After reflection, I have ultimately decided to vote “Against” in this proposal. While the goal of training new participants in governance is commendable, I am skeptical about its ultimate impact and benefits for the DAO, especially if these participants do not possess significant voting power. Unfortunately, those without at least 50k ARB will not be eligible for the DIP. As for the “inclusivity aspect,” I appreciate crypto’s meritocratic nature, where anonymity allows work to be valued solely on its quality, and feel the clause on this proposal may not fully align with that ethos.
The cost of this proposal is substantially higher—twenty times that of the initial pilot—and there seems to be no guaranteed return on investment, as participants could simply apply their new skills in other DAOs.
While I recognize that the mentors could provide considerable value, my main concern is that this proposal does not address the primary governance priority, which is to increase ARB percentage voting. I could support such program if this was its core priority from the start, with having at some point ARB delegated from the DAO Treasury to the participant for example. Thank you for this well-written proposal @RikaGoldberg and for the work done there much appreciated