NEAR Digital Collective - Community Proposal to the NEAR Foundation
Following the NDC call for action on August 26, 2022, to create a NEAR Digital Collective (NDC), the community has successfully formed itself into a functioning Community Working Group (CWG) and has identified the key milestones required to set up the NDC, its structure and governance framework.
The CWD will focus on the following areas, each split into the following sub-groups:
- NEAR Constitution
- Governance Framework & Proposal Process
- Technical Governance Development Plan
- Legal Framework
- Community Engagement Guidelines
NDC’s Purpose
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Develop a new Governance System Constitution that will help the NEAR Community manage the Community’s NEAR Treasury.
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Establish a structure that allows the NEAR Community to manage the treasury allocation and fund the structure.
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Transfer control and decision-making from a centralized entity to a distributed network of NEAR Community participants.
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Enable decentralization on all levels of operations within the NEAR ecosystem :
- Political / Management
- Administrative/ Operational
- Fiscal / Economic
This structure will enable the community to reach its true decentralization goals for the NEAR Ecosystem.
How the Community Proposes to Establish NDC
The proposal is to establish a multidisciplinary working group which will conduct further research into the governance process, voting turnout, and voting power to get a view of the community’s engagement and ability to drive the NEAR decentralization.
- Community Constitution
To enable a more efficient way of governing, the NEAR Community will establish its Governance System Constitution, which will define and include the responsibilities of all stakeholders:
- Fundamental Rules
- The Common Vision
- Guaranteed Basic Rights and General Protections for the Community Participants
- Protection of the Community Participants from Internal Takeovers and External Attacks
- Vision/Manifesto
Define the shared beliefs of the NEAR Community, the goal the organization is trying to reach, and the values which the NEAR Community intends to uphold.
Principles of values: ecosystem first, openness, pragmatism over perfection, make it feel simple, grow constantly.
Principles of good governance: ​​accountability, transparency, fairness, responsibility, and sustainability (economic, environmental and technical).
The Community has already delivered the 1st version of the Manifesto.
- Governance Proposal Process
This will define all actors and processes involved in the governance of the NEAR Community, detailing thoroughly the steps, responsibilities, and requirements linked to a proposal from its inception to its implementation and enforcement:
- Participation Rules, Enforcement and Execution Rules, and a Dispute Resolution Mechanism.
- Updated Conceptualisation of what governance is, to collect all considerations about effective and legitimate governance mechanisms and topics to be covered.
- On-chain vs. Off-chain Governance Mechanisms (define mechanisms that distribute tasks and obligations, patterns of interaction, structural holes, diffusion of information, clusters and groups within a network, cooperation and conflict among actors, effects that the emergence of new actors, as well as the disappearance of existing actors, has on a network)
Budget
In order to empower the community to set up the governance structure, NDC is requesting a grant of 130’000’000 NEAR from the NEAR Foundation. To meet the short-term expenses of setting up NDC, an additional 1% in stables is being requested.
Prerequisites to Funding
Prior to becoming the recipient of the grant, the NDC will need to be set up with an appropriate structure and level of Governance.
- NEAR Constitution
A First Proposal of the Governance System Constitution must be publicly published and presented for further comment, engagement, and discussion by the NEAR Community. The creation and ratification of shared values and basic rights for all community members will become NEAR ecosystem’s north star.
Preamble
The Community has already delivered a 1st version of the Preamble.
Values:
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Openness
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Privacy
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Decentralization
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Sustainability
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Fairness
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Public good focus - commons
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Code of conduct/things that won’t be tolerated
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Establish the checks and balances for NDC’s branches:
- Proposed branches:
- House of Merit (HOM)
- House of Stake (HOS)
- House of Operations (HOO)
- A Judiciary Branch (Court)
- Any other branch that is deemed necessary to the proper functioning of NDC
- Proposed branches:
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Powers & responsibilities of HOM, HOS, HOO & Court
- Define the balance of power between each of the branches
- Ensure a separation of powers between all functions
- Governance Framework & Proposal Process
A mandated decision process for proposed voting mechanisms & procedures
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Voting mechanism & thresholds
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Balance of power infrastructure
- Voting Mechanisms & Thresholds
- Veto & Appointment Powers
- Dispute Resolution: Function & Role of Court
- Prevention of Capture & Control
- Treasury Management
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Treasury Management Infrastructure
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Perform the Appropriate Testing of the Governance Structure
Maintain a research group on governance troubleshootings and improvement possibilities to ensure proper decentralization evolution and permanent NEAR Community active involvement. The research group should be constituted of a team of NEAR technical and non-technical experts.
- Technical Governance Development Plan
Mandate decision for technical software development of the proposed voting mechanisms procedures. On-chain practical implementation of the governance framework.
- Determine how HOM membership is represented on-chain (e.g. non-transferable NFTs?)
- Voting Mechanisms/Infrastructure
- SSI/DIDs
- Privacy Components, Including ZK and Gating
- Financial Infrastructure
- Custody of Fungible/Non-Fungible Assets (including hot/cold wallets)
- On-Ramps/Off-Ramps
- NFT infrastructure
- Function calls
- Interoperability Tools
- KYC/KYB
Complete the appropriate security audits in line with the size of the funds to be posted to the structure.
- Legal Framework
Create a suitable legal framework and legal wrapper for the maintenance of the governance structure and the operational purpose.
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Determine Legal Structure
- Series of sub-DAOs
- Structure & Jurisdiction
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Determine Appointment/Removal parameters for HOM, HOO & Court
- Term limits
- Process for Rotation/Re-Election
- Dismissal Parameters
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Proposal for initial HOO structure
- Identify & start recruitment for key HOO roles
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Confirm Mechanism & Recognition for members of HOM
Define:
- External Advisors Budget (legal, tax etc)
- Remuneration for certain NDC members (approved by community, reviewed regularly, subject to performance review etc)
- Community Engagement Guidelines
Standards to encourage positive, sustainable community behavior and interaction consistent with the values of the NEAR Constitution.
- Community Terms and Conditions
- Dispute resolution process
- Code of Conduct
- Testing & Rolling out
Conduct a NEAR Community vote to accept the Governance System Constitution and Framework and approve the proposed structure.
