[DAO:11f3635] Should the DAO implement a Bidding and Tendering process to allocate resources for voted projects?

Governance
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by 0x160eeddb2c1c085232e948abfb932a19a67395ae (mONo)

The Bidding and Tendering process is a method to select the most suitable service provider or supplier, by comparing proposals against specific criteria. This system encourages fairness and transparency of opportunities, as well as the effectiveness of funds allocation.

The DAO currently have a funds allocation process called Grants Program, however in such a process the project and the team are both voted at the same time.
The proposed Bidding and Tendering approach looks after separating the process of the DAO deciding what needs to be done, to the decision of who should make it happen. The idea is not to replace the Grants Program, but to have an impartial mechanism to carry out projects of strategic interest for the DAO.

We imagine structuring the process in the following four (4) stages, but a more detailed draft proposal should follow this poll.

1° Community Signaling

Community members could propose/request new projects to develop. By expressing their opinion on the matter through an open discussion, determine if there is enough support to move forward with the drafting of an initial tender proposal.

Most voted projects should be eligible to be promoted to the next stage, including the comments and feedback from the community.

2° Tender Proposal

The Tender Proposal would be published with the curated and validated idea, this should include all the project requirements, specifications, expected deliverables and timeline restrictions.

Once the tender proposal is approved, the process is moved automatically to the next stage.

3° Bidding Process

Organizations would be able to submit their proposals within a certain period of time, including budget, timeline and any other relevant information. Depending on the nature of the project, the bidders might need to be a Verified Partner in order to submit a bid.

4° Selection

Bids would be analyzed and invalid ones filtered out. The ones complying with the Tender criteria would be presented to be voted and selected by the community.

After the selection is done, the funds would be allocated to the provider using a vesting contract similar to how the Grant’s Program operates.

  • Yes, we should implement Bids & Tenders.
  • No, we shouldn’t implement Bids & Tenders.
  • Invalid question/options

Vote on this proposal on the Decentraland DAO

View this proposal on Snapshot

2 Likes
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Hi Folks!

I believe developing this kind of alternative funding mechanism could be very beneficial for the community.

The topic opened by @ile set good bases for feeding this kind of proposals ([DAO:cbaf802] New Proposal Category : 'Feature Request’), also @tudamoon comments goes on this same direction.

Any comments and suggestions will be appreciated! :smile:

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I really like where this is going! I think we should implement this idea, then tweak it as needed. Nothing from the beginning is going to be perfect.

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It was King posted the original idea but thanks for the tag!

I think this is a great addition to the grant program and will help eliminate duplicate projects and give us a better idea of how much projects should cost by comparing bids.

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Thanks @ile for the heads up, my bad… the proposal New Proposal Category : 'Feature Request’ is from @king.

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Would this be for all grants, or just a certain grant category?

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this is like the “public works” program of decentraland as I’m reading it, and that sounds great, but i’m also interested to know the scope of this.

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Hi ck! We don’t see this as it will replace the Grants system, but to be another funding mechanism that could co-exist with it.
I personally think that is nice to have a variety of financing instruments that could be a fit depending on the nature of the project.

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Great just wanted clarity that grants weren’t forced to always bid.

Even tho i think bidding is great, if you have a team and project you know that can create something, and you’ve brought together the best ppl to do it, then have to bid it out and work w other ppl, I could see that being an issue for some.

1 Like
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Yes, I see that could be an issue as well, but we are not looking to replace the Grants :slight_smile:

On the other hand, we don’t think this dynamic will apply to every project out there now…
In the beginning we see it could be a good tool for projects of strategic interest of the DAO.

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Voting no because we dont need to spend DAO resources on this. Anyone can post a list of ideas to build and put it out to the community for takers. Any takers are welcome to submit a grant proposal to then build that idea. There is nothing preventing multiple vendors from submitting grant proposals for the same idea, and the community putting their votes to those who are deemed the best fit for the project.

