4.8. Evolution of economy and governance models

During the past 3.5 years of EOS operation (and about 10 years of global blockchain technology development) many different economy and governance models have been designed and tested.

We have learned a number of shortcomings in the current EOS model. In addition, other EOSIO blockchains have demonstrated the benefits and disadvantages of alternative models.

It will be beneficial for EOS Main Net to build a working group, with the goals of developing and proposing ways to transform the EOS governance and economy; mitigating its current disadvantages; and improving its position in the global market.”

Our Alternative Solution:

Use a modified version of the Eden Consensus Protocol(ECP) to answer the questions in section 4.8 of the EOSIO Core+ Blue Paper before using the same process to elect the Governance working group members.

Elect working group members after discussion sessions whose sole purpose is to implement the solutions, not debate them.

• If you want to be a candidate to become a member of the final working group, you must have attended both of the preliminary discussion sessions

Incentivize participation in the process using EOS-backed NFTs to award everyone involved

Run this process in four language groups:

• English
• Chinese
• Korean
• Spanish

Hire multilingual EOS community members to synthesize the results of each discussion round

• Translate the results from each language section into all four languages

Why go about it this way?

As outlined in the blue paper, this is LONG overdue. EOS has suffered by not having a governance model.

Electing or appointing members of a working group first isn’t the best way to efficiently discuss the issues at hand.

• These groups historically tend to debate for exceptionally long periods of time and rarely arrive at a true group consensus.
• The modified ECP discussion groups are likely to take no longer than a half day each. At the end there will be a final solution to take away from the day’s work.

At this time, EOS needs a governance model that the community can work with sooner rather than later.

• A traditional working group is unlikely to arrive at a final model anywhere near the speed and efficiency of the modified ECP discussions.
• It’s better to have a model that might need some additional work to get it exactly where it needs to be to meet the demands of the network, but endlessly debating until we arrive at the perfect solution is a fool’s errand.

The modified ECP discussions will allow for much greater engagement by the community.

We believe engaging the four major language groups that make up the greater EOS community is critical to the success of any governance initiative.

Process:

Create a Website or Web Page to support the process.

• Will contain the discussion group schedule, working group election date and all relevant information.
• Website will provide customer support services.

Utilizing the modified ECP, two discussion sessions are to be scheduled for the first two topics outlined below from the eosio core+ blue paper in Section 4.8 Evolution of economy and governance models.

• Analysis of current situation and shortcomings
• Design of the target economy and governance models(probably with several different options)

The series of two discussion sessions and the Governance Working Group(GWG) election will be announced publicly in order to maximize community awareness and participation.

• It’s recommended that the initial announcement takes place at least 30 days prior to the first session to allow participants to put aside time in their schedules.
• General promotion of the sessions will take place during this initial 30 day window.
• Including educational materials to describe the modified ECP

The second session will be held two weeks after the conclusion of the first session.

All sessions will be recorded and available for public viewing following each session.

Sessions will be open to all EOS account holders

• Registration requires an EOS main net account
• Participants can register for as many sessions as they wish.
• Participants will be required to register for a session at least 24 hours prior to the scheduled session day and time.
• This is required in order to allow for proper planning by the discussion facilitator(s)
• Participants will be required to donate 1 EOS for each session they register for
• If the participant attends the session, they will receive an NFT worth at least 1 EOS.

The goal of the initial two discussions is to arrive at an MVP outline of the governance model

The final session, utilizing the standard ECP, will be scheduled two weeks after the last discussion session to elect the Governance Working Group(GWG) members.

• Candidates for the GWG must have attended both discussion sessions.
• This election session is open to all EOS account holders.

Governance Working Group mandate:(final 3 items from Section 4.8)

• Technical analysis (what needs to be built to implement them)
• Transition analysis (how do we get there)
• Transition roadmap (project timeline and execution plan)

Once elected, the GWG members will be tasked with planning, implementing and testing the EOS Governance Model MVP.

The Governance Model will not go live until the Top 21 EOS Block Producers reach final consensus on implementing the code/process.

Discussion Round Descriptions:

Analysis of current situation and shortcomings

• Goal of this round is to produce four individuals to produce a structured report by the end of the final round
• Report outline will be made available with the announcement of these discussion rounds
• Final round participants can take up to 2 hours to finish the report.
• Reports from each of the four language sections will be integrated by the multilingual staff into a single report which will then be translated into all four languages.

Design of the target economy and governance models(probably with several different options)

• This round will be run until there is a single winner from each language group
• Results from each of the four language sections will be integrated by the multilingual staff into a single report which will then be translated into all four languages.
• The final report will include four governance models to be presented to the GWG once elected.

