[Election & Application Thread] V2 Arbitrum Research & Development Collective

Applicant Information

Name of Applicant & Applicant’s Representative (if applicable):
jameskbh

Email Address:
jameskbh.eth@gmail.com

Telegram Handle (if applicable):
@jameskbh

LinkedIn Profile (if applicable):
Not applicable

Current Occupation/s (if applicable):
Governance & Growth at karpatkey /Arbitrum & Aura Finance delegate

Delegate details (if applicable):

Country of Residence & Time Zone:
Portugal, GMT

Preferred Role within the Supervisory Council:

  • Communications
Background & Skills

Overview of Experience within DAOs and Governance:
As an active delegate within the ArbitrumDAO, I have consistently engaged with key governance activities, including participation in the Staking Working Group (WG) to define and refine delegation processes. This role has allowed me to gain firsthand experience in navigating governance complexities and ensuring the DAO operates with transparency and efficiency.

Beyond Arbitrum, I am a delegate on Aura Finance, where I contribute to critical decision-making processes, helping shape strategies and align projects with community goals. My cross-DAO involvement has provided me with a diverse perspective on governance structures, enabling me to identify best practices and apply them effectively.

Additionally, I work with Karpatkey as part of the Growth and Governance Team, where we collaborate with DAOs to enhance operational efficiency and ensure that their strategies align with both short-term objectives and long-term goals. This role has sharpened my ability to identify bottlenecks, propose actionable solutions, and foster sustainable practices within DAOs.

These experiences have equipped me with a deep understanding of the governance landscape, preparing me to take on the responsibilities of the Supervisory Council, particularly in ensuring communication between stakeholders remains transparent and meaningful.

Professional Background and Leadership Experience:
I hold a degree in Mechanical Engineering with a Post-Graduation in Business Administration, bringing a solid foundation in technical and organizational management. Over the course of my career, I have led teams of over 200 members, ensuring timely and efficient delivery of product development and research projects. My leadership style emphasizes accountability and collaboration, which ensured that projects were executed within scope, on schedule, and within budget.

A significant part of my professional experience involved producing detailed reports to deliver clear communication to relevant stakeholders in various projects. These reports bridged the gap between technical teams and decision-makers, ensuring alignment on goals, progress, and outcomes. This skill is directly relevant to the Communications role within the Supervisory Council, where clarity and precision in stakeholder communication are paramount.

Skills Alignment with Supervisory Council Responsibilities:
My governance and professional leadership experience align closely with the responsibilities of the Supervisory Council in the following ways:

  • Strategic Prioritization: Through active participation in multiple DAOs, my role at Karpatkey, and leadership roles in my professional career, I have developed the ability to evaluate proposals and prioritize initiatives based on organizational goals and community needs.
  • Resource Management: My professional experience managing large teams and budgets, coupled with my work in DAO efficiency at Karpatkey, has equipped me with the skills to oversee resources effectively, ensuring alignment between deliverables and available assets.
  • Communication Expertise: As a trusted delegate, Karpatkey team member, and leader, I regularly engage with diverse stakeholders, including project teams and community members, to convey updates, address concerns, and foster constructive dialogue. Producing clear, actionable reports has been central to my career, ensuring transparency and alignment—a crucial skill for the Communications role.

I am confident that my combined experience in governance, operational efficiency, and leadership positions me to contribute meaningfully to the Supervisory Council, driving progress and fostering collaboration.

Motivation & Strategic Vision

I believe there is significant potential to enhance communication between the DAO, Offchain Labs, and the ARDC. By fostering a structured flow of information, we can ensure that all stakeholders—ranging from service providers to community members—are well-informed and aligned on key initiatives. This will allow the ARDC to fully leverage its resources and talent to address the most pressing issues within the Arbitrum Ecosystem.

As the DAO enters a pivotal phase of growth, particularly with the focus on Orbit chains and promoting the Arbitrum stack, clear and efficient communication becomes critical. My experience producing detailed reports and facilitating transparent communication between technical and non-technical stakeholders directly aligns with the requirements of the Communications role. I am confident in my ability to create structured information flows that will serve all parties effectively and help drive the DAO toward its strategic objectives.

Strategic Priorities and Vision:
During my term, my primary strategic priority will be to ensure that the ARDC’s deliverables align with the overarching vision of the ArbitrumDAO. With the ecosystem poised for significant expansion, my role will involve collaborating with fellow council members to ensure that the ARDC’s initiatives support this growth while maintaining the agility to adapt to changing circumstances.

