Grants Committee Election Nomination Thread

🗳Meta-Governance
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Fortunately, the snapshot vote to renew the Hop grants committee passed with 99.88% voting in favor therefore the next step is to commence the nomination thread.

The base responsibilities for each committee member will be to:

  • Promote the grant program to attract grant applicants (i.e. hosting discord calls or x spaces).
  • Share quarterly participation and voting metrics regarding grant applicants.

If you would like to nominate yourself to join the three-person grants committee please share:

  • Background on yourself.

  • Why are you a great candidate to join the Hop grants committee?

  • Describe a successful grants program.

  • Please share a short list of RFPs you would like for the grants program to target.

  • Past experience with grants programs

  • Reach within crypto community

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What’s the deadline for the nominations?

I’d suggest adding a question in the application specifically about past experience with a grants program.
Also, since the Grants Committee will be responsible for promoting the program and attracting applicants, perhaps it’s prudent to also include some information about their ‘reach’ and connections with projects that could be prospective applicants. I think it would help delegates gauge for success in building a pipeline when voting in the elections.

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Thanks for the comments, Sinkas! The deadline for the nominations is wednesday June 26 which is the date of the next community call. This way nominees can get some time on stage to share the details of their nomination.

I really like your suggestion of nominees sharing:

  • past experience with grants programs
  • crypto community reach

I will add these to the nomination information.

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Hi everyone,

With this post I would like to express my interest in participating in the Hop grants committee. I will keep the structure of my introduction as @francom suggested for making the life easier for the readers. If something is missed feel free to ask.

Background on yourself

I have a background in project management, IT operations, and marketing. I led dYdX’s grant program as the Community Funding Project Lead. In this role, I transitioned from grant support to leadership, managing community-driven projects and coordinating with other key contributors to fund impactful, smaller-scale initiatives.

I was tasked with eligibility screening once the process began, reviewing and evaluating grant proposals, overseeing and ensuring grantee compliance, and working with grantees as needed for consultation/support/any other steps that contribute to their success. I made program performance reports and worked with other departments at dYdX to hit program objectives. I also worked on the promotion of the program, created and running the YouTube channel and LinkedIn profile.

Why are you a great candidate to join the Hop grants committee

my comprehensive experience in managing grant programs from start to finish. I have a proven track record of successfully overseeing the grant process, providing support to grantees, and ensuring program compliance. My ability to collaborate with different departments, promote grant programs effectively, and identify funding opportunities will be valuable to the Hop grants committee. In addition, my activities related to data collection and analysis, as well as documentation work/reporting, will build towards informed decision-making capacity and strengthen the effectiveness of the grant programs.

Describe a successful grants program

A good grants program is one that funds projects aligned with its goals and able to provide high returns. It uses a clear and fair selection process, supports grantees throughout their projects, and promotes the program to get the best applicants. Progress is tracked with regular evaluations and reports to make improvements. Ensuring good communication and collaboration with stakeholders is a must.

Please share a short list of RFPs you would like for the grants program to target

  • Infrastructure/integrations to help HOP developers and build applications based on the community needs
  • Community Growth, for initiatives aimed at expanding HOP community and increasing engagement.
  • Marketing grants, content creation, KOLs, press, online and offline events. All seeking to build awareness of HOP protocol

Past experience with grants programs

In my role as Community Cauldron Project Lead, I have managed and overseen multiple grant programs, providing support to grantees from the initial proposal stage through to project completion. I have been responsible for evaluating grant proposals, monitoring compliance, and assisting grantees in achieving their project goals. My experience also includes promoting grant programs, coordinating events, and networking with other organizations to enhance collaboration and resource sharing.

Reach within crypto community

I have a network in the crypto community through my work with the dYdX ecosystem and beyond that and I also attend blockchain related events when possible.

Alexios

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Given the low turnout of nominations, maybe the deadline should be extended, and in the meantime maybe this role needs to be advertised more, and further refined using feedback from delegates.

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Hello HOP Community,

I would like to nominate myself for the grants committee. Below are my responses to the required topics.

  • Background on yourself.
    As a co-founder of an education-based non-profit in the Ethereum space (ETH SD), I have experience in leading a community of technical and non-technical members, working with established organizations in the Ethereum space (Ethereum Foundation, Polygon, Coinbase), and leading events and marketing for my communication. While I work in enterprise cloud computing as a project manager, my passion for onboarding new members into the crypto space and supporting those currently participating is everlasting.

  • Why are you a great candidate to join the Hop grants committee?
    I have extensive experience on both sides of the grant process; distributing grants and applying for them. During my time with ETH SD, our organization has received over $50k in grant funding from organizations like the Ethereum Foundation, Polygon, Alchemy, and many others. Conversely, members of our community have received grants for hackathons, boot camps, and other initiatives that align with our core values of supporting builders in the Ethereum space.

