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Overview

Moving from Theory to Implementation​

In the last section we determined that we want to achieve the following goals in our re-organization of YAM:

  • Shift responsibility of the DAO to Yam token holders.
  • Empower token holders to decide what to fund with the YAM treasury.
  • Give those working on funded projects the power to manage themselves and their projects.
  • Assure that token holders have control over project payments to assure accountability.

To achieve these goals, we explored 5 organizational parameters to focus on: Participation, accountability, efficiency, transparency, and security. As we move from theory into practice and implementation, these parameters and goals must be translated into working processes and structures.

Participation​

YAM has 3 main groups of participants: Token Holders (YAM Voters) who decide on the overall direction of the project and approve funding requests, Contributors and Builders who perform specific work for the DAO as approved by the token holders, and System Facilitators who make sure the different groups are coordinated and the system is working. Each group of participants has a specific job to do and they must work together if they want the DAO to progress.

The Re-Org facilitates participation by making it clear what each group’s role is and creating the necessary infrastructure for them to perform that role. Builders propose or bid on projects via a new grants system, YAM voters decide whether to fund those projects and grants, and facilitators make sure that both sides are coordinated and acting in accordance within the agreed upon rules of the DAO.

Accountability​

Maintaining the accountability of builders is the responsibility of YAM voters. They do this by requiring thorough proposals for the work that builders plan to perform and transparency via specific checkpoints at which they disburse funds. By setting clear guidelines and deliverables, and then checking that they have been adequately completed, the DAO can enforce accountability without a core team.

The Re-Org specifies a grant application, work, and payment process that voters can use to assure this accountability. Facilitators are not responsible for assuring this accountability, but serve to clarify the process so that voters and builders know what is expected of them. They also help execute the decisions made by the voters.

Transparency​

Transparency helps maintain accountability. It also helps to reassure builders that they will be treated fairly. The funding decisions of the DAO are all transparent because they happen on the Ethereum blockchain and use public and transparent voting infrastructure. Decision making should also be done transparently and one of the goals of the Re-Org is to make sure that the decisions are transparent and well documented.

Efficiency​

Efficiency is achieved through delegation and separation of concerns. Decisions that require the full DAO to weigh in are allowed to be slower and more methodical to account for the larger number of participants. Smaller decisions about projects and day to day operations are the domain of the builders who have been empowered to make those decisions via the grants process. Ultimately, voters will decide whether the decisions made have been done so within the mandate of a grant and shared vision and values of the DAO, but the system is optimistic in that it assumes they are unless specifically found to not be.

Security​

The security of the DAO should remain unchanged. We expect it to improve as the systems used to make decisions and fund projects become more transparent and understood. The existing checks and balances on the treasury, including minimized interaction with the treasury and the guardian multi-sig remain.

overview