The Council of Teams
Members of the PoolTogether community have created a “Team” and “Council” structure to better facilitate contributions.
- Contributing “Teams” are expected to be entirely self-managed (no token votes), but have certain reporting and participation requirements.
- A standardized Team Budget Request makes budget requests much easier to write by having established conventions. To see the template try creating a Team Budget Request post and the template will be the default content.
- Coordination is facilitated by the “Council”; which is comprised of members of all teams. Each Team must have at least one member on the council. The Council will improve alignment between teams by providing a space for communication, but also serve as a place where new contributors can go to be onboarded. The council can guide the creation of new teams, and place new contributors in open roles.
- Each quarter the Council coordinates to determine the price of POOL, to inform Team Budget Request compensation calculations (see below)
Teams
A “Team” is a group of contributors working towards a common purpose. They must have clear, measurable goals in support of that purpose.
Contributors form teams as needed; depending on the needs of the protocol. Some teams may be temporary, others permanent. Any group of like-minded contributors can come together to form a team. A Team is official when it has a budget.
Teams ask the POOL token holders for budgets using Team Budget Requests, but once they are formed they have the discretion to take action and move quickly. Teams are free to manage their work, their membership, and any other decisions any way they like.
Teams define roles that must be filled by contributors. Contributors may fill multiple roles, whether on the same team or across them, and the team may need more / new roles as it grows.
Team Budget Requests
Teams will need budgets in order to fulfill their goals. Among other things, the Team Budget Request must define the:
- Purpose. What is the team trying to accomplish? How aligned is this purpose with the DAO?
- Goals. What specifically is the team expecting to achieve? How do the goals support their purpose? How will we measure whether the goal has been obtained? Milestones? Metrics?
- Budget. How much money does the team need, and what are they spending it on? What roles does it need filled? Are existing contributors filling them, or new ones?
To see the TBR template, create a draft “Team Budget Request” topic in the gov forum.
Budget
The TBR requires the team lead to outline the Team Member compensation and any expenses that will be incurred.
Total compensation for each member is listed, and the portion of the total comp in USDC and POOL portions are shown. The team lead uses the Council-determined price of POOL for that quarter for their calculations.
Budget Frequency
Teams should request their budget in quarterly increments, synchronized with other teams. This makes it easier for voters because they can vote all at once. Teams will also appreciate this, because their proposal is more likely to reach quorum. Quarters begin on the first of Jan, April, July, and October.
Progress Updates
The team must publish monthly progress updates. Progress updates are intended to show the progress the team has made toward their goals. Ideally this includes actual numbers and charts of the performance indicators they defined before, or in a more qualitative way it could be which milestone the team is at.
The update should be succinct and show only the most important information so that the DAO can easily digest it.
The progress update is not a laundry list of “completed/todo/blocked” tasks; this update is about where the team is at with respect to their goals, not how they are getting there.
Purpose & Performance Goals
A team’s purpose and goals are defined in their budget proposal, but they can be re-assessed as needed. The team may learn new things, or the DAO strategy may change.
Ideally, teams update their goals at a quarterly cadence to match the Council’s strategy updates.
The Council
The Council is a support group for Teams, and is made up of team members. The Council serves a number of roles:
- Meets weekly to share status updates.
- Coordinates to decide on POOL price for each quarter
- Establishes guidelines or standards (quarterly or as needed)
- Help onboard new teams, contributors, and facilities existing teams (quarterly or as needed)
The Council gives Teams an opportunity to communicate, share, coordinate and speak with a common voice.
Membership
Each funded Team must have at least one representative on the Council. They can have more than one, as well, because any full or part-time salaried member of a Team can join the Council.
Weekly Updates
Each week the Council meets so that teams can share status updates. Each official Team must have a representative at the weekly update. The representative shares what the team completed the previous week, what they’re working on the next week, and what blockers they have (if any).
After the status updates, the Council has open discussion.
Guidelines and Standards
The Council gives teams an opportunity to get together and coordinate on important issues such as compensation. There will be concerns that affect all Teams, so it’s important to create space for discussion.
Facilitating Contributors
One of the Council’s most important jobs is to facilitate contributors; both Teams and individuals looking to join a Team.
The Council can help new teams form by giving them advice and guidance. New teams will have a much higher chance at success if the Council is on-board, as team member on the Council will likely hold many votes.
For new contributors, the Council serves as a hive mind that knows where the open roles in Teams are. A contributor can approach the Council, and the Council will be able to give them a role that suits their skillset.
Auditing the Council
If you would like to create a team, ask questions, or just listen in on a Council call then just ping any member of the council on Discord using the @Council tag. You will be given an auditor role and can join the call.