  • Describe a successful grants program.
    A successful grants program allocates support for various initiatives while placing the greatest emphasis on those that align with its core values. With Hop for example, resources would best be distributed to the following groups in order of resource level; developers, community organizations, and rockstar individuals. This way, the greatest emphasis is placed on devs building on top of Hop, followed by the organizations and individuals supporting devs and their work.

  • Please share a short list of RFPs you would like for the grants program to target.
    Here are a few RFPs that are top of mind for me currently.

  1. Layer 2 Integration and Scaling Solutions

Enhance scalability and reduce transaction fees by integrating Layer 2 protocols like Optimism and Arbitrum. Proposals should detail implementation plans, performance improvements, and potential cost savings.

  1. Cross-Chain Bridge Enhancements

Improve the security, speed, and efficiency of cross-chain bridges. Focus on innovative methods to enhance interoperability, reduce transaction times, and ensure robust security measures.

  1. User Experience (UX) Improvements

Redesign the user interface to make Hop more intuitive and user-friendly. Proposals should include UI/UX mockups, user feedback strategies, and clear implementation timelines.

  1. Smart Contract Audits and Security Enhancements

Conduct comprehensive audits of existing smart contracts and develop additional security measures. Proposals should include detailed audit methodologies, past experience, and proposed security improvements.

  1. Community Education and Outreach Programs

Create educational materials and outreach programs to increase community engagement and understanding of Hop. Proposals should outline content plans, distribution methods, and metrics for measuring engagement and impact.

  • Past experience with grants programs
    I have nearly 2 years of experience running an Ethereum-based non-profit where our organization operated on both sides of the grant process; as a grantee and a distributor. During this time, my team and I submitted grant proposals, met with organizations on our grants and distributions, and allocated resources to initiatives and builders that aligned with those grants and organizations.

  • Reach within crypto community
    As a co-founder of the largest technical Ethereum community in my city, I have a large network of crypto builders, enthusiasts, and employees of crypto-native companies like Polygon and Coinbase. Additionally, I have expanded my network outside of my local area during trips to conferences like ETH Denver, ETH New York, Devcon, Miami Hack Week, Los Angeles Tech Week, and Consensus.

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Background on yourself.
I have been participating in and following the crypto space since late 2015. In terms of passion projects, I’ve dabbled in a few educational projects over the years (ETH Merge Write-Ups & Decentralization Education Projects to name a few). And in terms of governance, I have been a HOP & ARB delegate for over a year now. Current non-delegate projects I also currently am working on is 1) the interim oversight committee for Arbitrium’s recently passed 225m ARB Gaming Grant and 2) HOP’s application and running of the 3 month ARB LTIPP grant

I do not have much technical / coding knowledge, but over my near decade long time in crypto I have learned a ton about the broader blockchain landscape. This includes having lived through a ton of the projects that have succeeded and failed over that time, and I hope to use that knowledge of successes & failures in my role as a committee member.

Why are you a great candidate to join the Hop grants committee?
Through the involvement of projects noted above, I feel I’ve learned what it takes to make projects work within a decentralized, internet-based team of various sizes and goals. I think those skills will translate well to the HOP Grants Committee and look to bring that knowledge to this project.

In my work as an Arbitrum delegate, I’ve gotten some exposure to the grant space through either voting on the overall programs or review of individual grant requests (depending on the specific format of the grant programs being run — and I will clarify to avoid confusion, I did not work directly on any specific ARB grant committee). While this role admittedly be a whole different beast, I have gotten some exposure to what the grant space looks like in the context of another DAO.

Having been a HOP Delegate for over a year now, I have a good grasp of what the HOP DAO is looking for in a grants program. As well as have a sense of what types of grants and projects could benefit HOP & the broader ecosystem.

Describe a successful grants program.
I think the most important part of a grants program is to be open to any and all ideas that can help HOP & it’s ecosystem. I do NOT want to filter and/or limit any potential projects into defined boxes… and I welcome any bold & unique ideas to apply.

From the grant programs perspective, we should strive to balance reasonable checks and balances while making sure it is not too cumbersome for applicants to apply. That is far easier said than done, but it’s important to be realistic given the size of the HOP grants treasury. Grant applicants will be weighing the time spent applying versus the grant size received, so we want to make that process simple and quick for them. But also formatted in a way that the grants committee can make educated and consistent decisions on approval / rejection. I’d imagine at a minimum we’d have a formal template to use and a rubric for the committee members to grade all the applicants. Transparency is a must, and I think any yes/no decision on a grant by a committee member should be public knowledge.

From an applicant’s standpoint, a good grant proposal should include:

  • A high-level summary of what is being built
  • Clear and structured roadmap on how to achieve the goals of the project
  • Describe how the project will benefit the HOP / Ethereum / Blockchain space
  • In that same vein, how HOP can help your project succeed
  • Detailed and transparent breakdown of budget, hours, expected cost.
  • A plus would be some backstory on the project and why they chose to pursue it!

Please share a short list of RFPs you would like for the grants program to target.
Some thoughts, in no particular order.

