Executive Overview

In the second quarter of 2024, the ENS DAO Meta-Governance Working Group focused on various aspects of DAO governance, operations, and treasury management.

Meta-Governance decided to adjourn the DAO Bylaws draft to create a more cohesive framework and will resume the process with ENS Labs General Counsel shortly.

Following this, the Working Group refined and submitted a funding request based on delegate feedback. The funding secured supports DAO-wide operations, including working groups, treasury management, and governance initiatives. To better align DAO-steward incentives and relationships, the group implemented ENS vesting contracts via Hedgey.

Security was a major focus this quarter. Inspired by the recent COMP governance attack and previous attacks, the Working Group took measures to mitigate potential governance attacks, with the eventual execution of EP5.13, confirming a 4/8 multisig composed of notable ENS delegates (Security Council).

Additionally, the Working Group oversaw Karpatkey's upgrade of their endowment tooling with the migration to the Zodiac Roles Module V2, as well as a variety of updates to the Endowment's permissions policy.

The group also provided feedback on Agora's governance interface and is anticipating several updates, including the Proposal Bond feature and an upgraded Governor contract to support redelegation.

In terms of DAO tooling, Meta-Governance sponsored token costs for two AI-enabled DAO tooling initiatives, as well as maintenance for the Small Grants portal (ensgrants.xyz).

Reminder: The Purpose of the Meta-Governance Working Group

One of the main roles of Meta-Governance is to facilitate the proposal process. Think of this role as akin to that of an air traffic controller, managing the limited bandwidth for take-offs and landings. Just as air traffic controllers ensure the smooth and safe flow of aircraft, proposal coordinators must ensure the orderly progression of proposals to maintain social equilibrium within the DAO. Given the diverse interests of the DAO's many delegates, it is crucial for Meta-Governance to maintain robust communication and strong rapport with its constituency, ensuring a steady and efficient flow of proposals.

Additionally, the Working Group seeks to support and continuously strengthen DAO-wide operations and initiatives through DAO tooling, special initiatives, communications, and safeguarding the DAO against potential attack vectors. One of its priorities is to encourage voter participation and increase the plurality of voting blocs by rewarding voting power (ENS) to its service providers. With this in mind, let's review how the Meta-Governance Working Group worked towards accomplishing its goals during Q2 of 2024 and for a review of Q1 efforts, refer to the prior retrospective linked here.

Q2 Proposal Review

The current term's proposals focus on enhancing security, governance efficiency, and operational transparency. Key proposals include the establishment of a Security Council with veto powers to counter governance attacks and safeguard the DAO's constitution, as well as an ENS Steward Vesting Proposal to align steward interests with long-term goals through a structured vesting schedule. Funding requests from Meta-Governance aim to support DAO-wide operations, working groups, and treasury management.

The confirmation and empowerment of the Security Council to cancel malicious proposals, alongside a term-specific funding proposal, ensure robust governance and security measures. Additionally, the Roles Modifier V2 Migration seeks to enhance treasury management through the updated Zodiac Roles Modifier v2 module, enabling swaps on CoW Swap and refining permissions. Collectively, these proposals underscore the DAO's commitment to security, operational efficiency, and transparent governance practices.

• EP5.7: Social Security Council: This proposal sought approval from the ENS DAO to counter governance attacks by creating a veto role (veto.ensdao.eth), endowed with approximately 3.8 million $ENS delegated from ENS Labs. This role would be controlled by a multisig wallet pertaining to a trusted group to veto proposals that threatened the DAO’s integrity or violated its constitution. It also introduced a CANCEL role, assigned to the same multisig wallet.

• EP5.8: Social ENS Steward Vesting Proposal: This proposal suggested implementing a vesting schedule for $ENS tokens distributed to stewards of all three ENS DAO Working Groups. The proposed vesting would occur over a 24-month period to align steward interests with the DAO’s long-term goals, with provisions for both current and retroactive vesting terms.

• EP5.9: Meta-Governance Funding Request: Meta-Governance sought funding to support DAO-wide operations, including Working Groups, treasury management, and governance initiatives. This request aligned with Rule 10.1.1 of the Working Group Rules, and amendments introduced in EP 4.8, and included vesting contracts as per EP 5.8.

• EP5.10: Confirming the Security Council: Following EP5.7’s approval, this proposal confirmed 8 Security Council members to protect ENS from governance attacks by canceling malicious proposals. The council operated under a 4/8 multisig configuration and had a 2-year veto power. A For/Against/Abstain vote confirmed the members, with a quorum of 1 million votes needed.

• EP5.11: Fund the Meta-Governance Working Group (Term 5): Meta-Governance sought funding to support DAO-wide operations, including Working Groups, treasury management, and governance initiatives. This request aligned with Rule 10.1.1 of the Working Group Rules and amendments introduced in EP 4.8. This proposal executed the funding specification according to EP 5.9, as amended by EP 5.8.

