GM ApeCoin DAO! Here is your August 2024 Transparency Report.
August was a busy month for the DAO. Check out the report below for all the key highlights!
Small Grants Initiative in Full Swing!
The GWG Small Grants Initiative is ON FIRE! We’ve received over 70 submissions so far and have had more than 20 successful recipients with another 9 about to be voted on by our awesome Committee. Check out these tweets showcasing a couple of the amazing projects funded through the program:
The GWG has also launched the Delegate Accelerator Program. This program aims to build stronger delegation communities within ApeCoin, empowering other communities to participate in ApeCoin DAO governance. Due to overwhelming support, there are now 14 communities participating in this initiative! We are super excited to see this program continue to grow and develop.
The DAO also had a HUGE presence at WebX Tokyo! Massive shoutout to @MisterHype for putting up an AIP for this and getting the DAO front and center! With ApeChain front and center, the DAO was the talk of the conference. We also had many DAO members on various panels during the event. Check them out below:
AIP_U is also in full swing with our first of many AIP Author Fellowships, a proposal writing coaching program pairing authors with a variety of experts, delegations and of course our incredible APE_U Coaches!
New AIPs Passed
Last but not least, the DAO passed 10 new AIPs this month. Check out these amazing new projects and what they will bring to the DAO:
Thanks for the report @BojangleGuy.Admin! I appreciate the update. Could we also get an update on what’s been going on with the MarComms, Metaverse, and Web3 Development working groups?
Additionally, could you let us know where we can find an updated DAO calendar, organization chart, and working group meeting summaries?
Thanks again for your work and dedication to the community. Looking forward to your response!
Confident that Bojangle can field this one, but as the GWG Lead, I will shed some light…
Firstly, regarding updates on other Working Groups, it’s not for a lack of effort or disregard from the other WGs. It’s simply a byproduct of how the Working Group structure has shifted from its original intention when Working Group 0 (WG0) was born out of AIP-196: BORED AIP: Bringing Order and Reliability via Ecosystem Decentralization, and projected the role, which the DAO is grateful to have had you part of creating.
As you know, the intention was for all four groups to operate in unison with the APE Foundation in certain ways, but that has changed over time.
For example, when I was first elected, there was only one Working Group (GWG), and I signed a contract with the APE Foundation. However, as more focus was placed on further decentralizing the DAO, the GWG transitioned into a properly structured independent legal entity, with the APE Foundation recognizing the Working Groups as grant recipients rather than service providers. This shift led to more autonomy and independence between the groups, which is relevant for two reasons:
Other WGs aren’t obligated, nor necessarily want or need, an outside entity sitting in on their meetings. Likewise, since the GWG campaigns for its own budget, I don’t view allocating community-provided resources to this task now that the WGs are separate entities as the most efficient use of funds.
The Secretary no longer signs a contract with the APE Foundation. Instead, they sign with the GWG legal entity, which carries various other responsibilities that aren’t listed in the old AIPs that originally outlined the ApeCoin DAO Working Group structure, and in-turn the Secretary role. This reflects how things have evolved, particularly with far less front-facing duties [almost entirely internal outside of monthly updates].
Also, you will likely see formal changes to the Secretary’s role in our upcoming budget proposal, as well as in any continued Working Group Charter revisions made by the GWG. These changes will expand the role’s impact while potentially moving away from that title, for the reasons I’m outlining today.
Regarding the organizational chart, it’s readily available and has been since June 11, 2023, when Vulcan created a channel for it on Discord here: Discord
With this being posted by BojangleGuy since June 20th, 2024.
As for Working Group minutes, I have thoughts. The duty was written into AIP-239: Working Group Guidelines & The Governance Working Group Charter, which includes “Attending Working Group meetings where possible and ensuring meeting summaries are posted in the APE governance forum.” However, this isn’t feasible if it isn’t appropriate for the Secretary to be attending other legal entities’ private meetings.
For the GWG itself, we could consider moving back to providing meeting summaries, but with our ongoing transparency updates, in-depth quarterly reports, Secretary updates, and the content machine we’ve built to highlight our every move, I’m not sure it’s necessary. And since the Secretary role is our initiative, we can adjust this as needed.
Where we could improve: the DAO Calendar.
