Decentralized Voices Program

Web3 Foundation Team
Web3 Foundation
Published in
7 min readSep 19, 2024

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 KSM and DOT to active voters in the Polkadot and Kusama ecosystems. A second cohort began in June, with twenty delegates, with the cohort ending on 10 September.

It is now time to select new delegates for Cohort 3 of the Decentralized Voices program. Please note that there will be some changes for this cohort — see below for details.

Applications are open until the end of the day on 29 September (Central European Time). Decisions and delegations will follow shortly thereafter and will be for a four-month period.

The Second Cohort

Web3 Foundation would like to thank all of the participants in Cohort 2 for their time and energy spent determining the future of Polkadot and Kusama!

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.

How Does It Work?

Web3 Foundation will continue to delegate 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 will continue to occur on all Spender tracks (32, 33, 34), Tipper tracks (30, 31), as well as the Treasurer track (11) and Wish-for-change track (2). 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, for a proposal for which they will be compensated, trading votes, or any kind of “quid pro quo” activity). In such cases, they may vote Abstain or not vote at all.

Candidates are expected to self-police to ensure they are not voting with a conflict of interest. In case of questions, lines of communication with Web3 Foundation, primarily via Matrix, are open. Please note that the decision of what constitutes a conflict of interest is solely determined by Web3 Foundation. Any candidate who was found to be voting with a conflict of interest will be warned and asked to change their vote to Abstain, or in egregious and/or repeated cases, their delegation revoked and any potential compensation forfeited. Under no circumstances should any Decentralized Voices delegate receive compensation for voting in a particular way or for withholding their vote. In such cases, delegation can and will be revoked immediately, and any potential compensation from Web3 Foundation will be forfeited.

In case of attempts to sway their votes other than discussion (e.g. threats, bribes, offers to trade votes), Decentralized Voices delegates are expected to report this to Web3 Foundation.

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 and encouraged to request to receive another delegation from Web3 Foundation in the future or attract other delegations from the ecosystem.

How and Why Is The Program Changing?

Unlike previous cohorts, Decentralized Voices delegates will be delegated both DOT and KSM voting power. There will not be two separate programs for Polkadot and Kusama. This is because the future of the two networks is highly aligned. Additionally, the number of Referenda on Kusama is minimal compared to Polkadot.

The number of delegates is being reduced to five. This number may be reduced or increased at the discretion of Web3 Foundation. Delegates from previous cohorts are encouraged to apply and in the case of good performance, to remain Decentralized Voices delegates for future cohorts. This is to optimize for quality over quantity in delegations. Now that OpenGov has been live for over a year, we have much more information about how delegates and others have voted and interacted and can make better decisions.

Delegation length is being increased to four months from three and may be extended further with future cohorts. It has become obvious that being a good DV delegate takes ramp-up time, and we want to give teams the ability to do so. This also gives DV delegates more certainty and stability in their planning.

In return for their work voting with delegated DOT, at the end of the four-month delegation period, each delegate will be rewarded with 3’500 DOT, vesting linearly over a one-year period from the time of transfer. Please note that this amount is per delegation; in the case of a delegation to a collective entity such as a DAO, this will count as a single delegation and thus the same amount of DOT will be transferred as if it were an individual. In discussions with DV delegates from previous cohorts, it is clear that being a DV requires a lot of work. We want to compensate those who are doing it well and let them know that their time is valuable.

All delegates must verify their identity before being accepted into the program (although it is not necessary to do so before applying, you should be aware that this will have to take place before delegation). In the case of DAOs or other collectives, one representative member can be selected for identity verification and receiving the DOT.

What Makes a Good DV Candidate?

DV candidates must be already highly engaged in the Polkadot community and specifically with Polkadot governance. A long track record of voting on-chain, interacting on Polkassembly, Subsquare or other forums, participating in Attempts at Governance or other media, etc. will all speak very highly to one’s level of engagement.

The ideal candidate will also be highly aligned with, and knowledgeable about, Polkadot. They should understand the different mechanisms of Treasury funding, how Referenda work, the different tracks, etc. They should know the basics of interaction with Polkadot, especially how to use proxies and multisigs.

DV candidates should be independent-minded. We are not looking for dogmatic delegates but rather those who are open to argument and understand the nuances of decisions in OpenGov. The DV program can mean quite a bit of discussion and making trade-offs where not everybody gets what they want. It is important to be able to handle this in a mature way and remain resistant to attempts to sway votes.

Organizations or collectives with a clear and transparent internal governance structure will be prioritized over individuals. One of the reasons for DV is to hear from more voices in the community. Although the number of delegations may be going down, this should not mean that the number of voices that those delegations represent necessarily has to be reduced. Organizations and collectives are also able to more easily handle the load of so many Referenda and are generally more resistant to corruption than individuals.

Note that these are the general guidelines by which Web3 Foundation will choose delegates, but the final decision will be made by Web3 Foundation, not a checklist. However, one final item is non-negotiable — DV delegates must be willing and able to vote in the best interest of the overall ecosystem.

How Do I Apply?

Please fill out the application form by 23:59:59 29 September (Central European Time). Information requested includes the following:

  • The Polkadot and Kusama address to which you would like to have DOT and KSM delegated. You may enter different addresses for Polkadot and Kusama (they do not need to share a public key). At least one of the accounts must have a verified identity including at least one of the following fields: Twitter, Matrix, or email. It is highly recommended that you are available on Matrix for ongoing discussions.
  • 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 private explanation 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.
  • Note that all applicants 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 previously.

Learn More About Polkadot OpenGov

Polkadot OpenGov Home Page

Polkadot Wiki Page on OpenGov

Polkadot Wiki Section on Delegation

Delegation Dashboard

Dune Decentralized Voices Page by Colorful Notion

Other Governance Apps on Polkadot

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Web3 Foundation Team
Web3 Foundation

Web3 Foundation is building an internet where users are in control of their own data, identity and destiny. Our primary project is @polkadotnetwork.