I had many talks with people at Devconnect about this topic, here is the distilled summary:
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People want accountability for DAO funded programs. Everyone agrees accountability is necessary; the disagreement is over who should provide it. Past attempts within the ENS DAO have led to stalemates and inaction. Many believe a vote is required to determine who should be responsible for accountability.
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People think Working Groups should shrink, but not disappear. Those I spoke with found weekly calls excessive and preferred monthly or quarterly meetings focused on presentations rather than open discussion. Additionally, there was consensus that nine people weren’t necessary to run them. But people didn’t like the idea of getting rid of DAO operations entirely.
Taking this feedback into account, I am pivoting this temp check to: Replace the Working Groups with the ENS Admin Panel.
The goal of the Admin Panel is to eliminate the discretionary, subjective decision-making that Working Groups currently hold and shift DAO operations to a lean, administrative model that removes the perverse incentives outlined in the original post.
This group should:
- Execute transactions when necessary on stream.mg.wg.ens.eth
- Pay KPK’s performance fees using investment yield.
- Ensure all service providers and ENS Labs adhere to objective reporting requirements and provide a consolidated report.
- Can provide space for a quarterly town hall where Service Providers and Labs can present.
- Perform reasonable admin roles when necessary.
This group should not:
- Have a grants progam
- Have weekly calls
- Do anything beyond the 5 points above
These responsibilities can realistically be handled by a single administrator, creating clear accountability and a direct point of responsibility. For security, this administrator should be supported by a small group of elected multisig signers whose sole duty is to review and approve transactions within a 72-hour window. If this proposal passes, the DAO would hold two separate social votes: one to elect the administrator and one to elect the four signers.
Compensation (To be distributed via stream of USDC from DAO):
- Administrator (1 spot): 100k to 150k USDC per year
- Signer (4 spots): 12k to 24k USDC per year
The Admin Panel would cost approximately 200k USDC per year (a roughly 90% reduction from current Working Group spending) while preserving the essential functions those groups provide.
This approach preserves what the DAO needs, removes the excess, and creates a clear line of accountability at a fraction of the current cost. It is the simplest, cleanest, and most effective way to make ENS governance work.