Triall ecosystem governance and the Triall Foundation

In this article, we’ll explain the governance system of the Triall ecosystem, including its main governing body the Triall Foundation. At Triall, we envision an inclusive digital environment that is accessible to all parties involved in clinical research. This vision is also embedded in our governance model as we strive to engage and empower stakeholders and community members in key decisions regarding the development of our ecosystem.

“We commit to a transparent, accountable, and equitable governance model in line with our vision and values.”- Hadil Es-Sbai, CEO Triall

Triall Foundation
Stichting Triall Foundation (‘Triall Foundation’ or ‘the foundation’) is the non-profit organization responsible for the governance and maintenance of the Triall ecosystem. Its Board of Directors (‘the board’) will be responsible for the strategic and general management of the foundation. The board’s composition will represent the appropriate expertise and subject-matter knowledge for the effective management of the foundation in compliance with quality standards and applicable regulatory requirements. The board will be transparent in its decision-making and will operate in the interests of Triall’s stakeholders and community.

The primary responsibilities of the Triall Foundation’s Board of Directors concern:

• Decisions regarding the foundation’s strategy
• Decisions regarding the foundation’s annual budget and use of proceeds
• Decisions regarding the development of new applications and functionalities
• Decisions regarding incubator and charity schemes
• Selecting new board members
• Proposing voting topics

The foundation’s board will initially consist of 7 members, including an appointed chair (‘President’) selected from the group of our main partners. At the time of the ITO, board seats will be filled by founding members, but these will gradually be replaced until at least 50% of the initial seats are filled by members coming forth out of the group of our main partners and stakeholders. Each 12 months, one seat will be open for (re)appointment, in which a board member may be replaced or re-elected based on his or her performance. The founding members expect that new external knowledge will be required as the blockchain space is moving rapidly. As the ecosystem grows, the number of seats will be re-evaluated by the board. Regarding decision-making, the board’s chair will be ‘primus inter pares’ (i.e., will have the deciding vote in the occurrence of an indecisive vote).

Managing partner Clinblocks B.V.
Clinblocks B.V. is a Dutch business entity that will operate as managing partner of the foundation. This entity will provide continuity to the growth of the ecosystem by being fully engaged in organizational support to develop and operate the ecosystem. Financial arrangements between the Foundation and Clinblocks B.V. will be in line with market prices and targets met and will be bound in the form of a master service agreement. The foundation holds the right to extend the contract or choose another party as it sees fit.

Socially responsible operations
Despite impressive achievements in many areas of medicine, countless serious diseases and conditions remain to be addressed. Especially in the case of diseases with either extremely small or extremely poor patient populations, treatment options are limited due to lacking private economic incentives to invest in their development. To address these unmet medical needs, alternative funding strategies are needed to facilitate medical innovation. While there are philanthropic schemes, subsidies, and grants, the current funding landscape for promising medical solutions remains scarce and the competition for obtaining funds is fierce. As socially responsible foundation, Triall aims to give back to the medical and clinical research community by investing parts of its (sustainable) operating income into incubator and charity schemes, supporting research and innovation towards meeting unmet medical needs.

Voting system — Ecosystem governance
The foundation will engage stakeholders in the decision-making process and governance of the ecosystem, by putting topics up for voting to the Triall community. Topics that may be put up for voting are major alterations to the ecosystem, preferred incubator programs, token (lock-up) incentives, community programs, and the structure, compensation, and annual evaluation of the relationships with the Foundation’s main partners. The Board may also decide to put other subjects up for voting if deemed necessary. Voting is only available to those who have locked their tokens. The foundation will decide per topic which individuals and entities are eligible for voting. For instance, topics related to the contents and features of applications may be best voted on by Triall Members (clinical trial professionals who lock up part of their T-CRED), whereas topics related to token lock-up incentives and community programs may be best voted on by TRL token holders (who lock up part of their TRL). Votes are non-binding: the foundation aims to engage all stakeholders and values input from the community but retains the right to develop and grow the ecosystem as the board deems fit.