What is the Contribution Efficiency System (CES)?

The Contribution Efficiency System (CES) is an enabling initiative for OBRA aiming to improve governance efficiency and decision-making for Safe token holders. The CES focuses on transparency and accountability of initiatives. It streamlines OBRA onboarding, milestone setting, progress tracking, and outcome reporting to SafeDAO.

Our aim is to evolve from manual to automated processes, enhancing governance effectiveness in line with key performance indicators like reduced onboarding time as well as clear and effective processes in milestone setting, tracking and reporting.

Where does the CES sit?

Purpose and Background

Currently, SafeDAO faces the challenge of decision-making overload for delegates and guardians, who juggle multiple roles and lack time and attention. They often wear multiple hats (own projects, committee roles, multiple delegations) and face a scarcity of time and attention.

This is especially problematic within the information-heavy environment of SafeDAO and is expected to become larger with activity-fueling milestones like the upcoming first OBRA initiatives and a potential token transferability event. While OBRA lays down an excellent framework to enable external contributions, it also presents new needs for processes and capacity to manage these contributions.

Key issues include:

• Proposal and Decision-Making Overload: “Too many proposals of too many DAOs.”
• Information Overload at the Proposal Level: “Proposals are great, but take a lot of attention and effort to fully digest.”
• Lack of Standardized Information Flow: “I need (and want) to invest extra time in understanding necessary background information and conducting research for informed decision-making.”
• Curation Complexities: “I find it challenging to identify and participate in only the essential decisions for me.”
• No Clear Guidance / Barrier to Entry for Outside Contributors: “I find SafeDAO interesting, and would love to see if I can contribute, but don’t have the time to digest all the forum information / don’t know where to start.”

Without a solution, SafeDAO could face:

• Bloat of Decision-making: Decision-making becoming so bloated that governance contributors lose the necessary context for effective governance, leading to excessive delegation and concentration of influence in a few hands who may not create real impact.
• Ineffectiveness of Initiatives: The lack of clear onboarding processes can prevent initiatives from operating at their best. They may find themselves spending more time trying to figure out how to contribute, report, and comply with procedural requirements, instead of focusing on building and executing their core activities.
• Lack of Accountabilty for Initiatives: Without proper tracking and concise reporting mechanisms, initiatives might fail to deliver effectively, significantly reducing their impact on SafeDAO. This lack of oversight could foster a culture where the emphasis is more on securing grants or funding rather than being actively engaged. This phenomenon has been observed in numerous cases across the industry, where initiatives prioritize funding acquisition over active contribution and achievement.

As SafeDAO approaches a pivotal moment with the start of OBRA, advancement of milestone 5 (token utility), paving the way for potential token transferability, it’s vital to engage active parties and re-engage those who have become inactive due to the complexities mentioned. This engagement is fundamental to the governance of Safe DAO and pivotal for its future as activity will likely only increase.