• EP5.12: Roles Modifier V2 Migration and Endowment Permissions Update: This proposal sought to implement the updated Zodiac Roles Modifier v2 module, enhancing usability and transparency in treasury management. If approved, the module would be activated, and the DAO would revise the permissions policy. Key changes included enabling swaps on CoW Swap and eliminating obsolete actions and protocols while refining existing permissions.

• EP5.13: Enable the Security Council: This proposal aimed to safeguard the ENS DAO against malicious proposals and mitigate governance attack vectors. A Security Council, elected through the DAO’s governance process, would be granted the PROPOSER_ROLE in the time lock, enabling it to cancel proposals (callable only by the Security Council multisig) without the power to initiate or modify other DAO actions.

Key Initiatives in Q2 2024

Initiative 1: Security Council

• Objective: This proposal aims to safeguard the ENS DAO against malicious proposals and mitigate governance attack vectors by electing a Security Council through the DAO's governance process, granting it the PROPOSER_ROLE in the time lock to cancel proposals via the Security Council multisig without the authority to initiate or modify other DAO actions.

• Actions Taken: After evaluating the criteria for the Security Council, including the responsibilities of this role (EP5.7, EP5.10), the Security Council contract was successfully deployed to Mainnet and received the PROPOSER_ROLE in the time lock, granting it the ability to cancel proposals (callable only by the Security Council multisig) without the power to initiate or modify other DAO actions.

• Outcome: The Security Council, composed of trusted ENS Delegates, will continue to oversee the governance process and remain vigilant and responsive to any malicious proposals that may appear in the proposal queue. The role is granted for two years, so further research is necessary to ascertain a more decentralized, evergreen solution.

Initiative 2: DAO Bylaws

• Objective: The Meta-Governance Working Group issued an RFP in Q4 2023 for a qualified individual or firm to draft a comprehensive set of DAO bylaws for the ENS DAO, which will serve as operating documents for its governance, modeled after the existing EP1.8 Working Group rules and incorporating best practices and existing DAO documentation.

• Actions Taken: Lemma Solutions provided a first draft of the Bylaws, but after identifying gaps between expectations and the current state, the process adjourned in order to create a more cohesive framework with the assistance of Alex Urbelis, ENS Labs’ general counsel.

• Next Steps: The Working Group, along with Urbelis of ENS Labs, will begin work internally on the first draft and provide a notice on the ENS DAO forum for community review before submitting the bylaws for DAO-wide adoption via the governance process.

Initiative 3: Securing DAO-wide Operations

• Objective: Following the failure of EP5.4.1, the Working Group focused on refining its proposal by gathering feedback from several delegates who suggested that compensation was not structured or transparent enough. The objective was to refine the proposal in order to secure the Working Group's budget for the following term.

• Actions Taken: In response, the Working Group worked closely with fireeyesdao.eth to propose the implementation of an ENS vesting contract. Meta-Governance secured funding and distributed governance according to EP5.11 to continue supporting Working Group operations, treasury management, and other governance initiatives.

• Outcomes: Thanks to the support of delegates, Meta-Governance will be able to continue supporting Working Group operations, treasury management, and other governance initiatives. The next steps will involve discussing with stewards the setting of compensation guidelines for the following term, as well as refining and implementing a governance distribution program that can be iterated on by future DAO service providers and stewards.

Initiative 4: Endowment Tooling Upgrade

• Objective: Upgrading the Zodiac Roles module enhances the security and flexibility of the endowment's management. The upgrade aims to provide a more robust and modular framework for managing permissions and roles within the endowment, ensuring that governance processes are secure, transparent, and adaptable to future needs. This allows for better control and oversight, aligning with the broader goal of responsible fund management for the ENS Endowment.

• Actions Taken: Meta-Governance was involved in overseeing the proposal, development, and implementation of the Zodiac Roles module upgrade to ensure alignment with the ENS Endowment's strategic objectives.

• Outcomes: The endowment's UI migrated to the Zodiac Roles Modifier V2, resulting in several updates including the Endowment's permissions policy. This upgrade enhances the security and flexibility of managing the ENS Endowment by providing sophisticated permission filtering and advanced logic for complex permissions. The changes ensure better control and oversight of the endowment, aligning with the goal of responsible fund management and enabling more efficient governance processes.

Initiative 5: Improving DAO Governance UX with Agora

• Objective: Improving Governance UX involves enhancing the proposal sponsorship and lifecycle management process for the ENS community. This initiative aimed to streamline the workflow for proposers, making it easier to build and seek sponsorship for proposals. By providing a user-friendly interface, the initiative allowed sponsors to review proposals efficiently, shifting the workload to the proposers. Additionally, the initiative sought to address issues like spam, speed up proposal indexing, and improve the overall user experience with minor UI enhancements.