Specifically, I will focus on:

  • Enhancing communication frameworks to ensure timely and meaningful updates are provided to all stakeholders, fostering trust and transparency.
  • Facilitating the alignment of ARDC activities with strategic initiatives, such as expanding the Orbit chains ecosystem and promoting the adoption of the Arbitrum stack.
  • Leveraging my experience to ensure that ARDC resources are utilized efficiently and effectively, providing maximum value to the DAO and the community.

By prioritizing these goals, I aim to contribute to the ARDC’s success and help it serve as a cornerstone for the ArbitrumDAO’s continued growth and innovation.

Role-Specific Responsibilities [Only Applicable to Communications]

Approach to Transparency:

  • Establish regular communication cycles (e.g bi-weekly updates) between the ARDC, OffChain Labs, the Arbitrum Foundation, and the DAO to ensure alignment on goals, deliverables, and challenges.
  • Create an accessible dashboard (using tools like Notion, Airtable, or Dune Analytics) that provides updates on ARDC activities, budget allocations, and progress toward milestones.
  • Implement a feedback loop by conducting community calls or surveys to gather input from DAO members, ensuring their concerns and ideas are acknowledged and addressed.

Making Updates Accessible and Meaningful:

  • Summarize key deliverables and activities in digestible formats, such as blog posts, infographics, or short videos, tailored for both technical and non-technical audiences.
  • Publish monthly reports with clear progress updates on ARDC initiatives, ensuring transparency in resource use and project outcomes.
  • Use Twitter Spaces, Discord, or Telegram for live Q&A sessions to engage the community directly and clarify ARDC’s role and achievements.

For example, my previous Medium publications, available at @jameskbh, demonstrate my ability to effectively convey complex ideas in a structured and engaging manner. These type of articles can be tailored for stakeholders seeking both data-driven insights and actionable information, showcasing a skill set directly applicable to the Communications role.


2. Designing and Implementing a Communication Strategy

Enhancing Visibility of ARDC’s Work:

  • Collaborate with ARDC working members to showcase their expertise and achievements through case studies or spotlight features, enhancing visibility and trust.

Press Releases, Social Media, and Community Calls:

  • Use press releases strategically to highlight major milestones, such as Orbit chain launches, successful partnerships, or ARDC governance initiatives.
  • Organize bi-weekly community calls with clear agendas and action items, fostering direct interaction between stakeholders and ARDC representatives.

Lastly, I would ensure that community calls are structured with clear agendas, actionable takeaways, and timely follow-ups, creating a cycle of engagement that keeps all stakeholders informed and aligned.

Prioritization & Time Allocation

Evaluating and Prioritizing Deliverables:
To prioritize deliverables effectively, I would employ a structured decision-making framework that aligns with the DAO’s goals and strategic objectives. My approach would include:

  1. Impact Assessment:
  • Evaluate deliverables based on their potential impact on the Arbitrum ecosystem, with a focus on initiatives that enhance scalability, adoption, and community engagement.
  • Prioritize tasks that address immediate challenges or bottlenecks, such as Orbit chain adoption or DAO transparency.
  1. Alignment with Strategic Goals:
  • Ensure deliverables support the DAO’s long-term vision, such as promoting the Arbitrum stack or enabling efficient governance structures.
  • Regularly revisit strategic goals to adjust priorities as the ecosystem evolves.
  1. Stakeholder Feedback:
  • Incorporate input from key stakeholders, including the DAO community, OffChain Labs, and the ARDC team, to identify the most pressing needs.
  • Use tools like community surveys, governance discussions, or live Q&A sessions to gauge the importance of different deliverables.
  1. Feasibility and Resource Availability:
  • Consider the availability of resources and the feasibility of tasks, ensuring projects can be executed within the ARDC’s budget and capabilities.

Assessing Time Allocation:
To ensure that time quoted by working members for specific tasks is reasonable, I would adopt a data-driven and collaborative approach:

  1. Establish Benchmarks:
  • Create benchmarks for similar tasks by analyzing past deliverables and consulting with subject matter experts.
  • Use these benchmarks to evaluate whether the time quoted is aligned with industry standards and ARDC expectations.
  1. Collaborative Task Scoping:
  • Work closely with team members to define clear scopes for each task, breaking down complex projects into smaller milestones to improve time tracking and accountability.
Summary

I bring a robust combination of governance experience, professional leadership, and a proven track record of effective communication that positions me as a strong candidate for the Communications role within the Supervisory Council.

