Should GnosisDAO adopt and support Curia Lab’s Governance Monitoring Service in 2025?
GIP: 123
title: Should GnosisDAO adopt and support Curia Lab's Governance Monitoring Service in 2025?
author: @curia
status: Draft
type: Funding - Service Agreements
created: 2025-03-26
duration: 1 year
funding: $70,000
Executive Summary
In recent years, DAOs like Gnosis have grown significantly, launching impactful initiatives and expanding their communities. However, as these decentralized organizations scale, maintaining secure, transparent, and accessible governance becomes increasingly crucial. GnosisDAO currently faces governance challenges, including declining voter participation, delegate accountability, transparency gaps, and a high concentration of voting power. Addressing these effectively requires comprehensive governance research supported by specialized analytics.
Curia Lab proposes a comprehensive Governance Monitoring & Analytics Service tailored specifically for GnosisDAO. The initiative begins with thorough research into existing governance dynamics, delegate behaviors, voter participation trends, and centralization risks. Insights from this research will inform the development of targeted analytics tools and reports to empower the GnosisDAO community, enhance governance transparency, and facilitate effective decision-making. Our goal is to ensure GnosisDAO’s governance remains transparent, measurable, accountable, and resilient, aligning with the DAO’s mission of sustainable, decentralized excellence.
Motivation
GnosisDAO currently faces critical governance challenges, including declining voter engagement and frequent difficulties achieving quorum on key proposals. In the past year, four proposals failed to meet quorum requirements, and eight others narrowly succeeded, surpassing quorum thresholds by only 1-3%. In response to these challenges, GnosisDAO introduced the Delegate Program (GIP-101) to enhance participation. Despite this initiative, ongoing difficulties remain in effectively monitoring delegate accountability and accurately measuring the program’s impact on governance participation.
Transparency is another significant concern, as DAO members often struggle to track governance dynamics effectively. Existing tools such as Snapshot and the GIP dashboard offer basic functionality but lack comprehensive analytics, critical governance metrics, and historical data insights needed for proactive and informed governance management especially in tracking the impact of future governance-related initiatives.
Proposed Solution
We propose a robust Governance Monitoring & Analytics Service that continuously tracks, analyzes, and reports on key governance activities. This integrated solution comprises:
- Governance Analytics hub
- Governance Research & Data Reports
- Data & API Provider
Tailored specifically to GnosisDAO’s governance needs, this service provides comprehensive, actionable insights into delegate behaviors, voter participation trends, voting power distribution, and governance risks. By leveraging near real-time data feeds, GnosisDAO will benefit from improved delegate accountability, informed strategic decisions, and proactive risk monitoring.
Our overarching vision is to serve as an open end-to-end governance data & insight provider, ensuring DAO governance is transparent, measurable, and secure—fully aligned with GnosisDAO’s objectives for increased participation and sustainable governance excellence.
Governance Analytics Hub
A comprehensive analytics tool that visualizes key governance metrics using both onchain and offchain data (e.g., forum interactions, forum thread analysis, voting activity, token distribution).
Key Metrics Tracking Include:
Holder Metrics: It helps us understand the distribution and dynamics of GNO token holders and assess overall involvement to determine whether more token holders should be encouraged to participate.
- Holder Wallets: Represents the total count of unique wallet addresses holding or vested with the GNO token.
- Token Supply: Displays the total amount of GNO tokens available, including both circulating and vested tokens.
- Votable Supply: Indicates the number of tokens that can be used to vote, including those that are vested.
- Share of Votable Supply: The percentage of the total circulating supply that is currently delegated and available to participate in governance votes.
Delegate Metrics: It provides insights into the role of delegates within the governance process, highlighting their influence and activity over time. This would empowers token holders to make informed decisions when selecting delegates and ensures that these representatives actively serve the community.
- Delegated Table: Displays ranking, delegate name, delegated tokens (% voting power), delegating address, voting turnout, and the most recent five votes.
- Voter Turnout: Tracks individual participation by monitoring recent proposal activity.
- Delegate Profile: A dedicated page for each delegate, displaying all proposals they have voted on or abstained from.
- Rationale Vote: Tracks whether a delegate only votes or also provides a rationale and discussion for their vote, both on-chain and in forums.
- Non-Conformity Ratio: Displays the ratio of times a delegate votes against the majority.
- Delegation Tracking: Monitors changes in the amount of delegation each delegate receives.
Voting Power Metrics: It provides insights into the distribution of governance power by highlighting metrics such as the distinction between small and large holders, overall voting power distribution, and levels of decentralization. . These metrics help identify centralization risks and drive initiatives toward a more decentralized voting landscape.
- Delegate Nakamoto Coefficient: The number of top delegates required to control 50% of the votable supply.
- Delegate Quorum: The number of top delegates needed to reach the proposal quorum.
- Distribution of Voting Power: Compares voting power between small and large holders, including data on tokens delegated by each group, the percentage of wallets that have delegated their voting power, and a detailed comparison of voting power between the two groups.
Proposal Metrics: This section offer comprehensive insights into governance proposals, helping GnosisDAO understand proposal dynamics, community engagement levels, and voting outcomes.