This is definitely something we’ve been discussing. But again, is this still something the GWG should allocate resources to, or would it be better suited to another WG? Personally, I like the idea of continuing it, but it ends up becoming more of a Twitter Spaces calendar. Keeping this in mind, and to reiterate, I think we do look to continue it but coming back stronger with a much deeper approach than what has been provided in the past, potentially involving AIP authors and their projects, but this takes resources – a topic that I’d love to get your take on both what you would like to see on a calendar @adventurousape, and on the possibility of creating a small community-rewarded initiative for it to be managed by the GWG but executed by members of the community, especially as the Secretary position continues evolving into a more critical Project Coordinator role, which Bojangle is sure to continue shining in.
Thanks for the thoughtful response, AC! I appreciate the context you’ve provided around the evolving structure of the Working Groups and how that’s impacted some of the responsibilities and processes. I apologize in advance for the small novel, but have a lot of thoughts about this.
I completely understand that as the DAO continues to decentralize, the roles and relationships between the WGs and the Secretary position have shifted. It’s helpful to know that the Secretary’s position, in particular, is being re-evaluated and that future proposals may address these changes more formally. Since Bojangle has been doing such great work for the GWG, have you considered hiring him on for the Project Coordinator role and restructuring the Secretary role to be more like its original intent?
AIP-347: Enable DAO Wide Voting for Working Group Stewards diminished the oversight capacity of the Secretary by having Stewards appoint and remove the Secretary. This shift fundamentally altered the role, making the Secretary less independent and more beholden to the Stewards of the GWG. The original purpose of the Secretary was partially to serve as a check on the power of the Stewards, ensuring objectivity and transparency. When the Secretary reports directly to the Stewards, conflicts of interest can arise, especially if there is a need for objective oversight of the Stewards themselves.
The GWG has done an excellent job of communicating with the community, and I commend you on that. But I do think that transparency from the other Working Groups has been inconsistent. I know that some of the Stewards in these groups work hard, but it’s unclear what value is being added by others. This is where I believe the DAO Secretary could play a crucial role in providing regular updates and meeting summaries for all Working Groups.
I understand that the Working Groups are now independent legal entities, as you’ve mentioned, but I think this independence shouldn’t prevent the DAO Secretary from fulfilling their role as an impartial observer. According to AIP-239, Stewards are responsible for communicating and coordinating with the DAO Secretary.
Additionally, transparency remains a core responsibility of the Stewards, as it’s one of the Guiding Values of the DAO. While I understand that not every internal meeting detail should be shared, meeting summaries and progress updates should still be made available to the DAO for accountability. Without these updates, it becomes difficult for DAO members to assess who is adding value behind the scenes and how resources are being used.
The role of the DAO Secretary as a bridge between these Working Groups could help facilitate this information sharing without infringing on their autonomy. The Secretary could help ensure that key updates are compiled and communicated to the community, providing much-needed transparency. The idea isn’t to interfere with the independence of these groups but rather to maintain accountability and coordination within the broader DAO ecosystem.
If the current structure no longer aligns with the original responsibilities outlined in AIP-239, perhaps it would be better to propose updates to the AIP or suggest adjustments through a formal proposal, rather than having responsibilities shift without clear DAO consensus.
With the Secretary no longer performing all of the duties outlined in AIP-239, it also raises questions about whether the role’s responsibilities and compensation are still aligned. The original job description is no longer accurate, and in this case, perhaps a more efficient approach would be to hire Bojangle for the Project Coordinator role. This way, the DAO wouldn’t be compensating for duties that are no longer required, while still leveraging Bojangle’s valuable contributions to the GWG.
Hmmm, this link is broken for me. Thanks for sharing the chart. Hadn’t been able to find it before.
As far as the DAO calendar, would love to see it expanded, potentially involving AIP authors and their projects. Also really like the idea of creating a small community-rewarded initiative for it. There’s more and more ApeCoin spaces happening which would be great to see in one place, but related to AIPs that have passed, would also like to see DAO events members can attend like the F1 races, Thank Ape sponsored events, hackathons, conferences, etc. If you need any help, I try and keep track of the recurring ApeCoin spaces going on.
In closing, I want to reiterate that I greatly respect the work you and the other Stewards have put into the DAO, and I appreciate your transparency with me regarding these shifts. My goal is to ensure the DAO remains as accountable and transparent as possible, and I believe that reevaluating certain roles, like the Secretary’s, could help with that. I hope my feedback is received in the spirit of collaboration and continuous improvement.