Key Qualifications:

  1. Extensive DAO Involvement:
  • Active delegate in ArbitrumDAO and Aura Finance, with hands-on experience in governance, proposal evaluations, and decision-making processes.
  • Member of the Staking Working Group within ArbitrumDAO, contributing to the development of delegation frameworks and governance structures.
  1. Professional Leadership and Reporting Expertise:
  • Mechanical Engineer with a Post-Graduation in Business Administration.
  • Led teams of over 200 members in managing complex product development and research projects, ensuring on-time and on-budget delivery.
  • Significant experience in producing detailed and actionable reports to communicate complex information to stakeholders clearly and efficiently. My published work, such as Yearn in Numbers and Sybreach Real Estate Analysis, exemplifies my ability to distill data into meaningful insights.
  1. Strategic Communication Skills:
  • Proficient in designing and implementing communication strategies that ensure transparency, accessibility, and stakeholder alignment.
  • Skilled in leveraging diverse communication tools, including blogs, social media, and dashboards, to foster trust and clarity.
  • Experience engaging with both technical and non-technical audiences, creating structured flows of information to serve all parties effectively.*
  • Deep understanding of the Arbitrum ecosystem and its goals, particularly its focus on growth, adoption of Orbit chains, and promotion of the Arbitrum stack.
  • Committed to ensuring that the ARDC’s deliverables support the DAO’s vision while maintaining flexibility to adapt to changing priorities.

By combining my governance expertise, leadership background, and communication skills, I am confident in my ability to serve as a valuable member of the Supervisory Council, contributing to the ARDC’s success and the broader growth of the ArbitrumDAO ecosystem.

  • Name of Applicant : Popescu Razvan aka ZER8 :brain:
  • Email Address: synprm@gmail.com
  • Telegram Handle (if applicable): zer8_future
  • LinkedIn Profile (if applicable): Razvan Matei Popescu - Grant Program Manager @ArbitrumDAO - Arbitrum DAO | LinkedIn
  • Current Occupation/s (if applicable): Independent delegate, Researching grant programs, running the Arbitrum_DAO account, Gitcoin Council Member
  • Country of Residence & Time Zone: Romania, UTC +3
  • Contact information for any additional references who can attest to your qualifications and character (optional): Thrive Team, Gitcoin, 1Hive, Arbitrum delegates, etc
  • Preferred Role within the Supervisory Council (choose one):
    • Communications

Background & Skills

Provide a brief overview of your experience within DAOs and governance. Highlight any relevant leadership or organizational roles within Arbitrum, or other DAOs. Include how your experience has prepared you for the responsibilities of the Supervisory Council. (400 words max)

I am a telecomm engineer that joined web3 in 2017 and since 2020 I’ve been full time contributing to Ethereum DAOs. Today I am actively contributing to 1Hive, Gitcoin DAO and Arbitrum DAO. Through this experience, I have gained extensive insights into the functioning of DAOs, the patterns they follow, the behaviors of their members and more importantly the areas they need constant nurturing and attention.

Started contributing to Arbitrum DAO via Thrive-ThankARB-PL in mid 2023, managed as well as marketed the first Arbitrum on Gitcoin, Arbitrum Citizens Round and Arbitrum Matching Fest grant programs which brought thousands of new users and onboarded organizations such as the American Cancer Society, Glo Dollar, Giveth and dozens other to Arbitrum for the first time. I’ve also organized the first Arbitrum DAO event at ETH Bucharest for free, bringing Arbitrum DAO to Romania, exposing it to a totally new audience, talent pool and possible area of expansion.

Explain how your skills align with the responsibilities of the Supervisory Council. Focus on your ability to oversee strategic priorities, manage resources, and handle communication or operations. (400 words max)

Marketing Quadratic Funding Rounds in new ecosystems is not an easy task, via the ‘hands-on’ marketing campaigns I’ve had to run for the Arbitrum on Gitcoin programs I’ve learned how to effectively communicate with different segments of stakeholders, grantees, donors, founders and people in the Arbitrum ecosystem as well as coordinating with the Arbitrum Foundation, Arbitrum ecosystem accounts, Arbitrum stakeholders and Arbitrum service providers for marketing support. All these initiatives required careful planning, prioritization and effective communication of the vision and nurturing of desired behaviors from the people involved.

Due to the dynamic and meritocratic DAO environment I’ve been involved in a diverse set of marketing/communications activities, such as:
-organizing marketing campaigns and grown high context social media accounts: Arbitrum DAO, 1Hive, etc
-onboarded users and organizations to web3 governance platforms, grant programs, protocols, etc
-communicating with different stakeholders effectively for different purposes
-coordinated multiple marketing outlets at the same time


Motivation & Strategic Vision

What motivates you to join the Supervisory Council, and what do you hope to achieve during your term? Explain why you are interested in a specific role (Communications or Operations) and how it aligns with your experience and skills. (300 words max)

I am motivated to join the ARDC and Supervisory Council for the same reason I started contributing to Arbitrum DAO and DAOs in general. I want to do my part in helping DAOs see succeed! My goal is to help Arbitrum DAO communicate better as well as broadening the reach of the ARDC communications to new audiences that might be impacted by its findings.

