Organization of Working Groups

[Vulkan]

Some working groups are starting to develop, but the DAO currently lacks an efficient way to coordinate amongst them all. An idea I have is to generate a way to organize these groups kind of like this chart does below (please note this is an example from another DAO, not this one).

This might not be needed yet, but it’s time to start being more proactive and preparing for what is coming.

Make no mistake, the goal of this isn’t to create a rigid structure like existing web2 corporations. Instead, it is meant to organize and align the different working groups that have already started to form and others that will continue to pop-up. The goal of being decentralized should always remain a top priority.

So far, the following working groups have already started to form:

1. Communications (ApeComms, Newsletters, Gazette)
2. Engineering (Snag Solutions, Horizen, Ape&Talent, NiftyKit)
3. Security (Boring Security, Bug Bounty)
4. Events & Planning (SSP's Festival, Novo's Party)
5. Governance (Improved Delegation Experience, POAP voting rewards)

Others that come to mind include:

6. Legal/Regulations
7. IP
8. Public Goods (ETHGlobal, Gitcoin, Charities, Philanthropy)
8. Education
9. Art/Music/Animation/Merch
10. Gaming

Down the road, the Special Council could be made up of a member from each working group. Imagine someone from ApeComms leading the Communications group, Feld leading the Security group, SSP leading Events & Planning, Zach leading Engineering, and Maaria leading Governance.

Each Special Council member could meet once a week to discuss what they’re working on and how to collaborate amongst each other if there are projects where multiple teams can contribute something to. Otherwise, the working groups would be free to exist independently.

Organizing these groups could also encourage more engagement and participation if people know which roles need filling and how they relate to each other.

I’m happy to lead this effort to create and maintain this chart (and have already started creating it). I’m also happy if others want to help out as well. Maybe it can start off as a shareable Notion document and build from there.

To keep it simple to start, my ask in this proposal would be to simply create a new Discourse category called Working Groups so this chart could be posted there and kept separate so it wouldn’t get lost in General or Help & Resources.

[0xSword]

The ideas presented here require evaluation & careful thought. A complete drafted proposal would be more appropriate so that the existing working groups can evaluate the ramifications of this.

[ssp1111]

gm @Vulkan,

I generally like this idea and will directionally support it.

How do you envision directing/guiding (new) members to the appropriate working groups and how do you handle folks that want to do their own thing without wanting to be “under” a working group?

I’ve had several meetings with members that would prefer to go their own way, when I’ve suggested working groups/squads/guilds, so a real challenge.

Thanks for bringing this up.

SSP✌🏽

[Vulkan]

Of course, a formal draft would follow if this is something that is worth pursuing. Just wanted to bring this up as an AIP idea first to gather feedback.

I know I originally mentioned a potential plan of a Special Council members potentially consisting of leaders from different working groups, but that is a much bigger topic of conversation for another day and wouldn’t be in the scope of this proposal.

The idea here is more to track working groups as they are formed. I’m guessing someone coming into the DAO today has no idea what is being worked on. The goal would be to make this information easily accessible so people can choose a path their interested in, reach out to an existing working group, etc.

[Vulkan]

Members going their own way is totally fine. I would never want to force someone to join something they don’t want to be a part of.

My goal here is to simply let people know which working groups have formed or are being worked on so they have the option of reaching out to them if they want. I’m guessing most new members have no idea what is already being worked on and I want to make it easy for them to find this information.

Maybe this involves coordination with @Rav-and-Greg and @lior.eth as part of their potential Catapult proposal to improve the member onboarding process.

[0xSword]

In this final proposal, do you commit that it will have no wording that gives you the design and setup of the working group structure? And do you think that a more comprehensive proposal, one that takes more than 7 days of feedback would be more appropriate for a proposal titled “organization of working groups?” There’s a lot of considerations when it comes to this stuff.

[Mantis]

Down the road, the Special Council could be made up of a member from each working group.

I definitely like the idea of Special Council members coming from the Working Groups. (As long as when they get to Special Council, they are still held accountable by their Working Group and gen pop.)

Working Groups could also create more opportunities for DAO jobs. I see the upside because there’s organization that makes people feel safe without centralizing the whole DAO.

[Vulkan]

Yes, any AIP Draft would not have me impacting the the design or setup or working groups.

Any proposals involving the design or setup of working groups would be a huge topic that would require months of planning, coordination, and feedback.

I changed the title of this AIP Idea to “Creating a Chart to Visualize Working Groups.” Still not sure what the best title is, but when I originally put “Organizing” it wasn’t the idea of physically organizing/forming them but a way to visually organize them on a chart/diagram.

I’m not trying to form a working group with this idea. I want a page somewhere people can view to see which have already been formed.

[ssp1111]

Haha – great title change .

I’m also envisioning the visual as more orbs and planets and circles over the traditional squares and rectangles and reporting structures – will take better designers than you and I to get it to a next level.

(I really shouldn’t presume anything about your mad Illustrator skills - )

– SSP

[ChrisL]

I feel the working groups are more like subDAOs because each has a specific sector under the DAO as a whole. I’m not sure if appointing a contact person to each subsector in a DAO is a good idea. What if 2 people in the special council are from the same working group? It somehow has conflicts with the current election process. But I do agree that it is good to facilitate collaborations among groups. The chart is good for checking what groups to reach out to.

[Mantis]

What if 2 people in the special council are from the same working group?

Perhaps the Special Council nomination procedure is modified so this can’t happen. Because the only vetting that Special Council members have right now is general popularity, which basically means they all came from the same “working group,” CT.

I dunno. I just feel like connecting SC to something closer to gen pop like a working group creates a better check and balance.

[Escape]

Hi @Vulkan,

Your topic will be automatically closing in less than 24 hours. Are you content with the feedback received, or do you wish to extend community discussion for a further 7 days?

If we do not hear from you within 48 hours after your topic closes, your topic will be moved straight to the AIP Draft process.

We look forward to hearing from you.

-Escape

[Vulkan]

I am good with the feedback received.

[Escape]

Thank you @Vulkan for your ideas and the ApeCoin DAO community for the thoughtful discussions. A moderator will get in touch with the author to draft the AIP in the appropriate template. Once the AIP is drafted and meets all the DAO-approved guidelines, the proposal will be posted on Snapshot for live official voting at: Snapshot

Follow this Topic as further updates will be posted here in the comments. @Vulkan please see your messages for the next steps.

-Escape

[Escape]

Hi ApeCoin DAO Community,

@Vulkan has requested to withdraw their application. This AIP will be moved to and remain in the Withdrawn AIPs category.

Kind Regards,

-Escape