• Actions Taken: Agora developed a streamlined flow for proposers to build and seek sponsorship for proposals, providing a demonstration video, and setting up a test environment on the Sepolia network. Additionally, the initiative introduced an ENS list of approved sponsors, sped up proposal indexing, addressed minor UI issues, and implemented proposal bonds to lower the entry threshold and prevent spam. It also explored collective sponsorship and modified sponsorship models similar to the Nouns DAO to further lower the proposal creation threshold.

• Next Steps: The Agora team is currently seeking feedback on both the Proposal Lifecycle and Sponsorship Flow, as well as an upgrade to the ENS Governor to facilitate redelegation. Active DAO participants, service providers, and delegates are encouraged to review the request for feedback and provide their input. They will soon post a temp-check to the forum before continuing with a formal proposal.

Initiative 6: DAO Tooling

• Objective: The Meta-Governance Working Group supports the management and operation of working groups through DAO tooling. This quarter, the focus was on enhancing governance through AI and analytics.

• Actions Taken: Meta-Governance sponsored token costs for two separate AI-enabled DAO tools with a grant of $1000 USDC each:

  • x23.ai: This tool applies LLM and AI to web3 data, indexing and summarizing ENS data to help delegates stay informed and more effective participants in the communities and protocols they care about.

  • AI Delegate: This tool explores the potential of AI in DAO governance. Users can choose a "Biased AI" to delegate their votes to, with the AI voting based on predetermined biases or preferences.

  • Dhive: Although not a Meta-Governance grantee, Dhive received support through a Public Goods sponsored Small Grants round. Dhive presents voter data in an easily digestible way using various data visualizations, such as basic voting results, weighted voting results, and approval voting results.

• Outcome: While not immediate, the results of DAO tooling initiatives will be carefully revealed throughout the remainder of the year. There will be a continued initiative and focus throughout the term to review the impact and immediate utility of these tools to delegates and the DAO overall.

Review and Future Direction

This quarter was particularly productive, with a total of seven proposals passed. Delegate feedback highlighted the need to refine the proposal process and create more cohesive proposals that include all necessary dependencies, enabling informed decision-making.

Looking ahead, the group plans to focus on setting compensation guidelines for 2025 stewards, determining governance distribution for all DAO service providers, drafting bylaws, updating ensdao.org, and preparing for upcoming elections.

Lastly, the Working Group emphasized the importance of promptly updating ENS DAO governance documents and will be sending out a feedback form to gather insights and suggestions from delegates and stakeholders.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the second quarter of 2024 was marked by significant progress and strategic initiatives within the ENS DAO Meta-Governance Working Group. The successful establishment of the Security Council, enhancements in endowment tooling, and ongoing efforts to draft comprehensive DAO bylaws underscore the group's commitment to bolstering governance and operational efficiency. Key initiatives such as improved DAO governance UX with Agora and the sponsorship of innovative DAO tooling projects reflect a forward-looking approach to maintaining a resilient and responsive DAO infrastructure.

Moving forward, the Meta-Governance Working Group aims to continue refining proposal processes, setting compensation guidelines, and enhancing communication with delegates to ensure robust and transparent governance practices. The proactive measures and collaborative efforts taken this quarter lay a strong foundation for future advancements and sustained growth within the ENS DAO.

Resources

• Meta-Governance Q1 Review: Reviews past quarter's updates.

• ENS DAO Risk Dashboard: This dashboard keeps track of the total assets under management of the DAO as well as the total delegated cap, meaning the total value of all ENS votes which are currently delegated. If the risk is above 1 then it means that an attacker could make a profit by purchasing an equal amount of ENS on the market and passing a proposal replacing taking over all funds.

• ENS DAO Governance Metrics: This dashboard explores Governance activity for the ENS DAO. It aims to be an open and consolidated source of information about governance data, making it easier to make sense and analyze.

• ENS DAO Financial Reporting: The aim of this dashboard is to present an onchain financial overview of ENS DAO's activities over time. For deeper insights, view the linked resource: ENS DAO Dashboard Accounting Reference.

• Voting Period Bulletin: Made for purpose of keeping track of current and past off and onchain proposals with relevant links included.

• Upgrading the ENS Endowment: A comprehensive overview of the ENS DAO Endowment, detailing its role within the ENS protocol and highlighting the latest routine maintenance upgrade scheduled for June 2024.

• Karpatkey H1 Review: Entire summary of Endowment since the initial RFP as authored by Karpatkey.

• Creating a decentralized collaborative environment: Meta-governance steward estmcmxci.eth plans to use Kanban & ddocs tooling to enable more transparent, inclusive and permission based collaboration possible.

• Term 5 Dashboard: Keeps DAO up to date on current events, lists proposals, and ways to navigate the DAO.