  • Projects that benefit and/or grow the HOP Protocol
  • Projects that improve the HOP DAO
  • Projects that would benefit and/or grow the broader ecosystem, especially L2/L3 networks.
  • Data and research projects
  • Way to migrating Tally voting off the L1 network
  • Mutually beneficial incentive programs to attract users

Past experience with grants programs I lead the team that applied for the Arbitrum LTIPP. This resulted in HOP getting 500,000 ARB tokens over a 12 week period.

Reach within crypto community Most of my reach would be from my work as a delegate in HOP / ARB. As well as interations on various social media forums (Reddit, Discord Channels)

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Background on yourself.

Hey, I am rxpwnz, the community moderator lead for the Hop protocol. On a daily basis, I am involved in various activities for Hop, including Discord and Forum moderation, Hop Guild management, OpSec (taking down 150+ phishing sites impersonating Hop), assisting with troubleshooting and improvements,etc. I have been serving as a moderator for over 2 years.

Beyond my work with Hop, I specialize in DevOps, operating validator nodes for a few projects. I have been involved in the crypto space since late 2017.

Why are you a great candidate to join the Hop grants committee?

I have been actively engaged with the Hop protocol for over 2 years. I believe my knowledge, experience, and technical skills will be valuable in evaluating grant proposals effectively and promoting the grant program. Additionally, I have prior experience participating in similar programs.

Describe a successful grants program.

A successful grants program should be accessible to all and make meaningful contributions to both the protocol and DAO. Key components of a strong grant proposal include:

  1. Introduction and Overview:
  • Purpose: Clearly align the proposal with protocol or DAO goals.
  • Background: Provide applicant background and relevant ecosystem contributions.
  1. Proposal Details:
  • Project Description: Clearly outline objectives and ecosystem impact.
  • Benefit to Protocol or DAO: Explain strategic relevance and potential impact.
  1. Implementation Plan:
  • Methodology: Detail technical approaches, phases, and timeline.
  • Milestone Plan: Breakdown deliverables and timelines.
  • Risk Assessment: Identify challenges and mitigation strategies.
  • Metrics for Success: Define measurable KPIs.
  1. Resource Planning:
  • Funding Request: Justify funding alignment with project scope.
  • Proof of Concept/MVP: Demonstrate feasibility if applicable.
  1. Team and Expertise:
  • Team Composition: Outline roles and qualifications.
  • Relevant Experience: Highlight team achievements.
  1. Conclusion:
  • Summary: Recap proposal points and expected outcomes.
  • Next Steps: Outline project initiation and implementation timelines.

Please share a short list of RFPs you would like for the grants program to target.

  • Technical solutions aimed at enhancing daily operational efficiency within the DAO.
  • Projects leveraging the Hop protocol, such as utilizing Hop messaging.
  • Integration of Hop v2 messaging into Tally to enhance multi-chain governance capabilities.
  • Initiatives to decentralize Hop governance,to promote broader community engagement.
  • Development of a Dune dashboard to monitor gas costs for community multisig members across different networks.

Past experience with grants programs

I have previous experience with grants programs, having served on the Ux Community DAO Committee and Ux Validator DAO Committee. These roles involved overseeing grant programs for community contributions and technical validator contributions, respectively.

Reach within crypto community

I am a member of the Cryptotesters community, a collective of seasoned crypto enthusiasts and developers. This affiliation enables me to promote the program and connect with some of the most skilled and knowledgeable individuals in the crypto community.

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Agreed @takeabreath

The deadline to make a nomination has been pushed to Wednesday July 3rd based on yesterday’s community call.

I appreciate those who have applied thus far and hope to see more applications trickle in.

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Hey @Alexios , @chaseonchain , @Bob-Rossi , and @rxpwnz

If you are available please join the community call tomorrow to talk about your nomination since elections will start very soon.

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Sorry I was unable to make the call, just couldn’t make it work with IRL stuff. Abstaining from the vote since I am running, good luck everyone!

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I voted in two tiers, weighting slightly more in favor of @Bob-Rossi and @rxpwnz due to their experience and trust they’ve earned over time with the DAO. I’m particularly interested in @Alexios’s call to clearly market the grants program as I think it will be crucial to any future success.

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No worries @Bob-Rossi . Unfortunately there isn’t an abstain option but I guess voting equally across all four candidates achieves a similar outcome.

Also, for those who haven’t voted yet remember to participate before the vote ends in 5 hours. @thegreg.eth @Sinkas @takeabreath @kaereste @0xhoratius @ciph.eth @Sisyhpos

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The following reflects the views of L2BEAT’s governance team, composed of @kaereste and @Sinkas, and it’s based on the combined research, fact-checking, and ideation of the two.

After reviewing all applications, we have decided to split our vote equally between @chaseonchain, @Bob-rossi, and @rxpwnz. They are all active participants in Hop, and we believe they have the context needed to structure a grant program that covers Hop’s needs.

We are looking forward to seeing the grants program live and we’d be happy to help provide feedback based on our experience both with DAOs in general, but also with grants programs.