Hi everyone,
On behalf of the Metagov Research team, we’d like to share a brief progress update on the ENS governance retrospective.
We have now completed Phase 1 of the research plan. This includes our qualitative work, where we conducted approximately 23 key informant interviews with ENS stakeholders, totaling just under 30 hours of interview time, as well as the full build-out of the data repository and pre‑analysis needed to support an immediate retrospective in Phase 2. On the quantitative side, we have completed the full inventory and ingestion of all agreed public data sources into a shared repository, along with an analysis plan and data infrastructure design that together enable us to begin running the Phase 2 retrospective analysis without additional setup.
Per the approved SOW, Phase 1 formally includes a milestone check‑in where, within one week of submission (which is this post), the research team and ENS stakeholders will meet to: (1) validate or refine the emerging picture of ENS DAO’s purpose, challenges, and intended outcomes; (2) confirm that planned methods and data sources for subsequent phases are appropriate and aligned with ENS priorities; and (3) surface any gaps, concerns, or additional questions before we lock in the rest of the work. In line with this, we are planning to present Phase 1 results, and a forward look at Phases 2 and 3, at the ENS all‑hands call on March 10.​
To make materials easy to access, we have set up a structured Google Drive with separate folders for: Kickoff, Phase 1, Phase 2, and Phase 3. Each folder contains a short README that outlines its contents and how they relate to the overall research plan. The Phase 1 folder includes:
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A synopsis of interview findings (covering the main governance challenges and systemic patterns identified so far)
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Documentation of the data repository we have assembled for the Phase 2 retrospective (data source inventory, analysis plan, and infrastructure overview)
Looking ahead:
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After the March 10 presentation and discussion, we will revise Phase 1 materials and any related plans based on feedback from the DAO and ENS stakeholders.
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Unless explicitly instructed by the DAO to pause or stop work, we will then proceed into Phase 2, using the Phase 1 data and interview foundations to run the retrospective analysis.
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We are slightly ahead of schedule and have already begun parts of the comparative research, identifying relevant lessons and evidence from other protocols, DAOs, and decentralized governance systems.
At the March 10 all‑hands, we would also like to propose a framework for engaging ENS DAO on preliminary recommendations as they emerge in Phases 2 and 3. Our goal is to co‑create the final set of governance and organizational recommendations with ENS delegates, stewards, Labs, and community members, rather than presenting a “closed” list at the end. Concretely, this means using workshop‑style sessions and open feedback loops to:
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Stress‑test early recommendations for feasibility,
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Prioritize them against ENS’s strategic goals and constraints, and
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Identify practical implementation pathways and required enabling conditions.
We see this co‑creation process as an important enabling factor for the successful implementation of any necessary reforms: recommendations that are collaboratively assessed for feasibility, trade‑offs, and sequencing are much more likely to be adopted and to stick in practice.
Please feel free to reach out to us with any thoughts and/or questions:
Michael Cooper (team lead): telegram-MCooperResearch or mike@metagov.org