Request For Comments: Time Management in ArbitrumDAO Governance
Introduction
On April 2, the governance of Arbitrum submitted its first proposal for discussion. Since then, the forum has received nearly 40 proposals covering various topics and motivations. Although most of these discussions have been managed orderly, an increase in the daily volume of proposals could lead to the DAO’s disorganization.
According to the Arbitrum DAO constitution, a constitutional Arbitrum Improvement Proposal (AIP) requires approximately 37 days to be implemented, while a non-constitutional AIP requires around 27 days. In short, although the lifecycle of a proposal is well defined, the overall governance organization needs greater clarity.
Towards a More Efficient Organization
Bearing these challenges in mind and intending to optimize governance in ArbitrumDAO, we propose to discuss the implementation of seasons or defined periods.
We aim to establish periods of structured activity within the DAO, allowing a more systematic measurement of metrics related to proposals, discussions, and delegates in the forum. To facilitate this, we urge forum members to share their ideas to determine the appropriate season duration or proposal period in Arbitrum DAO.
This measure doesn’t require a constitutional amendment, as it could be an organizational layer implemented over the current system. Below, we present a first draft of a proposal to discuss with the community.
Improvement Proposal (Draft)
To optimize timings and organization, we propose that Phase 1 begins on the first Monday of each month, as shown in the following chart:
The central idea is that all proposals published in the forum can also be posted in Snapshot (by an address with a weighted vote of 0.01%), all on the first Monday of each month. This way, at the end of the month, we will have the results of all the voted proposals. This simple change minimizes the randomness of the proposals and allows delegates to have a more organized calendar.
Furthermore, proponents can seek community feedback before the voting cycle begins. Proposals published before the first Monday of each month should carry the [RFC] tag. If a proponent publishes their proposal in the forum mid-month, they can foresee that it will be included on the first Monday of the following month, and delegates know that during that first week, they will have to vote. In this way, we maintain an orderly calendar for all ArbitrumDAO.
Conclusions
We consider it necessary to establish the basic infrastructure of ArbitrumDAO. Therefore, we propose an improvement in the scheduling of proposals.
Next Steps
This RFC aims to gather feedback and opinions from the community. We appreciate comments, suggestions, and possible improvements that may arise from this proposal. In case of positive consensus and relevant adjustment suggestions, we commit to presenting a more refined and complete version of the proposal in the forum.
In addition, we invite community members to share their ideas, experiences, and knowledge related to implementing seasons or proposal periods in other DAOs or similar systems. This exchange of information can further enrich our proposal and help find the best solution to strengthen Arbitrum’s governance.
Our goal is to foster more efficient, transparent, and participatory governance. Implementing an organized proposal structure can be a significant step towards this goal, and we appreciate the collaboration of all community members in this continuous improvement process.
Check the other RFCs here.