- Proposals Table: Displays all proposals with details such as name, status, outcome, and category
Participation Metrics: It provides insights by identifying areas of low engagement, highlighting opportunities to boost overall participation. These metrics also enable detailed tracking of delegate and voter involvement, allowing the DAO to develop targeted strategies that effectively increase governance activity.
- Proposal Engagement Overview: Includes unique voter counts, total voting power used, and participation rate relative to the votable supply.
- Tracking Participation: Monitors participation among the top 1000 delegates.
- Delegated Voting Power Analysis: Compares voting power delegated from small versus large holders across various delegate categories (active, inactive, ghost) and provides a breakdown of delegators by size for each category.
Voter Behavior: Voter behavior analytics assist GnosisDAO in optimizing governance effectiveness by pinpointing the optimal timing for voting periods to maximize participation. This ensures critical proposals receive adequate attention at the right times, enhancing the overall responsiveness and efficiency of governance processes.
- Voting Density: A heat map showing voting density over different time periods.
- Voting Momentum: Tracks voting momentum during various stages of the voting cycle (early, normal, late, and ending).
Forum Contributor Analytics: This section provides comprehensive analytics and detailed insights into individual contributors based on their activities and interactions within GnosisDAO forums. These insights enhance governance decision-making by clearly highlighting user engagement, sentiment, relationships, popularity, and key discussion themes.
Forum Metrics (more metrics will be added overtime)
- Activity Over Time: Displays user engagement levels by tracking the frequency of new topics created, comments posted, and likes given over time, offering clear visibility into user activity trends.
- Sentiment Analysis: Measures the overall tone and subjectivity of a user’s contributions. This is calculated by averaging the sentiment scores (polarity and subjectivity) from all texts authored by the user
- Readability Score: Evaluates the clarity and ease of understanding of a user’s forum contributions using the Flesch Reading Ease Score. Calculated similarly to sentiment analysis by averaging readability scores from all texts written by the user:
- BFFs (Best Friends Forever): Highlights key relationships and interactions among users through four distinct metrics:
- Most Likes Received From: Identifies which user gave the most likes to the target user, along with the total number of likes.
- Most Likes Given To: Identifies which user received the most likes from the target user, along with the total number of likes.
- Most Posts Received From: Indicates which user most frequently commented on posts made by the target user, including the number of comments.
- Most Posts Given To: Indicates which user received the most comments from the target user, including the number of comments.
- Popularity: Evaluates the user’s overall influence within forum discussions through four metrics
- Average Replies per Topic: Average number of replies generated by each topic created by the user.
- Average Likes Received per Topic: Average number of likes received on topics created by the user.
- Average Likes Received per Post: Average number of likes received on posts/comments made by the user.
- Total Likes Received: Total cumulative number of likes received across all topics and posts by the user.
- Word Cloud: Visually summarizes the main discussion topics and most frequent words used by the user. Created by combining all user-generated text (posts and topics), preprocessing it (removing spaces, tabs, capitalization, lemmatizing, and removing stop words), and then generating a visualization based on the top 100 most frequently used words.
Technical Implementation Overview:
We will be developing tools that integrate data from multiple sources including Google BigQuery, Snapshot, and various databases. Our solution features an open-source frontend built in Next JS, which will be hosted on Vercel for optimal performance and reliability. The backend infrastructure will be implemented using Google Cloud services, managed through Curia’s infrastructure. We’ll develop internal tools to support and categorize new proposals, ensuring efficient data management and classification. The system will aggregate governance data in T-1 days, process it through our middleware layer, and present it through an intuitive analytics interface. This architecture ensures scalability, maintainability, and robust data handling capabilities while maintaining the open-source nature of the project.
Governance Research & Data Reports
Delivers customized and regular deep-dive governance analyses, converting complex data into actionable insights:
- Deep Governance Research: Identifying governance gaps and opportunities, innovating targeted metrics.
- Tailored Insights: Customized analytics frameworks and actionable recommendations specifically aligned with measurable KPIs such as increased voter turnout, improved delegate engagement, and reduced voting concentration risks for GnosisDAO.
- Monthly Reporting: Comprehensive analysis including data interpretation, key metrics tracking, actionable recommendations, and visual clarity with intuitive charts and graphs. The report will prioritize near-term insight relevant to upcoming governance decisions and minimizing reliance on historical data unless directly impacting future governance actions
Data & API Provider
To empower GnosisDAO’s community, we provide an open and robust infrastructure for easy access and integration of governance data across the ecosystem. This service is specifically designed to enhance transparency and facilitate data-driven governance initiatives, directly supporting community-led programs such as Gnosis Delegate Program (GIP-101).
- Public API Access: Offers real-time access to governance analytics, enabling external researchers, delegates, and community stakeholders to transparently track delegate performance, voting patterns, and the effectiveness of governance initiatives such as Gnosis Delegate Program (GIP-101).
- Integration toolkit: Provides a flexible, plug-and-play toolkit, allowing easy embedding of governance analytics into GnosisDAO’s existing platforms, dashboards, or community applications without extensive technical resources or overhead.
