Decentralized Voices: Cohort 2
In February 2024, Web3 Foundation created the Decentralized Voices program for Polkadot and Kusama, to allow more people to be significantly involved in OpenGov by delegating 180’000 KSM and 42 million DOT worth of voting power to active voters in the ecosystem.
As explained in the original blog post, these delegations would last for three months, which is almost over. It is thus time to select new delegates for the Cohort 2 of the Decentralized Voices program.
If you are interested in applying, you can fill out this form and be eligible to receive voting delegations from Web3 Foundation DOT or KSM in early June for a three month period.
The First Cohort
On Kusama, there are currently six delegates, each delegated 5’000 KSM at 6x conviction, for a total voting power of 30’000 KSM per delegate. On Polkadot, there are seven delegates, each delegated 1’000’000 DOT at 6x conviction, for a total voting power of 6’000’000 DOT per delegate.
These delegates have been very active participants in Polkadot and Kusama governance, with some delegates voting on every single Referendum for which they were eligible to do so. There have been many comments left on Polkassembly, Subsquare, and on other platforms by the delegates on the topic of governance. The discussion is often passionate but has remained professional.
For more information about how the delegates voted, and the effects they had on the outcome of Referenda, you can view Colorful Notion’s Dune Decentralized Voices dashboard which includes a wealth of information.
The Second Cohort
Along with seeing what is happening on-chain, representatives from Web3 Foundation have interacted with DV delegates and other members of the ecosystem to hear what their pain points are and concerns they have about the Decentralized Voices program.
Therefore, a few changes were made to the program. The first small change is the addition of the Treasurer track to the Decentralized Voices delegations. It was possible to circumvent the Decentralized Voices program, and thus “pick” who could vote on a proposal, by issuing a Treasury Proposal on the Treasurer track, even if it was of a small amount. This loophole is now closed.
The second is the increase in the number of delegations. A common issue that people had with the DV program was the small number of delegates — six on Kusama and seven on Polkadot. Thus, we are increasing the number of delegations to ten on each network. This will allow for more participation and a wider diversity of voices.
The third is the addition of community feedback. One of the reasons that it is suggested to post one’s political philosophy to the Polkadot Forum is that it provides an easy way for people to post their thoughts on the candidates and their philosophies. Web3 Foundation will take this community feedback into account when selecting delegates. We expect this to be a more formalized process as the Decentralized Voices program matures.
It is likely that future cohorts will have further modifications as we discover what works and what does not.
How Does It Work?
Web3 Foundation delegates its own DOT and KSM to individual voters who have been shown to be avid and thoughtful contributors to governance, through both on-chain voting and off-chain interactions. These delegations occur on all Spender (32, 33, 34) and Tipper (30, 31) tracks, as well as the Treasurer (11) track. Candidates must write a public declaration of their political “philosophy” and/or agenda, and must be able to show significant historic participation in Polkadot or Kusama governance.
Participants are expected to vote regularly and explain the rationale behind their voting on Polkassembly, Subsquare, and/or other communications media (e.g. Polkaverse, X/Twitter, Polkadot Forum). Participants are barred from voting Aye or Nay for Treasury Proposals for themselves or for which they have a conflict of interest (e.g. voting against a competitor or for a proposal for which they will be compensated). In such cases, they may vote Abstain or not vote at all. Any candidate who was found to be voting with a conflict of interest will have their delegation immediately revoked and all of their outstanding votes reset to Abstain.
Although public input is requested and appreciated, the final selection of candidates is at the discretion of Web3 Foundation and delegation can be revoked at any time in the case of violation of the rules.
Current delegates are allowed to request to receive another delegation. Their current behaviour as a DV delegate will be taken into consideration. However, it should be noted that the goal of this program is to allow different voices to participate in governance and preference will be given to new applicants.
How Do I Apply?
Please fill out this application and a decision will be made within two weeks. We will announce the winners at that point and Information requested includes the following:
- The Polkadot or Kusama address to which you would like to have DOT or KSM delegated. You may enter a different address for Polkadot and Kusama, if you are applying for both the Polkadot and Kusama versions. This account must have a verified identity including at least one of the following fields: Twitter, Matrix, or email.
- A link to a publicly accessible declaration of your Polkadot “political philosophy” and/or agenda. Ideally this should be on the Polkadot Forum, but it can be hosted elsewhere (e.g. Github, your homepage) as long as it is public. This can include an actual philosophical statement, analogies to other political philosophies, opinions on previous Referenda or governance decisions, or any other way you would like to explain to people how you would vote in the future. This should be at least one paragraph.
- If desired, you may also add a description of why you would be a good choice for this program. This can include such information as previous votes (including votes with other accounts if you can prove you own them), as well as commentary, blog posts, etc. on Polkadot OpenGov or specific referenda. It can also include other information that you would consider relevant to decision making, e.g. being part of other political groups or legislative bodies. However, it is important to note that this is not necessary — having a publicly declared political philosophy is all that is necessary.
- Note that applicants who submitted a form for Cohort 1 are required to fill out a new form; just because you applied earlier does not mean that you wish to apply again. However, you may re-use the same post of your political philosophy or any other information you submitted the first time.
Learn More About Polkadot OpenGov
Polkadot Wiki Section on Delegation
