Hi this is Brook from TiD Research. I share the concern raised by others regarding clawing back the Events Budget without preserving any room for DAO-driven or community-initiated participation. While the Arbitrum Foundation has consistently demonstrated strong execution on marquee events, I believe there’s a risk in leaving the decision-making entirely in the hands of the Foundation—especially in a fast-evolving environment like right now.
At the moment there are multiple narratives and emerging verticals in the market where delegates and community members often might have better visibility than the Foundation. These opportunities can include regionally relevant events, ecosystem-specific meetups, or narrative-aligned activations that may not be on the Foundation’s radar. If the DAO loses the ability to flag and support such events, we risk missing out on high-value opportunities that could meaningfully advance Arbitrum’s presence.
At the same time, I do believe that the Foundation is usually better positioned than most of us to handle the operational aspects of event planning and execution. With that in mind, perhaps a more balanced structure could be considered—one where the DAO retains a channel to propose or prioritize events, and the Foundation takes on execution.
One possible setup:
- Community event signaling round — Every quarter, for example, delegates and community members could surface key events they think the DAO should be part of. Nothing too heavy, just a forum thread or Snapshot poll to gauge interest.
- Foundation picks up execution — From there, the Foundation could take the lead on logistics and implementation with full discretion, while trying to align with the top community-surfaced priorities.
- Small co-funding pool — If there’s an event with strong community support but not a fit for the Foundation’s roadmap, maybe a small pool of funds could be set aside for DAO-led or co-sponsored activations.
- Lightweight RFP option — And if something comes up between cycles, we could allow quick pitches for event participation—short, focused asks that delegates can approve without a huge process.
This kind of setup would give the DAO a voice in shaping where Arbitrum shows up, without slowing things down or overcomplicating execution. Curious to hear what others think—or if anyone’s seen similar setups work well in other ecosystems.