BountyBoard Discussion: Enhancing the State of Bounties. Feedback Welcome!
Dear Polkadot Community (and OpenGov OG),
I am writing to propose the introduction of a new platform, the “BountyBoard,” aimed at addressing several identified challenges within our current OpenGov bounty system. This proposal is rooted in the need for greater transparency, efficiency, and community engagement in the governance of bounties, as a potential solution to these governance challenges.
Current Challenges in OpenGov Bounties:
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Complexity and Accessibility: The current bounty process is often perceived as complex and inaccessible. This complexity hinders the average stakeholder’s understanding of decision-making and fund allocation. -1
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Transparency (and flexibility) in Curator Role: The role and selection of curators in managing bounties lack clear transparency. This obscurity raises concerns about the accountability of those who oversee significant funds. -2 -3
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Detailed Reporting: There is a notable absence of detailed reporting on the progress and usage of funds in bounties. This lack of reporting makes it challenging to track the effectiveness of fund usage. -4
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Community Involvement: The current system does not sufficiently involve the community in the bounty process, leading to a lack of broader consensus and feedback. -5
Additional points should be discussed as well:
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The detailed process within the bounty itself (some bounties still have unspent funds). -6 -7
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It’s unclear how the community can become participants in some bounties, as there is no process or it’s not accessible to all. -8
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The consistency in the distribution of funds is not tracked, leading to abrupt reports and potential negative community response. -9
Bounty Should Thrive!
Nevertheless, bounties appear to be a potentially interesting tool for easing governance:
- Removing the necessity to make minor decisions.
- Increasing the speed of making such decisions.
- Attracting individuals with focused expertise to decision-making (possibly salaried).
- Addressing the issue of retroactive project funding. Bounties seem to be an excellent potential solution to these problems, if the issues are resolved.
Overall, it’s evident that the main challenges are transparency and control from the community’s perspective. The current configuration effectively hides the process entirely, preventing even a glimpse into it, which critically reduces trust and creates a negative backdrop, even in cases of genuinely good outcomes.
Proposed Solution: The BountyBoard!
The BountyBoard is a community dashboard designed to address these challenges.
Implementation and Structure:
- The dashboard will aggregate on-chain data and include collaborative components (comments, likes, etc.) for community<>bounty interaction.
- Users can interact and provide feedback using their wallets, enhancing community involvement.
- An additional administrator will collect data and research feedback, links, etc., to ensure the integrity and accuracy of the information presented.
Additionally, it will display essential statistics about the state of the bounty track:
- Payment timelines, beneficiaries of payments, curators and their specific actions, and details of financial transactions.
- Uploading of supporting documents/reports, which are currently almost always absent.
- Monitoring of account balances and the execution of the bounty plan (which will help address issues with abrupt final payments) and the efficiency of curators and participants.
A Social key aspect is enabling the community to be in constant contact with the process:
- Allowing the community to comment on events and aggregate these within the bounty framework.
Main User Flow:
- Administrators add bounties and ensure data collection.
- Data will be shown to the community.
- Bounty curators, the community, or administrators will collect data to enrich collected events.
- Statistics will be provided.
- The administrator will make bi-weekly or monthly reports in a public space about the processes in bounties, significantly reducing tension and distrust.
BountyBoard Features Include:
- Enhanced Transparency: Providing clear and accessible information on all bounties, including curator actions, fund allocation, and beneficiary details.
- Community Engagement: Enabling community members to comment on and provide feedback directly on the dashboard.
- Efficient Tracking: Monitoring the progress and efficiency of bounties, including financial management and curator performance.
- Documentation and Reporting: Mandating comprehensive documentation and regular reporting for each bounty.
Admins Forever?
We envisage that initially, the presence of an administrator will kickstart the process. In subsequent phases, many processes could be automated, such as aggregating data from unchain and other platforms, linking social networks for direct communication between bounty participants and moderators, and integrating other tools. However, in the early stages, an administrator will help make this platform effective.
What’s Next?
An effective bounty solution will allow us to use this tool to increase decision-making efficiency and gain greater trust from the community. Bounties have the potential to be a prototype for sub-treasuries or collectives, which might use a similar platform in the future. The goal of the platform is to provide a convenient dashboard for people outside the system to monitor its effectiveness and ensure trust.
Why This Matters: Implementing the BountyBoard will significantly improve trust and transparency in our bounty system. It will facilitate more informed decision-making and foster a more engaged and active community. This platform could also serve as a model for future governance systems within Polkadot’s ecosystem.
Feedback Welcome!
I invite the community to discuss this proposal and provide feedback. Your insights are invaluable in shaping a more transparent and efficient future for Polkadot’s governance. Thank you for your consideration!