Guide

Proposal types

The Savvy DAO has two types of proposals: those that occur Within the scope of the protocol/governance; and Meta proposals that change governance or the protocol itself.

Within proposals are related to short-term execution protocol decisions.

Example: how to distribute farming rewards and new yield strategies

Meta proposals are related to long-term execution protocol decisions.

Example: introducing a new asset or adding a new chain.

For now, the Savvy DAO will only be using Within proposals. After governance has been established, Meta proposals will be available for submission.

Proposal requirements

The proposals submitted to the Savvy DAO do not have specific formatting or style requirements, but advised follow the markdown template as a guiding tool to encourage the submission of high-quality proposals in a consistent format.

The template serves as a starting point for proposal submissions and allows for clear and concise submission of ideas and suggestions for the community to review and vote on.

Creating a governance proposal

1. Learn about the lifecycle of a Savvy DAO governance proposal

Before creating a proposal, it's important to understand the process that a proposal will go through, from submission to implementation. This includes understanding the different types of proposals, the review process, and the voting process.

2. Start with an idea for an improvement to the protocol

Once you have a general understanding of the proposal process, think about potential improvements to the protocol that you would like to propose. Consider whether your idea aligns with the mission and goals of Savvy DeFi.

3. Perform community "temperature check"

Share your idea with the community on discord to gauge interest and gather feedback. This will help you determine whether there is support for your proposal before you invest time in drafting it.

4. Draft the proposal using the Markdown Template

Once you have determined that there is support for your proposal, use the provided markdown template to draft your proposal. Make sure to clearly explain the problem you're trying to solve, the proposed solution, and the expected outcome.

5. Recruit a Buddy from the buddy list to review the proposal

In order to bootstrap governance, we are launching a “Buddy System” that will enable community members to recruit a knowledgeable member of the DAO community (a buddy) who will help guide the proposal to submission.

6. Share the proposal on Savvy Commonwealth.im

Share the proposal on Savvy’s commonwealth.im forum in order to get feedback and suggestions from the community. This will help you improve the proposal and ensure it addresses the concerns of the community.

7. Get a governance buddy to submit the proposal on Savvy Snapshot

Once the proposal is finalized and ready to be submitted, the governance buddy will be responsible for submitting it on Snapshot - the platform that executes the voting process. The proposal is now an official Savvy Improvement Proposal (SIP) and it will be assigned a unique number to identify it (e.g. SIP-1, SIP-2).

8. Snapshot executes the voting process

Once the proposal is posted on Snapshot, the voting process starts. This is done by using veSVY tokens held by members of the Savvy DAO.

9. If the vote passes, the Savvy multi-sig can queue the protocol improvement to the timelock

If the proposal receives enough support from the community, the proposal will be queued for execution after a specified amount of time has elapsed. A timelock contract ensures automatic execution while allowing the possibility to pause execution in case of an emergency.

10. DAO Buddy system

The Buddy System for the Savvy DAO is a process in which a proposal creator recruits a "buddy" to review and provide feedback on the proposal before it is submitted to the community.

The buddy's role is to ensure that the proposal is well-formatted, easy to understand, and aligns with the goals and mission of the Savvy DAO. Additionally, the buddy is responsible for submitting the proposal on the Snapshot platform.

The buddy can review the proposal for any errors, suggest changes or improvements, and ensure that it follows the structure and layout of the markdown template provided. Having a buddy review the proposal helps increase the chances of the proposal being clear for the community to vote on and implemented within the Savvy DAO.

Overall, the Buddy System is a valuable tool in the proposal process, as it helps ensure that proposals are high-quality and well-received by the community. The plan for the buddy list is to go through a process of choosing who is on the allow list. This process is divided into 3 phases:

Phase 1: The Savvy core team elected from the community

Phase 2: Community member elected from the community

Phase 3: Third-party members elected from the community

This plan allows for a gradual decentralization of the Buddy System, moving from the core team being in charge to a community-driven process where the community can elect its members to be part of the buddy system.

11. Current Buddy list

Voting process

Once a proposal has been published to the Snapshot platform, the markdown text of the proposal will be archived to IPFS to create a permanent record, and voting will begin.

Voting influence

Voting influence is proportional to the amount of veSVY a wallet holds. Snapshot platform will record these values from the state of the blockchain, so that any changes to veSVY balances that occur after the snapshot block will not affect the vote.

Voting options

A proposal includes several options that voters may choose from. For most proposals these will be Yes/No/Abstain, however other parameters such as amounts or delegations of responsibility to certain members can be provided as options.

Quorum

The threshold for minimum participation is called quorum and it describes a minimum amount of veSVY that must be cast. Proposals that get less votes than the quorum will be automatically rejected.

Timeline

Each vote is live for a set amount of time configured in Snapshot platform and is the same across all Within proposals (Meta proposals could allow a longer duration for voting). If quorum is not obtained during this period, then the proposal will not succeed even if the majority of votes are cast for it.

Casting a vote

The process for casting a vote is similar to using many dApps:

  1. Follow the link to the proposal on the Snapshot platform

  2. Connect your wallet to the platform

  3. Read the proposal and select the option you decide to cast your vote for

  4. Submit the vote, which will prompt you to sign a transaction with your wallet (this message is not submitted to the blockchain and will not cost gas).

  5. Once your vote has been recorded by the Snapshot platform, your virtual signature will be appended to the proposal

  6. Wait for the vote to conclude to see the outcome

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