this iteration is still in progress (as it is on schedule), the extended timeline for OBRA council restructuring has created a critical need for an extension of the program as soon as possible.

Once the council structures are established, the CES team will actively work to support a long-term operational plan.

To ensure flexibility and emphasize bridging the gap, the extension will be structured so that, if the OBRA council structures are set up earlier and the CES is no longer needed, operations can cease at any time, and unused funds will be returned to the treasury/OBRA allocation. In summary, through this proposal the CES aims to continue operations to: Bridge the operations gap until revamped council structures Maintain support for the entire life cycle of OBRA initiatives Organize and lead token-holder interaction points Provide quality comprehensive reporting on OBRA initiatives to the DAO Initiative OBRA troubleshooting and program support Maintain OBRA and initiative updates via CES Notion Hub Further improvement of the next generation of OBRA

Current Status

The CES was initially approved and funded as an OBRA proposal in January 2024 and later extended in XYZ for an additional 3.5 months. Since then, the CES has supported the onboarding and alignment of 21 OBRA initiatives, as well as the offboarding of 8 completed initiatives. See overview here.

As the operational layer in the OBRA process, the CES team has developed deep familiarity with the OBRA workflow, including the diverse requirements of its various stakeholders. With this proposal, the team aims to continue supporting these OBRA initiatives in the most efficient manner possible while contributing to the broader Safe ecosystem. This approach will enable the DAO to transition toward a revised and more advanced OBRA program in the future.

Risks

As with the former iterations of the CES, the primary risk of this initiative remains that improper execution could add an additional layer of confusion rather than facilitate the intended outcomes. However, given the existing execution without issue across similar lines and this extension proposal to continue, not add, operations to the program this risk is minimal.

Timeline & Milestones

| Timeline | Focus | USDC | Deliverables | |--------------|---------------------------------|--------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3 Months | Operational Management & Continuity | 21,000 (reduced fee) | Continue executing operational onboarding, milestone-setting, tracking, and reporting outcomes for the DAO. |

Initiative Lead

Areta Governance is the leading governance strategy firm focused on ecosystem growth. We have had the privilege to serve industry leaders such as Uniswap, Arbitrum, Safe, Aave, and dYdX.

Our mission with Areta is to grow the number of high-quality builders in decentralized ecosystems. To address this, we tackle the biggest challenge faced by DAOs and Foundations — ineffective capital allocation — by implementing solutions for smart capital activation. Our connected investment bank with deep strategic expertise, enables us to serve our partners holistically, rather than working in isolated governance silos.

We have been actively involved in SafeDAO’s governance, including co-authoring and contributing to significant OBRA proposals (Link 1, Link 2), shaping the last token transferability milestones (OBRA and Token Utility), having many interactions with Guardians on- and offline, and see ourselves as long-term supporters of the ecosystem.

As in the prior iteration, we intend to work in a team-based approach for this extension. For the project duration, Areta will staff a team, including a part-time manager who will oversee an execution associate. We also have the capability to pull in additional associate/research resources if needed at no extra costs to the DAO.