Our Contribution in Other DAOs
- Governance Analytics & Monitoring Services: We have built comprehensive tools for projects such as ArbitrumDAO, SafeDAO, and the Optimism Collective—delivering actionable insights and fostering community engagement.
- In-Depth Metrics Analysis: Our previous work funded by SafeDAO which include the analytics hub and monthly governance report, contributes into change within the community, (eg. SafeDAO implementation of OBRA’s Steering Committees and Council Structures.)
- Community-Led Governance Research: We have actively collaborated with DAO communities to refine methodologies and ensure our tools meet evolving governance needs. (eg. Measuring the Concentration of Power in the Collective, Voting Influence and Concentration Analysis (VICA) for the Optimism Collective )
Timeline
The initiative will span approximately 13.5 months, including an initial 1.5-month period dedicated to research, development, and deployment, followed by 12 months of continuous maintenance and monthly governance reports. Throughout this duration, the platform will ongoing analytics updates, integrating community feedback to ensure constant improvement and alignment with GnosisDAO’s evolving governance needs.
Milestones
Milestone 1: Initial Design Mockups & Metrics
Research & Ideation:
We started by identifying key governance metrics and gathering community feedback. We also defined the initial scope for Governance Research & Data Reports and the Public API requirements.
Design & Mockups:
Based on our research, we created initial mockups focused on user experience and key metrics visualization. These included preliminary designs for the Governance Analytics hub, Research Reports structure, and Public API accessibility. Designs were shared for community feedback.
Milestone 2: Develop monitoring tool, Research Reports, & Public API
Phase 1 - MVP Development:
- Build an initial MVP of the Governance Analytics Hub focusing on critical governance metrics (holder metrics, voting power distribution, delegate behaviors).
- Begin developing the Governance Reports template aligned with GnosisDAO’s governance cycle.
- Implement basic Public API endpoints for real-time access to essential governance data.
- Provide a mid-development preview to the community to gather early feedback.
Phase 2 - Expanded Development & Testing:
- Expand Analytics Hub with additional metrics, including comprehensive proposal analytics, detailed participation insights, and voter behavior tracking.
- Finalize the Governance Reports structure and refine monthly templates based on community feedback.
- Enhance the Public API with additional endpoints covering delegate performance data, voter turnout, and governance trends.
- Conduct rigorous internal testing for accuracy, performance, and reliability across all components (Analytics Hub, Governance Reports, and Public API).
Official Launch:
- Publicly launch the comprehensive Governance Analytics Hub, fully functional Public API, and standardized Governance Reports format.
- Actively collect immediate post-launch feedback from GnosisDAO community and governance participants.
Milestone 3-14: Monthly Governance Report, Maintenance & Updates
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Monthly Governance Reports: Deliver detailed, actionable monthly governance reports highlighting delegate activity, voting trends, governance risks, and insights tailored to GnosisDAO’s evolving priorities.
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Daily Maintenance & Updates: Provide daily updates to ensure continuous availability of accurate and reliable governance analytics, data integrity, and smooth platform performance.
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Community-Driven Iteration: Continuously enhance and expand platform features based on ongoing community feedback, governance developments, and emerging user needs, ensuring lasting relevance and sustained value to GnosisDAO.
KPIs
We will track specific KPIs, including:
- Number of Monthly Visitors
- Link Clicks to Voting Portal
- Mentions & References from Delegates and forums
- Number of API requests call
Pricing and payment
We are requesting $70,000 to cover essential development & operational costs for our research initiatives, report generation, and analytics platform management over a 13.5-month period. Payments will be disbursed quarterly, corresponding to $17,500 per quarter. Following this initial phase, continuation of the service, if desired by the DAO, will be proposed at an annual renewal rate of $30,000, similarly payable quarterly.
This funding allocation includes:
- Infrastructure: Core services and technology required to support and maintain the analytics hub.
- Maintenance & Operations: Continuous updates, system monitoring, and improvements to ensure optimal platform performance.
- Data Management: Costs associated with data collection, storage, processing, and security.
- Third-Party Services: Expenses for external tools and services that enhance platform functionality.
- Overhead: Administrative and operational costs necessary for smooth daily operations.
Service Terms and Exit Strategy
GnosisDAO may terminate the service at any time, subject to a formal DAO governance vote. Curia Lab may similarly terminate by giving a 30-day notice to GnosisDAO. Upon termination, Curia Lab will ensure full data access and facilitate a smooth data transition to GnosisDAO or a designated provider.
To ensure that GnosisDAO retains the tool longevity, we commit to:
- Open-sourcing the UI and formula calculations.
- Any integration into future Gnosis’s main governance UI, making governance analytics a permanent feature.
Team
Curia Lab brings extensive experience in data analysis, and decentralized governance. Our team has actively participated as delegates in multiple DAOs including GnosisDAO and has developed governance tools for projects such as the Optimism Collective, Arbitrum, and SafeDAO. We are committed to creating tailor-made, data-driven tools that address the unique challenges and needs of GnosisDAO.
Contact Information
X/Twitter: Curia
Telegram: @v3dao
Email: varit@curialab.xyz
Website: Curia Hub