Created and executed the marketing plan for numerous Arbitrum DAO grant programs with the support of the Arbitrum Foundation as well as outlets from the Arbitrum ecosystem. During this time I’ve also lead the Social Media Fellowship- a group that has the goal of coordinating between Arbitrum DAO marketing accounts and promoting more native DAO efforts and underrepresented projects from the ecosystem.

What strategic priorities would you focus on during your term to ensure the ARDC meets its goals? How do you plan to contribute to aligning the ARDC’s activities with the broader objectives of the ArbitrumDAO? (500 words max)

As a communicator my goal in the ARDC is to clearly and concisely articulate the most relevant information to the most relevant stakeholders it affects/involved while maintaining transparency. In this case my mission is to effectively communicate the insights, research, reporting and activities of the ARDC to the Arbitrum DAO, Foundation, OL and ecosystem in a both clear and timely manner based on the recommendation and prioritization of the fellow ARDC members and the groups priorities.


Role-Specific Responsibilities [Only Applicable to Communications]

Describe your approach to maintaining transparent communication channels with key stakeholders, including OffChain Labs, the Arbitrum Foundation, and the DAO. How will you ensure that updates on ARDC activities are accessible and meaningful to the DAO? Provide examples of past communication or stakeholder engagement efforts. (400 words max)

There are multiple approaches that can guarantee transparent communication. Generally, a well administered telegram group, coupled with weekly/bi-weekly calls, X threads amplified by relevant Arbitrum accounts, forum posts and a ad-hoc amount of manual outreach cover the whole spectrum. It is up to the council to decide which communication style we will adopt and I am eager to help deliver on it.

Some Arbitrum related marketing accomplishments:

  1. Binance gave the Arbitrum on Gitcoin programs a shout out
  2. Arbitrum on Gitcoin announcement has huge organic engagement
  3. Arbitrum RetroCitizens Round -crazy organic engagement

How would you design and implement a communication strategy to enhance the visibility of ARDC’s work? Describe how you would manage press releases, social media, and community calls to ensure clear and consistent messaging. Anything you would improve on current strategies? (400 words max)

To enhance the visibility of ARDC’s work, I would:

  1. Coordinate with the fellow ARDC members to decide what the priorities are at the moment, the cadence, the gaps in the previous ARDC iteration, what worked and how we can do better this time

  2. Identifying and engaging relevant stakeholders from the Arbitrum ecosystem that are interested in promoting or educating the ecosystem about what we do.

  3. Strategically crafting targeted press releases for major announcements and sharing them via Arbitrum outlets, leveraging multiple Arbitrum ecosystem accounts + partners that might want to help at the same time to ensure broad and targeted distribution.

  4. Hosting X spaces and fun events with the community, EX: A chill QUIZ session for the DAO around previous ARDC accomplishments and present priorities -with small prizes.

If required, hosting biweekly community calls, 1on1s and AMAs for transparent updates, with summaries shared on forums and threads on social platform. Incorporating more interactive elements like live video recaps, feedback surveys, and fun engaging visual content might also help increase transparency as well as deepen audience engagement with the ARDC’s initiatives.


Prioritisation & Time Allocation

You will also need to evaluate and prioritize deliverables while assessing whether the time quoted by working members for specific tasks is reasonable. How will you determine which deliverables should be prioritized based on DAO needs, and how will you assess whether the time allocated for these tasks is appropriate? (400 words max)

**Prioritization is crucial, especially in a highly dynamic DAO environment, I will prioritize communicating tasks/topics directly proportional to their importance/impact in Arbitrum DAO based on the collective decisions of the ARDC and Supervisory Council. If there are any communication gaps, as a contributor and delegate I feel obliged to handle those as well.

I would recommend using web3 tooling to assess the time quoted by working members collectively - ex: Coordinape.


