Summary
In accordance with recommendation A4 [create a formalized and inclusive feedback process for the DAO] from KlimaDAO's Decentralization Working Group (DWG), the DAO is implementing Upstream: an initiative to formalize an open line of communication between KlimaDAO Policy and principal KLIMA holders.
Through this community engagement strategy, the policy team aims to collect feedback from its influential stakeholders and use this data to inform protocol development. KlimaDAO views Upstream as an opportunity for stakeholders to strengthen their impact, better understand the development process, and increase their influence over operations and decision making.
One of KlimaDAO’s competitive advantages is its ability to leverage both the VCM and its Web3 roots to be a change maker. Upstream will amplify this advantage by giving KlimaDAO a framework to communicate with influential stakeholders, more effectively enabling the DAO to take the perspectives and needs of its participants into account.
Background
The DWG advises the DAO to “provide a platform for contributors and community members to submit feedback or complaints to the DAO [...]”, as there are currently limited avenues for an individual to “raise concerns around governance and decision-making within the organization”. Acting on this, KlimaDAO has taken progressive action towards these recommendations, such as:
Last month, the DAO launched its Celium survey to gauge the community’s sentiments on governance, operation, and transparency, and to obtain overall feedback for the DAO.
The DAO recently passed KIP-35, which facilitated the formation of a Klimate Review Committee (KRC). The KRC effectively decentralizes a portion of the decision-making power from the Policy team by granting authority to the Committee to advance RFCs to formal KIPs, and then to Snapshot proposals.
Historically, teams within the DAO draft and review proposals internally, with community feedback only factoring in after a proposal is made. This approach is not optimal. Lack of the community input can lead to coordination failures between the DAO and the community.
We aim to ameliorate this engagement gap via priority engagement with influential stakeholders. Upstream creates a path for stronger alignment between contributors and external stakeholders by allowing holders to directly influence internal decisions before they are turned into proposals.
Execution
Stakeholders holding at least 18,750 KLIMA and all current pKLIMA holders will be eligible to participate in Upstream.
Participants do not need to provide any personal information. Verification of a wallet’s ownership will be performed by a one-time, wallet-level transaction signature. All communication between KlimaDAO’s Policy team and eligible Upstream participants will happen via Telegram, Signal, E-Mail, Blockscan, or Discord. For a more direct approach, private calls with the DAO’s Policy members can also be arranged.
Each Upstream participant may decide which method to use. They do not need to reveal their identity or provide personal information of any kind.
Participation
Stakeholders interested in participating in Upstream may contact policy@klimadao.finance.