Thursday, December 22nd, 2022 - As we approach the end of Governance Period 5, we wanted to share some of the key information for Governance Period 6 (Q1-2023), our plans to start the year anew with improved governance communication and the design of the xGov Program.
Governance Period 6 - Key Dates (Governance timezone is SGT, Singapore time.)
From all corners of the globe, the Algofam has asked for more participation in decision-making generally, but in particular when it comes to proposing the measures for each governance period.
The Governance Advisory Council
We are establishing an Advisory Council with the creation of five advisory committees as a pre-cursor to the xGov program and a way for stakeholders to have a voice.
We have already started the formation of Advisory Committees for DeFi, Web3, Gaming, and Impact, to help us navigate the needs of the projects' building on Algorand. These committees will not only discuss governance issues as they relate to each vertical but also vertical-specific issues, creating a process of fluid communication.
At Decipher, as a result of both the Governance Roundtable and individual conversations with a variety of stakeholders, we identified the need to also create a Governance Advisory Committee. The first committee will have 14 members, with representatives from each of the vertical committees (two DeFi, two Web3, one Gaming, and one Impact), as well as two investors, two developer houses, one bridge, one general-use dApps, and up to two at large members.
To kick start this program, we are extending the invitation to the committee's first round of members to a number of key Algorand stakeholders. In our view, the committee itself will make decisions about its future composition, how seats are nominated, the duration of members' terms, etc.
The first Governance Advisory Committee meeting will be held during the third week of January, to give the vertical committees a chance to select their representatives.
We will disclose more information about these committees, such as members and meeting schedules, in early January.
The xGov Program Design- ARC 33 and 34
It is important that we converge on the design of the xGov program by making progress with ARC 33 and ARC 34, now live on GitHub. Stephane Barroso, AF's ARC Manager, hosts weekly technical meetings on Discord to discuss suggestions, answer questions, and document the design progress. We have also started hosting bi-weekly Twitter spaces to discuss the xGov design with a more conversational, not-so-technical, format. The recording for the first ARC Twitter space held on 21 December is available online, in case you missed it.
If you haven't already made your opinion known, please visit GitHub and have a look at the documentation. If you don't want to create a GitHub account, you can also engage on our Discord Server #governance channel. There is a channel for each open ARC, under the ARC heading.
In summary, the key dates for Governance Period 6 have been laid out above. To broaden the input for governance discussion, the Algorand Foundation is establishing the Advisory Council, as a way to open the communication lines prior to implementing the xGov program. Consultation is open for the xGov process design, via ARC 33 and ARC 34, and we welcome your feedback as we design the future of Algorand Governance. This is a joint effort, we are counting on you too!
We are excited and motivated by this new step in governance and would like to wish you a wonderful end-of-year season. May 2023 bring us new highs in all aspects of our lives.