Thanks again for engaging in this discussion and being open to feedback.
This is part of our AIP-408 OKRs. Btw, almost all the other OKRs are met or exceeded.
We are having an internal discussion about this.
I see the what happens after Snapshot is passed as a big big area that needs improvement.
Fundamentally who should be tracking their performance. There are several cases:
1.Have they given best effort to deliver? But failed. What are the lessons learned?
2. Did they use the funds for a completely different purpose, which is an act of embezzlement. Grant Fraud in the Charitable Sector | For Purpose Law Group (FPLG)
3. They met their expectations.
4. They exceeded the grant expectations.
Monitoring and Reporting is a massive area which we need to invest to build systems to do a much better job.
I am doing some research about this now. I have included a few links in this post which discuss this important and complex subject.
Yes… To be clear, given the nuances between how the WG structure was created and how it has evolved, project coordination is one of BojangleGuy’s fundamental roles with us. Through our next AIP, this role will likely be formalized.
Regarding restructuring the Secretary position to align more with its original intent, I’m just not certain there would be enough impact to justify allocating community compensation for a dedicated position. However, I agree that certain elements of it should remain.
That said, it’s encouraging to see that people still care about the issues you’re referencing, with no internal access to other legal entities, or Working Groups in this case, it becomes almost like content creation, and putting out updates, which we used to put a great deal of effort into through Discord announcements until a couple of months ago.
It’s an interesting take. Good perspective here… And maybe one that hadn’t been considered.
I can truly appreciate this, and I’m glad to see that there are people who still care on this level.
Let me give it more thought, as I see the value from a community member’s perspective. It’s also a good opportunity for the GWG to go that extra mile for everyone, which is exactly what we’re here to do.
I’ll circle back on this
As BigBull mentioned, this will definitely be part of our next AIPs, which will be presented from the GWG, formally.
All of this has been communicated internally, with potential adjustments to reflect these nuances. But keeping this in mind, and to be clear, the role is now far more robust than it was before project coordination was introduced to it.
This is good to know, and now that I look again, a locked channel that only some permissions can see. Hmmmmm… Thank you for pointing this out AA
Hard yes on all of this. Maybe we could chat? Not sure if you’ve got the bandwidth for it, but would love to get you handling this if you were interested.
AA — you are fam. And the DAO is lucky to have you.
Constructive feedback like what you’ve provided not only helps us examine the finer details of our operations but also offers perspectives that can prevent cracks in our foundational grounds.
I’m grateful for you. And as always, let me know if you need my thoughts on anything else. Maybe next we could hop on a call to chat about the Calendar?
Thanks again for the thoughtful response, AC! I appreciate how open you’ve been to discussing these ideas, and it’s great to hear that future AIPs will address some of these shifts.
Regarding the DAO calendar, I’m definitely interested in learning more about what you have in mind. Not sure if I have the bandwidth to take it on entirely myself, but I’d still love to help out where I can and contribute to getting it off the ground.
Happy to hop on a call to discuss your vision for it and see how I might be able to support!
Thanks again for being so open to feedback. Looking forward to chatting!
I think the issue is “where possible”. If it needs to be mandated as compulsory, as where possible, is a bit too vague. FYI even though Work Groups are AIP recipients, their Grants are required to comply to AIP-239.
Perhaps it would be better to be written:
The Secretary has the right and obligation to attend the Working Group(s) bi-weekly meeting (every two weeks). The Secretary is required to publish the summary of that meeting in the Official ApeCoin forum.
The Secretary has the right and obligation to attend a Monthly All Working Group(s) Meeting. The Secretary is required to publish the summary of that meeting in the Official ApeCoin forum.
I agree the language needs to be tightened up. It was difficult to predict how things would be interpreted in the future, especially for situations that didn’t yet exist, which is why the Reflection Period was included—to address any mistakes.
Looking back, I also think the Secretary role should have been independent, rather than being under a specific Working Group. This would help to ensure unbiased oversight, transparency, and accountability across all Working Groups. Without independence, the role risks becoming influenced by the very groups it is meant to bring oversight to, which could lead to conflicts of interest and diminish its effectiveness in serving the broader DAO.
