How to write an awesome proposal on the Go Nebulas platform!

Since Nebulas Voyager launched and moved to a community managed project, governance nodes have had the privilege of reviewing and deciding if a project meets the satisfaction of the governance committee and should become an active project (based on either its description or previous track record).

As of this writing, two mainnet governance cycles have been completed on the Nebulas blockchain; it’s clear that the governance nodes are a tough crowd to please, and while this is good, it forces the community to write high-quality, professional proposals.

Therefore, to help great proposals get approved, I’d like to share some ideas and tips to consider:

1) Clearly, explain why your proposal is important to the future of Nebulas and what gap it fills.

• Be precise when explaining what your proposal aims to solve or improve within the ecosystem.

2) Expand on how the community will benefit from your proposal.

• The simplest question asked by the community and governance nodes is, “Why does Nebulas need this?” Be sure to explain your specific proposal, and remember that there could be multiple proposals with the same goal.
• Back up your statements with facts or proof from other Go Nebulas projects, verified statics or even the results from other projects.

3) Clearly detail every step required for the success of your proposal.

• Even the simplest proposal may require multiple steps for success. The more detail you add to every step, the more your proposal will stand out from the rest.
• If you need support from the Nebulas development team, for example, be sure to include the technical requirements.

4) Describe how and when your proposal should be considered a success.

• Let’s face it — there are those in the blockchain community wanting to obtain assets with minimal work. While I don’t believe in being tribal when it comes to technology, a proposal is more likely to receive attention if it comes from a community member who has been around for a while, shares their opinion openly, and is seen helping fellow Nebulas community members. If you are not a community member and you submit a proposal, please think about joining the community. Learn about the Nebulas blockchain; it’s technology, pros, cons, history and future plans, and talk to it’s global community who is filled with many intelligent people.
• One of the most common proposals is the creation of new Nebulas based communities and unfortunately, they are usually not approved. It’s great if a community is developed organically, but we know this is difficult to accomplish which is the reason for these proposals. Therefore, you must show that there is a demand in your specific region/community for the new community to thrive.
• Set goals for your proposal and consequences if not achieved. For example, if you are creating a new community, set your anticipated growth rate and be sure not to manipulate the results (the Nebulas Technical Committee (NTC) will validate projects and look for manipulation).
• Once you set a goal, explain how these goals can be verified. The community wants results that are based on factual data. Even if your proposal becomes a project, it will still need to be reviewed by the NTC and approved by the governance committee to receive funding.

5) It may be beneficial to create a proposal without a budget to increase the potential of a proposal becoming a project.

• Once it’s an established project, the Nebulas Technical Committee (NTC) will set a budget and all community members can make a claim for the project. Once the claim period is completed, the NTC will choose the candidate based on their qualifications, prior experience, understanding and passion for Nebulas.

6) State the projected timeline from the start of the project to completion.

• It’s important to know how long a project is expected to take. For example, if the proposal is for a dApp, it may take 200 hours and the NTC will value it accordingly. If your project is for community development, be sure to state how long the proposal is for (in terms of days or months), the specific community and what happens post completion.

7) Some projects may be quite large and involved, requiring extensive development or long- term marketing.

• It’s highly recommended that these projects be split into multiple smaller proposals which the governance nodes can consider milestones. Before approving the next portion of the project, the community can review the overall progress and determine its viability.
• Larger projects can be developed by a community based team and should encourage multiple participants with different backgrounds. Don’t be afraid to state the required personnel in the proposal.

8) Share your prior experience to demonstrate you have knowledge pertaining to your proposal.

• Detail your past experience in this field and how you can use this experience to build and manage a great project.
• Share your linkedin profile, personal website, or even Twitter account so the community can get to know you better.

9) Be ready to answer questions from the community before it’s voted on.

• When governance cycles get closer, the participants begin reviewing the proposals so it’s important to be ready to answer any questions they may have. It could mean the difference of a proposal being approved.

We hope the above tips will help the community write high quality proposals with the result of getting more proposals approved!

Best of luck!

Learn more about Nebulas:

Official website: Nebulas.io
Node Platform: node.nebulas.io
Smart asset platform nextDAO: nextDAO.io
Github: github.com/nebulasio/go-nebulas
New Telegram(EN): t.me/nebulasen
Telegram Node Operating Group: t.me/nasnode
Community Forum: community.nebulas.io
Instagram: nebulasio
Facebook: @nebulasproject
Twitter: @nebulasio