ArbitrumDAO Governance Analytics Dashboard

Description

Please review the proposal forum post for a full proposal description: https://forum.arbitrum.foundation/t/arb-staking-unlock-arb-utility-and-align-governance/25084/1

Abstract

We propose the development of an ArbitrumDAO Governance Analytics Dashboard to support ongoing governance initiatives, enhance transparency, and provide comprehensive insights into governance data. The dashboard aims to track voting behavior, safeguard against potential governance attacks, and measure the success of initiatives like Redelegation Week. We are seeking comments and support from the Arbitrum community to develop this analytic dashboard.

Motivation

The Arbitrum community needs a robust, user-friendly tool to simplify the understanding of complex governance dynamics, track the effectiveness of initiatives, and ensure transparency and accountability. This dashboard will foster inclusive, data-driven decision-making, enhancing community governance effectiveness.

Differentiation from Existing Solutions:

Our Arbitrum Governance Analytics Dashboard aims to fill the gaps in existing platforms by providing more detailed metrics for enhanced understanding and transparency:

1. Concentration of Voting Power Metrics: Our dashboard sheds light on the distribution of voting power among small and large holders, their engagement in delegation, and the source of delegates’ voting power. It identifies potential centralization of power and offers insights into each delegate’s influence.

2. Proposal Metrics: We offer a detailed view of proposal activities, including the ratio of unique proposers to total proposals and the distribution by type. We classify proposal results as contentious, generally accepted, or normal to help stakeholders understand voting dynamics.

3. Participation Metrics: Our focus is on delivering granular metrics on the participation of small and large holders. This comprehensive analysis identifies underrepresented groups and informs strategies for more balanced and inclusive participation.

Our dashboard is an analytical tool designed to provide a comprehensive view of Arbitrum’s governance process, highlighting underrepresented holders or delegates and the overall power structure. We are committed to iterative development, refining our dashboard based on community feedback to ensure it remains valuable and relevant for all stakeholders.

Rationale

This proposal aligns with the Arbitrum community's mission and guiding values by enhancing transparency, promoting data-driven decision-making, and supporting the effectiveness of governance processes. By providing near real-time monitoring and detailed analytics, the dashboard will help the community make informed decisions and maintain a secure governance framework.

Example Uses of the Dashboard

1. Redelegation Week Success Tracking

To ensure the success of the Redelegation Week program, our dashboard will monitor delegate change in their voting power and track the overall votable supply.This user-friendly interface will display the number of delegates joining and the increase in delegations, providing clear insights into the program's success.

2. Optimizing Voting Schedule

Our dashboard will help optimize the voting schedule by identifying periods when delegates are most active. By aligning voting schedules with peak voting activity, we can support the predictability proposal from Entropy, adjusting dates based on these insights to enhance participation and predictability.

3. Safeguarding from Potential Governance Attacks

To safeguard against potential governance attacks, our dashboard will help monitor unusual delegation behavior, such as sudden changes in delegate voting power into their respective delegate’s voting activity for certain proposals, helping to maintain a secure and robust governance framework.

4. Supporting Tools for Current and Future Delegate Incentive Programs

Our dashboard will complement the auditing of the Delegate Incentive program's results. By providing comprehensive analytics and near real-time delegate participation tracking, it ensures transparency and accountability, allowing for accurate assessment and evaluation of the program's effectiveness.

Steps to Implement

1. Research & Ideation:

• We started by identifying the metrics and gather community feedbacks

2. Design & Mockups:

• Based on our research, we created initial design mockups focusing on user experience and the presentation of key metrics. These were shared with the community for initial feedback.

3. Development Phase 1:

• We developed a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) featuring basic holder metrics and concentration of voting power metrics. This was released as a mid-development preview to gather community feedback.

4. Development Phase 2:

• We integrated additional metrics based on community feedback, including more detailed proposal and participation metrics.

5. Testing & Iteration:

• The dashboard underwent multiple rounds of testing for functionality, usability, and data accuracy. We also made iterative improvements based on ongoing community feedback.

6. Launch & Maintenance:

• After final testing and refinements, the dashboard was officially launched. We have committed to maintaining it, including daily updates and feature iterations based on community needs.

7. Monthly Report:

• Release of monthly governance analytics report

Timeline

Budget Request (6 months)

Governance Dashboard (40,000 USD)

• Infrastructure Costs: This includes all the foundational services needed to support the dashboard’s operation.

• Maintenance and Operational Costs: These are ongoing costs required to keep the service up-to-date and running smoothly.

• Data Management Costs: Expenses related to handling and storing the data used by the dashboard.

• Third-Party Services: Costs for services provided by external entities that enhance the functionality of the dashboard.

• Overhead Costs: General administrative and operational expenses not directly tied to specific technical resources.

Monthly Report (10,000 USD)

• Data Interpretation and Analysis: Simplify complex metrics into clear insights and identify trends, patterns, and anomalies.

• Focus on Key Governance Metrics: Voting patterns, voter performance, proposal outcomes, and voting power shifts.

• Actionable Insights: Provide recommendations for increased participation and governance improvements.

• Customized Content: Tailor reports to community interests and feedback.

Example of our report from SafeDAO: SafeDAO Governance Analytics Report Thread

Overall Cost

• The total requested budget is 50,000 USD, with 40,000 USD allocated for the Governance Dashboard and 10,000 USD for the 6 months of report generation and maintenance. (The amount will be paid denominated in 71,000 ARB (at the current ARB price of $0.70)

Team

Curia Lab: Our team brings extensive expertise in research, data analysis, and experience in DAO and decentralized governance. We have actively served as delegates in multiple DAOs, deeply engaging in governance, data analysis, and operational activities. We have built governance data-driven tools for notable projects like the Optimism Collective (Optimism Dashboard) and SafeDAO (SafeDAO Dashboard) and are keen on developing similar tools for ArbitrumDAO as well.

Contact Information

• Twitter: Curia
• Telegram: @v3dao, @englandkiiz
• Email: varit@curialab.xyz
• Website: Curia Hub