5. Governor Configuration

The Governor Configuration Page is designed to set up and customize governance models for organisations, including 1 Token 1 Vote and Quadratic Voting. This interface allows users to define key parameters such as thresholds, voting periods, and additional features to enhance governance functionality.

What are Quorum Thresold, Proposal Threshold and Quadratic Voting?

Quorum Threshold

The quorum threshold is the minimum percentage of total voting power required for a proposal to be valid. If the total votes cast do not meet or exceed the quorum threshold, the proposal will be considered invalid, regardless of the results of the voting. This ensures active participation in governance and prevents decisions from being made by an insufficiently representative group.

Proposal Threshold

The proposal threshold is the minimum percentage of total voting power a user must hold to submit a proposal for governance. This requirement ensures that proposals are only submitted by stakeholders with a significant vested interest in the organisation, reducing spam or low-quality submissions.

Quadratic Voting

is a decision-making mechanism designed to balance influence in collective choices by making the cost of additional votes increase quadratically. Unlike traditional voting systems where one token equals one vote, quadratic voting allows voters to express the intensity of their preferences while reducing the dominance of large stakeholders.

In this system:

  • The cost of casting multiple votes grows quadratically, meaning casting one vote costs one unit, but casting two votes costs four units, and casting three votes costs nine units, and so on.

  • This structure ensures that while voters with more resources can still have greater influence, their ability to dominate outcomes is significantly reduced.

Purpose: Quadratic voting is used to promote fairness in governance by giving more weight to collective preferences rather than allowing decisions to be entirely driven by those with the largest holdings. It is particularly valuable in decentralised governance, where it helps balance power dynamics.

Gitcoin Passport

is a digital identity verification system designed to build trust and prevent sybil attacks in decentralised communities. It aggregates identity attributes, or “stamps,” from trusted sources like social media or blockchain activity to establish a user’s reputation.

Purpose: Gitcoin Passport ensures fairness in systems like Quadratic Voting, airdrops, and governance by verifying identities while maintaining user privacy. Gitcoin Passport enhances security and reliability for Web3 projects.

Recommended Defaults for Quorum Threshold and Proposal Threshold

Quorum Threshold

The default recommended quorum threshold ensures that a sufficient number of participants are involved in decision-making, balancing inclusivity and efficiency. A threshold of 20% is often recommended for smaller or emerging organisations to encourage engagement without making it too challenging to reach quorum. For larger organisations, higher thresholds (e.g., 51%) may be suggested to ensure broad representation.

Proposal Threshold

The default recommended proposal threshold is designed to maintain a balance between accessibility and governance quality. A threshold of 1% allows meaningful participation by smaller stakeholders while ensuring that only users with a vested interest can submit proposals. Higher thresholds, such as 2% or 3%, are recommended for organisations aiming to limit proposals to significant stakeholders to maintain focus on critical issues.

Governor Deployment

All governor contracts within an organisation must currently be deployed to a single blockchain. This limitation is due to an integration with Tally, which is being worked on to support multi-chain deployment in the future.

Maximum Governors Per Organisation

Each organisation can deploy up to 10 governor contracts, allowing flexibility in governance structures.

Pre-Vote Veto and Vote Delay

If the Pre-Vote Veto module is selected, the Vote Delay setting is linked to the veto functionality. The number of days chosen for the vote delay corresponds to the time available to veto a proposal through the Pre-Vote Veto module. This action can be performed via the organisation’s summary page.

Pre-Execution Timelock and Veto

The Pre-Execution Timelock correlates with the Pre-Execution Veto module. The time selected for the timelock defines the window during which a proposal can be vetoed before execution.

Quadratic Threshold

The Quadratic Threshold introduces a hybrid governance model, combining 1 Token 1 Vote and Quadratic Voting. Up to a specified percentage of the token supply, voting follows the 1 Token 1 Vote mechanism.

Beyond this threshold, Quadratic Voting is applied.

For example, if a user holds 10% of the total token supply and the organisation sets a quadratic threshold of 5%, then:

  • The first 5% of tokens follow 1 Token 1 Vote.

  • The remaining 5% are calculated using Quadratic Voting, reducing the influence of large token holders.

This feature is designed to ensure fairness and reduce the disproportionate impact of large token holders on governance outcomes.

