Before launching a Contribution Weighting flow round, DAOs need to set up several foundational elements to ensure fairness, transparency, and adaptability. Here’s what needs to be in place:
- Developing the Contribution Legend
- What It Is: A “legend” outlines all contribution types eligible for rewards and assigns point values to each. This provides a clear roadmap for what contributions matter most and how they are weighted in terms of rewards.
- How to Get Started: Begin by aligning the legend with your DAO’s core mission and goals. Collaborate with the community to identify valuable contributions, from technical achievements to community engagement, and determine the appropriate point values for each.
- Establishing a Legend Creation Process
- What It Is: This is the framework that guides how your legend is created and who is involved in its development.
- How to Get Started: Decide if the legend will be set by a council, through community votes, or by another consensus-based process. Make sure this process includes clear channels for community input and review to keep it aligned with the needs and goals of the DAO.
- Setting Up a Legend Update Process
- What It Is: An ongoing process to evolve the legend as the DAO’s needs change or as new contribution types emerge. This ensures the reward model remains relevant and responsive to the community.
- How to Get Started: Define a regular review cycle (e.g., monthly) and/or create a feedback-based mechanism that allows contributors to suggest updates to the legend if there’s enough demand for a change. Establish guidelines for what qualifies for updates and ensure transparency in how changes are approved.
- Defining Contribution Validation Procedures
- What It Is: A validation process verifies that contributors have completed their work before rewards are assigned. This can include self-reporting, peer validation, or a rotating group of validators responsible for reviewing pending contributions.
- How to Get Started: Decide who will serve as validators—whether it’s a dedicated group within the DAO, selected community members, or a decentralized, rotating role. Define standards for proof of completion and create a fair process for handling disputes if a contribution’s validity is challenged.
These prerequisites not only establish the framework for Contribution Weighting within Flow State but also build a sustainable and adaptive foundation, making sure contributors are fairly rewarded as they drive forward your DAO’s vision.