Research Summary: A Decision Model for Decentralized Autonomous Organization Platform Selection: Three Industry Case Studies

In ‘laywoman’ terms, this paper centres around a methodical way to select a DAO platform based on specific criteria and demonstrate application using three case studies. Am I correct? @Astrid_CH?

While there were several features/criteria discussed, governance stood out for me. If funding is the lifeblood of a DAO, it is probably safe to say governance is the wheel on which DAOs run. This makes me wonder, among the different criteria that the authors discuss in their paper, do they mention participatory governance? Considering how important this criterion is, do all the top 5 DAOs listed have features that enable participatory governance for DAOs? No doubt, how active (well-oiled) a DAO is will determine its progress, considering the countless inactive (rusty) DAOs.

In this comment, I attempt to expand on features to be considered when choosing a DAO platform by zeroing in on participatory governance in DAOs. I start off with my definition of a DAO and participatory governance. I briefly talk about different governance models and the type adopted by the top 5 highlighted by the authors. Seeding further conversation, I conclude by identifying more areas to explore relating to DAO platform features and participatory governance.

What is a DAO?

Adding to that already said by the Authors, @Astrid_CH and many others, I’ll still offer my definition of a DAO. Decentralized Autonomous Organizations are digital-native organizations formed by entities (natural and artificial) having a common goal, with funding from a common purse reaching decisions through participatory governance. More on participatory governance soon.

DAO governance models

To capture how vital governance is to DAOs, one could say DAOs exist primarily for their governance. This is backed by the fact that early DAOs were actually formed to govern how to spend funds on investments. DAOs often adopt a multi-layered governance model that involves:

1. Discourse/proposals: DAO members post their proposals on places like forum discourse, discord, telegram, Reddit, etc. Community members often begin governance at this stage by debating or discussing the topics raised.
2. Off-chain Voting: Leveraging off-chain trackable metrics like likes, replies, reactions, etc, members show their position on the matter through off-chain voting.
3. On-chain voting: This is the stage that permanently records the final decision, often also the execution stage.

What is Participatory governance?

At the risk of sounding like Abraham Lincoln, former President of the United States, participatory governance to me is governance of the governed by the governed. This governance is governance done from an informed state.

What’s the level of participatory governance in the top 5 DAOs?

The findings from the authors’ research show us that platforms have 100% coverage for the feature of an active community, but have 46.43% coverage for the feature of Direct DAO governance. This can only mean the level of participatory governance in DAOs is low for the top 5 DAOs. Yet, society is quick to campaign for democracy, conveniently ignoring the risk of the dictatorship of the majority.

Some available alternatives include quadratic voting. They have already successfully trialled this in Colorado in an experiment led by Glen Weyl. And currently successfully utilized as quadratic funding in Gitcoin’s grant rounds.

There exist some challenges with adopting these governance models. One future research point I wish to highlight is the incorporation of a decentralized dispute resolution system in existing and future DAO governance models. Traditional dispute resolution systems are obviously not uniquely suited to efficiently handling DAO-native disputes.

6 Likes