Step by Step Instructions

1. Select a Governance Model:

  • Choose 1 Token 1 Vote and Quadratic Voting.

  • Enter a unique name for the governor in the Governor Name field.

  • Select the blockchain for deployment using the Chain Selection dropdown menu. This is the chain that they governor contract will be deployed on.

2. Enable Additional Features (Optional):

  • Multi-Chain Voting: Activate if voting across multiple blockchains is required. Then turn on each chain. At a later stage you will activate the bridges you want to use to cast those votes.

  • Refund Mechanism: Enable to automatically reimburse transaction fees for governance participants. Reimbursement will take place only from the chain that the governor is deployed on.

  • Gitcoin Passport (Quadratic Voting only): Enable for sybil-resistance and identity verification. Please note that the Passport Score UI is currently being updated and instructions will be added later.

Additional features such as Multi-Chain Voting and Refund Mechanism can be enabled.
Gitcoin Passport option can only be turned on for Quadratic Voting.

3. Configure Thresholds:

  • Set the Quorum Threshold* to define the minimum percentage of total votes required for proposal approval.

  • Define the Proposal Threshold* to specify the minimum votes needed for a proposal submission.

What are Quorum Thresold, Proposal Threshold and Quadratic Voting?

Quorum Threshold

The quorum threshold is the minimum percentage of total voting power required for a proposal to be valid. If the total votes cast do not meet or exceed the quorum threshold, the proposal will be considered invalid, regardless of the results of the voting. This ensures active participation in governance and prevents decisions from being made by an insufficiently representative group.

Proposal Threshold

The proposal threshold is the minimum percentage of total voting power a user must hold to submit a proposal for governance. This requirement ensures that proposals are only submitted by stakeholders with a significant vested interest in the organisation, reducing spam or low-quality submissions.

Quadratic Voting

is a decision-making mechanism designed to balance influence in collective choices by making the cost of additional votes increase quadratically. Unlike traditional voting systems where one token equals one vote, quadratic voting allows voters to express the intensity of their preferences while reducing the dominance of large stakeholders.

In this system:

  • The cost of casting multiple votes grows quadratically, meaning casting one vote costs one unit, but casting two votes costs four units, and casting three votes costs nine units, and so on.

  • This structure ensures that while voters with more resources can still have greater influence, their ability to dominate outcomes is significantly reduced.

Purpose: Quadratic voting is used to promote fairness in governance by giving more weight to collective preferences rather than allowing decisions to be entirely driven by those with the largest holdings. It is particularly valuable in decentralised governance, where it helps balance power dynamics.

Gitcoin Passport

is a digital identity verification system designed to build trust and prevent sybil attacks in decentralised communities. It aggregates identity attributes, or “stamps,” from trusted sources like social media or blockchain activity to establish a user’s reputation.

Purpose: Gitcoin Passport ensures fairness in systems like Quadratic Voting, airdrops, and governance by verifying identities while maintaining user privacy. Gitcoin Passport enhances security and reliability for Web3 projects.

Recommended Defaults for Quorum Threshold and Proposal Threshold

Quorum Threshold

The default recommended quorum threshold ensures that a sufficient number of participants are involved in decision-making, balancing inclusivity and efficiency. A threshold of 20% is often recommended for smaller or emerging organisations to encourage engagement without making it too challenging to reach quorum. For larger organisations, higher thresholds (e.g., 51%) may be suggested to ensure broad representation.

Proposal Threshold

The default recommended proposal threshold is designed to maintain a balance between accessibility and governance quality. A threshold of 1% allows meaningful participation by smaller stakeholders while ensuring that only users with a vested interest can submit proposals. Higher thresholds, such as 2% or 3%, are recommended for organisations aiming to limit proposals to significant stakeholders to maintain focus on critical issues.

4. Set Timing Parameters:

  • Voting Period: Configure the duration for voting (e.g., 7, 10, or 14 days).

  • Vote Delay: Set the delay before voting begins after a proposal is submitted.

  • Pre-Execution Timelock: Define the waiting period before executing an approved proposal.

5. Add Additional Governors:

To create multiple governors, click the Add Another Governor button and repeat the configuration process for each new governor that you want to add.

6. Proceed to Review:

Once all configurations are complete, click Continue to proceed to the Veto Configuration step.

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