What I fear would happen is we would end up with hundreds of vendors all applying for every project, making it hard to pick one. And probably only a few vendors winning a majority of projects since most dont have the skill/reputation.

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Voting no because we dont need to spend DAO resources on this. Anyone can post a list of ideas to build and put it out to the community for takers. Any takers are welcome to submit a grant proposal to then build that idea. There is nothing preventing multiple vendors from submitting grant proposals for the same idea, and the community putting their votes to those who are deemed the best fit for the project.

Hello Doug, thanks for your feedback.

How do you see this will drain more of the DAO resources?
The goal behind this poll it’s not to spend more, but to actually make it different, in a more efficient, fair and transparent way. As anyone in the community could be proposing ideas, commenting and enriching them. In the end will be the same community the one choosing the best provider.

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I’m a bit confused as to which grants this would apply to exactly.

I agree with @ckbubbles. If someone submits a proposal, they should have complete responsibility of how the project will be executed… this includes choosing the team that will carry out the work. I don’t think it is efficient to approve a grant for someone and then have the community vote on who the team will be… teams must work well together, have a common vision and values, whoever presents the proposal and receives the grant money should select the team they will be working with.

In respects to a previous proposal regarding how committees are selected. I agree that we should fist vote on whether to create a committee or a new position first, and then we can have open calls and vote on those representatives of the community (such as the Grant Support Squad).

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I’m with you on this, Cheddar.

So if I have an idea, the know how and know what resources etc. are needed, then I would post that idea with a budget to complete and then someone can just come along underbid me and take my idea and run?

Asking cause that is how I am reading it. I could see this working as if as a whole, the DAO needed something done IE; a marketer or devs. Say the Foundation ceased to exist tomorrow (as very well could happen) and we needed to put people in place then a bid could be created.

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Thanks for the feedback @CheddarQueso and @Existential14.

I agree also with @ckbubbles in the sense that if somebody submits a proposal and have the resources to do it, then it should be responsible for that.

But there’s also cases in which someone notices a need, but not necessarily have an idea on how to address it, it might also have no resources/time/knowledge on how to do it. And this could be a great thing for the community that we’d be missing.
In these cases I see this could be very beneficial.

That’s not what this is about, if you have an idea, know-how and the team to do it I don’t see why you couldn’t apply for a Grant and do it.

I want to highlight this one more time: This new proposed mechanism doesn’t seek to replace Grants. It’s just a different way of funding certain projects.

I hope this clarifies our POV, thanks again!

1 Like
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Should the DAO implement a Bidding and Tendering process to allocate resources for voted projects?

This proposal is now in status: FINISHED.

Voting Results:

  • Yes, we should implement bids & tenders. 85% 1,240,668 VP (50 votes)
  • No, we shouldn’t implement bids & tenders. 15% 228,847 VP (6 votes)
  • Invalid question/options 0% 0 VP (0 votes)
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Sorry to make you repeat yourself. Thank you for responding. I am most definitely for 3rd parties taking on some of what the Foundation does since it could cease to exists tomorrow.
So if I am following this correctly, let’s say we needed a Marketer for DCL (which I’ve heard something about that very thing) there would be a proposal made and then Marketing companies or even someone within DCL could write up their proposal with a budget and timeline to compete with others and the DAO votes to whom receives the grant.

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Should the DAO implement a Bidding and Tendering process to allocate resources for voted projects?

This proposal has been PASSED by a DAO Committee Member (0xbef99f5f55cf7cdb3a70998c57061b7e1386a9b0)

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The point of this is to allow the experts in the field fulfill your requested feature while bidding on it. They have to be qualified in order to bid on it. This is more about features being added to DCL than marketing, however there may be ways that marketing features be added to DCL.

1 Like
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Is there anyone currently working on an official Proposal for this? This is ready to move ahead and think it is a great initiative. We currently have Grant proposals projects which I believe would benefit from a Bid process.