user : problems observiing assistant : ### What specific governance challenge or problem are you observing? Please be as concrete as possible about what's happening and why it matters. user : One of the biggest issues I see in many DAOs (including RARI DAO) is that the Foundation is taking on "DAO operations" work - i..e. management of the treasury without any visibility or current transparency of the spend. Just "approve this budget and trust us". I see Foundations moving towards treating delegates and the DAOs as "checkmark" we've got one for SEC, but in practice, the Foundation is managing day-2-day operations themselves and treating DAOs and the delegates with lip service. assistant : ### What evidence or examples demonstrate this is a real problem? This could include failed proposals, low participation rates, specific incidents, data you've observed, or patterns you've noticed across projects. user : Not failed proposals, but some of these DAOs do have an auto-abstain wallet for all proposals to pass quorum, but using it like a permanent solution, rather than a temporary one. Low participation rate has more to do with the Foundations reducing operational funds for DIPs and less delegates become eligible to receive DIP rewards (like what is happening in the Arbitrum DAO with a min of 500K ARB to receive DIP rewards). assistant : Would you like to share another governance problem, or should we move on to exploring solutions and who's working on them? user : Move on assistant : ### What approaches, tools, or mechanisms could address the governance problems we've discussed? Share any potential solutions you're aware of or have considered - these could be technical tools, process innovations, research directions, or organizational approaches. user : I believe we need to have more organization specialization roles in committees in DAOs to actually run the day-2-day ops of the DAO. Not just the Grants committee, but marketing, audits, treasury/expenses management, proposal project management and DIP program management. assistant : ### Which teams, projects, or researchers do you know are actively working on these solutions or related governance innovations? This helps us map who's contributing to solving these challenges. user : Scroll DAO is working towards this (in a very limited version - phase 1). Other DAOs I'm in, they are not there. assistant : Would you like to share more solutions or identify additional actors working in this space, or should we move to wrapping up? user : Wrap up assistant : ### Thank you for mapping governance challenges and solutions Here's a summary of your contributions: **Problems Identified:** - Foundations taking over DAO operations and treasury management without transparency, treating DAOs and delegates as regulatory checkboxes rather than genuine governance partners (observed in RARI DAO and others) **Evidence Provided:** - Auto-abstain wallets being used as permanent solutions to pass quorum rather than temporary measures - Foundations reducing operational funds for delegate incentive programs (DIPs), making fewer delegates eligible for rewards (e.g., Arbitrum DAO raising minimum to 500K ARB) - Pattern of "approve this budget and trust us" approach without visibility into spending **Solutions & Approaches:** - Creating specialized organizational roles within DAO committees to handle day-to-day operations - Expanding beyond just Grants committees to include: marketing, audits, treasury/expenses management, proposal project management, and DIP program management **Active Contributors:** - Scroll DAO (working on committee specialization in phase 1, limited version) Your input will be synthesized with other participants' contributions to help build the gov/acc research roadmap. This will inform the visualization and workshop at EthCC, where we'll work on coordinated solutions to these governance challenges. Does this summary capture your main points accurately, or would you like to clarify or add anything? user : Yes, accurate. assistant : Thank you for participating in phase 1 of gov/acc research! Your insights about foundation transparency and the need for specialized operational committees will be valuable in building the research roadmap. We appreciate you taking the time to share your perspective as an independent delegate.