Vote Proposal Process

Below is an explanation of the MonkeDAO voting and governance process.

MonkeDAO

Vote Proposal Process

Summary:

– Proposals will undergo a 3-Step Process to gather community input and feedback before going to a binding vote.

– The 3 Steps are: Community Proposal and Discussion -> Governance Review and Input -> Formal Vote

– Any verified DAO member can submit a proposal, and any proposal that meets the minimum voting requirements will progress through the steps.

Overview:

As we progress towards a fully decentralized DAO, we want to standardize the proposal and voting process. If these proposals are ultimately to be voted on to shape the policy of the DAO, they deserve to be molded by the members of the DAO. To achieve this goal, a 3-Step Proposal Process will be implemented to help innovative community members realize their ideas with the support and endorsement of the DAO.

Step 1: Community Proposal and Discussion

It is important that all proposals evolve through community discussion. Any verified MonkeDAO member can create a vote proposal within #vote-proposals. All vote proposals must be posted in the following standard format:

- - Proposal Name
  - Author Name/Discord ID
  - Summary
  - Overview
  - Goals / Evaluation Metrics
  - Benefits to DAO & Individual Members
  - Risks & Concerns
  - Timeline/Roadmap
  - Treasury Spending
  - Informal voting mechanism: 👍 and 👎

The author should create a new thread for discussion and community input.

All proposals will remain active for discussion and polling for five (5) days*. The voting method used during this period will enable members to change their votes up until the deadline, allowing for changes in position as discussion evolves. The author(s) are encouraged to interact with the community and be accessible to answer questions. At the end of five (5) days*, if the poll passes with a simple majority (51%) and at least 3% of the DAO supporting, it will progress to a Governance Review.

* The Monke Executive team retains the right to alter the voting period for any proposal (with documented reasoning) e.g. if there is very clear support in excess of the quorum, the vote could be moved to Step 2 sooner; or if the proposal is very contentious, the discussion period could be extended.

Step 2: Governance Review and Input

During this early stage of our DAO, all proposals will face a policy review by the Governance committee and/or Monke Executive team. While the goal is to gradually reduce the need for this stage, there initially needs to be a human level of checks-and-balances while our voting methods and requirements are developed. The vast majority of the DAO is focused on our shared success, but we always need a plan for potential bad actors abusing our nascent voting tools.

When a proposal passes its initial vote, it will move on to a brief review by the Governance committee and/or Monke Executive team. These teams have two (2) days* to review the proposal and note their concerns. The author has 24 hours to respond and may either amend the proposal to reflect the concerns of the relevant teams, or the proposal will be amended by the Monke Executive team to reflect their concerns.

During this preliminary stage, the Monke Executive team retains the right to remove proposals they deem to be joke proposals, in bad faith, or intentionally damaging to the DAO – but will always be transparent regarding the decision-making process and open to community input. Such a removal requires approval of 51% of the Monke Executive team.

* The vote can immediately proceed to the next step if agreed upon by the Governance committee or Monke Executive team, as well as the author.

Step 3: Formal Vote

The successful proposal will be announced as a binding vote to the DAO via appropriate channels and posted to #votes. The voting duration, minimum quorum and minimum passing vote requirements will be based on the below categories:

Proposal Categories:

NOTE: All decisions that require spending from the DAO treasury will be subject to final review and approval by the Monke Executive team. This is exclusively to protect against unforeseen exploits or bad behavior.

Proposals of DAO projects will similarly be reviewed by the Monke Executive team to ensure they are actually possible for the DAO to carry out and complete. Proposals for DAO projects which include a nominated team to carry out the project have a much higher chance of success. The Monke Executive team will always respect good faith decisions made on the DAOs behalf and will always be transparent in any decisions made regarding proposals.

General (No Treasury Spending)

These proposals require no spending from the DAO treasury, no external actions taken by the DAO (endorsement, partnership, etc.), and make no alterations to fundamental DAO policy.

Minimum vote duration: 2 days

Minimum quorum: 10%

Minimum passing vote: 51%

General (Requires Treasury Spending) *

These proposals require no external actions taken by the DAO (endorsement, partnership, etc.), and make no alterations to fundamental DAO policy, but do require financial support from the Treasury.

Minimum vote duration: 2 days

Minimum quorum: 10%

Minimum passing vote: 66%

Major Partnerships/Endorsements (No Treasury Spending)

Minimum vote duration: 3 days

Minimum quorum: 12%

Minimum passing vote: 66%

The Partnerships committee makes the determination whether a potential partnership or endorsement is considered minor or major.

Major partnerships or endorsements are opportunities for collaboration with specific people or projects that include major asks of the DAO such as co-branding, public endorsements, shared projects/development/costs, etc.

Partnership opportunities that include minor asks such as a single tweet or a DAO hosted twitter space can be approved by the Partnerships and/or Marketing committees, or the Monke Executive team, without the need for a DAO-wide vote.

Partnerships/Endorsements (Requires Treasury Spending) *

Minimum vote duration: 5 days

Minimum quorum: 12%

Minimum passing vote: 66%

This category is the same as #3 above, but applies to proposals which require spending from the treasury in excess of 10 SOL. Any major partnership with required spending under 10 SOL should be treated as #3 above. Any minor partnership with required spending under 10 SOL can be approved by the Partnerships and/or Marketing committees.

DAO Project Proposal (No Treasury Spending) ^

These proposals are about new DAO focused, member-organized projects that may require support from the DAO, but do not require spending from the Treasury.

Minimum vote duration: 5 days

Minimum quorum: 10%

Minimum passing vote: 51%

DAO Project Proposal (Requires Treasury Spending) ^*

These proposals are about new DAO focused, member-organized projects that may require support from the DAO, as well as financial support from the Treasury.

Minimum vote duration: 5 days

Minimum quorum: 10%

Minimum passing vote: 66%

Governance Proposal

These proposals include anything that alters the fundamental systems of the DAO, such as voting, governance structure, elections, etc.

Minimum vote duration: 7 days

Minimum quorum: 15%

Minimum passing vote: 66%

* ALL treasury spending is subject to final review and approval by the Monke Executive team (with documented reasoning)

^ ALL DAO Project Proposals are subject to final review and approval by the Monke Executive team (with documented reasoning)

Monke Executive Developed Proposals

These proposals are created by members of the Monke Executive team or any of the official MonkeDAO project teams. If 51% of the Monke Executive team supports the proposal, it may progress directly to a Formal Vote. The goal of these proposals is to allow the elected teams to work on confidential or expedited issues on behalf of the DAO, while still placing all final decisions in the hands of all members.

Re-votes

If a vote is defeated (either at the “Community Proposal and Discussion” stage or the “Formal Vote” stage) through not reaching a quorum or not reaching the minimum passing vote; it can only be reintroduced for voting if agreed by 51% of the Monke Executive team. This is intended to prevent malicious or nuisance vote proposals. This also applies to proposals which are very closely related to defeated votes.