This proposal aims to encourage active participation in Polkadot’s governance through OpenGov, while ensuring that participants also contribute to network security via staking.
We propose an annual incentive program of 1 million DOT to reward accounts that:
- Participate regularly in OpenGov referenda
- Maintain an active staking position
- Demonstrate behavior aligned with the long-term health of the network
OpenGov is a major breakthrough in decentralized governance. However, despite its powerful design, participation remains too low, leaving space for a small group of active users to steer decisions on behalf of all.
Personally, I’ve helped onboard many friends to Polkadot. Some hold DOT, some even stake but none of them vote.
When I ask why, the answer is always the same:
“Why should I? What do I get out of it?”
And that’s the issue. Currently, the only real incentive to vote is indirect: ensuring that OpenGov decisions align with your vision for the future.
But let’s be honest:
If someone has no vision for the future, they won’t participate. And if they do, not participating is a mistake.
What we’re missing is a clear, measurable and visible incentive that fosters a real on-chain civic culture.
As Elinor Ostrom demonstrated in her groundbreaking work on commons governance, decentralized systems can work without centralized authority if local rules, trust mechanisms, and meaningful incentives are in place.
This proposal follows that logic.
We propose a one-year pilot program funded by the Treasury.
- Proposed annual budget: 1 million DOT
- Duration: 1 year
Eligibility criteria:
- Participation rate ≥ 75% in eligible OpenGov referenda during the period
- Active staking ≥ 100 DOT for at least 75% of the time
- Balance above existential deposit (to filter out dormant or spam accounts)
Optional bonus weighting (to be refined with the community):
- Diversity of tracks used (Root, Treasury, Fellowship, etc.)
- Staking lock duration (longer = stronger commitment)
- Engagement on Polkassembly (comments, analysis)
Eligible accounts will share the 1M DOT based on a weighted participation score:
score = participation_score × staking_score × track_diversity_score
- Bots are not a problem: they need to hold DOT, stake, and vote all actions we want to encourage.
- Passive holders will likely remain passive, but this gives semi-active users a real reason to get involved.
- This mechanism helps activate a new layer of voters and creates a more robust participatory culture on-chain.
If the idea gains traction, I’m ready to collaborate on:
- Clarifying implementation thresholds
- Identifying on-chain data sources
- Drafting a formal proposal for OpenGov submission
Maybe this proposal is garbage.
But I’m putting it out there to spark discussion and reflection.
Today I saw that over $600,000 was allocated over 6 months to fund the KAITO program, which rewards social media activity and impact mainly on X (Twitter). I don’t say that’s wrong.
But if we’re spending that much to reward visibility, maybe we should also be investing at least as much to reward on-chain, long-term participation in governance.
This proposal may not be perfect, but I believe it’s pointing in the right direction.
Let’s talk about it.