GWG Election Round

• To be held according to the standard ECP process
• Process runs until a single winner is elected from each language group
• This produces 4 GWG members
• Final GWG member will be randomly chosen from the remaining second round winners from each of the four language groups

Governance Working Group Mandate:

Technical analysis (what needs to be built and how to implement them)

• Budget allocation to hire independent contractors
• GWG members vote to allocate the budget accordingly
• Must be completed within 30 days following the election of the GWG members.

Transition analysis (how do we get there)

• To be completed by the GWG members within 30 days following the receipt of the final technical analysis results.

Transition roadmap (project timeline and execution plan)

• To be completed by the GWG members within 15 days following the receipt of the final transition analysis results.

Incentives for Participation:

Participants in each of the two discussion rounds will be awarded an EOS-backed NFT. When the first small group chooses their representative to move onto the next round, the representative will earn an additional NFT worth 100x the original, and the winners of the next round will earn additional NFTs worth 1000x.

Holders of any NFTs earned during the ECP events will qualify for one randomly awarded EOS-backed NFT per event. (The NFT must be held by an account that participated in the event AND completed the survey after their ECP experience)

Participants will be asked to participate in a survey immediately after their ECP is complete which will attempt to collect any data missed by the process. Another EOS-backed NFT will be awarded for taking part in it. Questions could include:

• What was the best idea that you heard today regarding the topic at hand?
• Was there anyone who did not win their discussion round who presented an idea that you think should be heard?
• Can you recommend anything that would improve this discussion process?

Participants in the final round (the election of the GWG) will receive both an NFT and a special Non-transferable Token (or badge), proving their involvement in the process.

A special NFT will also be rewarded for participants who attended each discussion round, the election round, AND completed each of the subsequent surveys.

Estimated Budget:(Recommendations)

Discussion Rounds:

(Example based on 64 Participants, 1 EOS registration fee)

Participants receive their 1 EOS back in the form of an EOS backed NFT

• Break even

Round 1 Winners

• 16 winners — 100 EOS each — 1600 EOS total

Final Round Winners

• 4 winners — 1000 EOS each — 4000 EOS total

Raffle Winner

• Only participants and those who filled out the survey
• 400 EOS + EOS from any registered participants who didn’t show

Total — 6000 EOS x 2 rounds = 12000 EOS

Total for all 4 language sections = 48000 EOS

Election Round Example (64 Participants, 1 EOS registration fee)

• Participants receive 10 EOS in the form of an EOS backed NFT
• 64 participants = 640 EOS
• No reward for subsequent rounds
• Election winner to receive compensation designated for GWG members
• 640 EOS per language section
• Total = 2560 EOS

Discussion Round Facilitators

• 500 EOS per person
• 2000 EOS per round(4 language sections) x 2
• Total = 4000 EOS

Election Round Facilitators

• 500 EOS per person
• Total = 2000 EOS

NFT/NTT Creation and Logistics

• 5000 EOS

Multilingual Interpreters

• 2500 EOS per discussion round
• Additional allocation for Interpreters to be made available for every GWG meeting to facilitate discussion between members

GWG Member Compensation

• Equivalent to compensation given to other ENF sponsored working groups

Budget for Technical Analysis

• 10000 EOS

Budget for Technical Implementation(Build)

• 25000 EOS

Total Estimated Budget Allocation = 101,560 EOS

Technical Considerations for this Alternative Solution

The Eden Consensus Protocol is being forked and productized by a team of Eden members, and will be available for use by any EOS account once the process is complete. There are several technical hurdles to overcome, but the tool should be ready by early summer 2022. If this proposal is implemented, the process can be executed manually with very few modifications in lieu of a completed tool. The goal of productizing it is to allow any EOS account to initiate an Eden Consensus Process for any reason, which would allow the Governance Working Group to use this to build consensus not only to establish the group but for any future purposes.

Notes:

What is the Eden Consensus Protocol?

• From edenoneos.com:

“Eden OS is a unique governance process that leverages the wisdom of the crowds to identify the best community representatives in a manner that has as its goal the avoidance of devolving into party politics, popularity contests, or incumbent advantage.”

• The Eden process randomly assigns members of a large group into small groups to facilitate effective discussion. Each small group elects a leader to progress to the next discussion round.
• In EdenOnEOS, the process is used to elect individuals who will be trusted with budgets which they will use to bring value to the EOS ecosystem.

Domenic Thomas & Chuck MacDonald for the EOS Blue Paper Community Feedback Initiative