Summary of Qualifications

In summary, highlight your key qualifications and explain why you are a strong fit for the Supervisory Council. Emphasise the skills and experiences that make you well-suited for either the Communications or Operations role, and how you will contribute to the ARDC’s success. (400 words max)

I believe my experience in web3, DAOs, grant programs, marketing/communication coupled with the initiatives I’ve been managing for Arbitrum DAO give me unique insights and a deep understanding of the requirements, expectations of the role and the communication background to back it. My track record in web3 is one of constant delivery coupled with practical and adaptive approaches over traditional and sometimes redundant practices. In the past couple of months I’ve been coordinating pro-bono with other like minded individuals to help promote Arbitrum DAO efforts within the ecosystem- this involved coordinating with all the Arbitrum ecosystem marketing outlets, service providers, stakeholders and delegates.

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Background and Skills

As Chief Revenue Officer at Tally and as a contributor to the Arbitrum ecosystem, I have extensive relevant experience in communications.

  • I lead a team of five that has grown Tally’s overall brand presence and product distribution to an industry leading position within the blockchain governance space.
  • I’m leading the development of ARB Staking.
  • I provide direct community support for Tally’s Arbitrum integration, handling technical queries and governance questions.
  • I serve as an active delegate, requiring clear communication of governance decisions and rationale to constituents.
  • I’m a member of the Multi-Sig Support Service (MSS), which requires careful coordination and communication with multiple stakeholders
Motivation & Strategic Vision

My vision is to enable industry-leading contributors to bring great products and initiatives to market through the Arbitrum DAO. I will proactively identify the most impactful initiatives being worked on in the DAO and partner closely with the leaders of each initiative to make a communications plan that maximizes reach both within the DAO and externally within the crypto ecosystem.

Role-Specific Responsibilities

My approach will be to develop a playbook that scales across DAO initiatives. 80% of the communications plan for major initiatives should be the same. The key is to proactively track all initiatives and rigorously ensure the playbook is followed. Playbook items would include:

  • Proactive delegate enagagement
  • Proposal forum posts
  • Presenting at governance calls: Proposal and Reporting calls
  • Tweeting about the project at major milestones and ensuring a quote tweet from the Arbitrum governance and Arbitrum twitter accounts
  • Building a pipeline of news and research outlets and getting major developments in front of those outlets.
Prioritization & Time Allocation

I plan to focus my time on the most impactful initiatives within the DAO. Specifically, I will focus on proposals that have the potential to move the needle on adoption of Arbitrum tech and drive meaningful growth on Arbitrum One, Nova, and Orbit Chains.

Summary of Qualifications

I’ve worked in leadership roles in growth marketing for software companies for twelve years, including driving tens of millions in revenue via direct sales, digital marketing, and customer success motions.

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Hey @Aleksaundr, is this hourly rate too high?

Hey all,

Please find the recordings relating to the pitches for both the service providers (held on 21-Nov-2024) and the Supervisory Council (held on 26-Nov-2024) here:

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Hello all!

Request for the amendment period for the Service Providers (working members):

On the service providers “scope of work”, it would be nice to have a clear definition of what are the deliverables proposed for the 2 first months. Not all of them have this info.

@cattin since you were the one that did the @Entropy pitch in the call, is it fair to assume that you would be the person on Entropy’s team that would be acting as the operations lead in the ARDC supervisory council, if Entropy is elected?

I’m asking because all applications for the supervisory council, both for the communications role and the operations role, are single individuals, not organizations, and Entropy is the only one that applied as an organization. I feel it would be fairer for the DAO to understand exactly who in the Entropy team would be the person that would take on this role, if elected, so that delegates would be able to compare previous experience, expertise, context, suitability for the role, etc…

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Hey all, the 3-business day Amendment period starts today and will end on 2/12/24 [11:59 PM UTC] as outlined on Notion. Following the proposal review period and delegate feedback, please make any changes to your proposals above!

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We have a minor update regarding the elections: the timeline has been adjusted to commence the Snapshot member elections on Thursday, 5th December 2024, instead of Tuesday, 3rd December 2024, to align with DAO rules. Reference can be made here - Notion – The all-in-one workspace for your notes, tasks, wikis, and databases.

The full of Entropy’s resources will be available to the position with Matt and Cattin at the helm.

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Entropy Advisors and Tamara are excited to announce that we will be combining applications! Tamara will still need to be elected and if chosen will receive full compensation for the position. Entropy Advisors will not receive further payment for their portion of the work. This path was recommended by L2BEAT, the former DAO advocate for the ARDC.

Tamara will take the helm for the ARDC’s day-to-day operational workload, largely made up of granular tracking and reporting of the ARDC members, while Entropy will act as the DAO’s representative informing the ARDC’s workload and strategic direction. Together we will drive the ARDC to work on the highest value add initiatives for the DAO and ensure that work being done uses efficient process, is tracked, and communicated in a professional manner.

This officially voids our solo application as we expect @tamara’s application to be updated shortly!

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