Request for Proposal: Economic Sustainability Study and Roadmap
1. Introduction
The ApeCoin DAO is soliciting proposals from third-party research firms with expertise in decentralized finance (DeFi), and treasury management. The primary objective is to craft a comprehensive study that delineates a clear path toward establishing a decentralized treasury management structure. This structure should facilitate the deployment of the ApeCoin DAO’s assets on-chain, ensuring the sustainable operation of the DAO in an endowment-like capacity.
2. Objectives:
Research and Design: Explore existing decentralized treasury management structures, especially those with an endowment perspective. Identify best practices and innovations.
Revenue Generation: Propose strategies for deploying assets on-chain to generate consistent and sustainable revenue for DAO operations.
Risk Management: Identify potential risks associated with each proposed strategy and suggest mitigation measures.
Implementation Roadmap: Offer a detailed, step-by-step roadmap for transitioning to the proposed decentralized treasury management structure.
3. Scope of Project Work
The scope of work for this RFP is broken up into 2 categories: Economically Sustainable DAO Operations and Decentralized Treasury Management.
3.1. Economically Sustainable DAO Operations Study:
- Research sustainable operations and best practices for DAOs.
- Identify actionable insights and recommendations tailored for ApeCoin DAO.
- Analyze the sustainability of current DAO operations and provide improvement suggestions.
3.2. Decentralized Treasury Management:
- Propose various strategies for deploying DAO assets on-chain, such as staking, liquidity provisioning, or engaging with DeFi protocols.
- Analyze expected returns, liquidity implications, and associated risks for each strategy.
4. Proposal Requirements:
Technical Proposal: Outline the methodology, approach, tools, and potential team members who will be involved in the project.
Financial Proposal: Provide a detailed budget breakdown.
Firm’s Experience: Include information on previous similar projects undertaken, relevant case studies, and references.
Timeline: Outline a clear timeline for each stage of the project, ensuring the final report’s delivery before February 28th.
5. Submission Evaluation Criteria
Proposals will be evaluated based on the following criteria:
- Cost-effectiveness.
- Relevant experience and expertise in DAOs, on-chain structures, and compliance.
- Quality and clarity of the proposed methodology.
- Feasibility of the proposed timeline.
6. Submission Requirements & Instructions
Timeline in brief
● October 6th: RFP is live and posted on Discourse
● October 6th - 20th: Stewards’ engagement with bidders
● October 20th-27th: Bidders submit their proposals to the Governance Working Group
● October 27th-31st: Proposal evaluations by the Governance Working Group
● November 1st: Governance Working Group engages with chosen candidate
● February 28th 2024: Publish Economic Sustainability Study and Roadmap
Instructions
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Bidders interested in responding to the RFP are responsible for reviewing these instructions in their entirety, prior to completing each section.
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This RFP will go live on Thursday, October 5th. Governance Working Group Stewards will continue to engage with potential bidders between Thursday October 5th and Friday October 20th.
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Bidders applying for the RFP will be required to submit a proposal via email no later than Friday October 27th, 5pm EST. Proposals received outside of this channel, or after this date and time, will not be considered.
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Please submit your proposal electronically to governancestewards@gmail.com by the deadline mentioned above.
The proposal posted by bidders should include the following information:
Provide General Information by providing the company name and website, as well as the Key Contact Person(s) details for your company. All communications regarding submissions and/or work assigned will be provided through the Key Contact Person(s) identified.
Submit a Scope of Work to indicate if your bid is for some, or all, of the categories of work as detailed in Section 3 above.
Prepare a Knowledge/Skill/Systems Requirements & Work Experience section of the proposal providing the appropriate description of relevant knowledge, skills, systems and work experience that outlines and demonstrates what is needed for the achievement of processes and procedures to be completed in the scope of work.
Confirm Availability & Capacity to let us know how soon you can begin and capacity of resources being made available for the work required.
Submit Pricing Information. We are seeking a cost effective solution to our needs.
For any inquiries or clarifications regarding this RFP, contact the Governance Working Group at governancestewards@gmail.com.