I. Executive Summary
II. Background
III. Oversight Decision to Withhold Approval for Proposed Bonus Methodology
IV. Withholding Reasoning
V. 2024 Team Compensation: Salary Base + Retention Bonuses
VI. What Did Cosmos Hub Governance Approve?
VII. Alleged Misconduct and/or Mismanagement Involving the GM
VIII. GM’s Interference with Oversight
IV. GM’s Proposal
X. Conclusion
The Oversight committee has only one elected member, which is my role.
Oversight is independent from the Core DAO.
Two key roles, Oversight Controller and Oversight Coordinator, are hired through a process involving:
a) The GM creating a shortlist of candidates
b) StratComm selecting from this shortlist
c) The selected candidate being ratified by an all-DAO vote, excluding votes from Oversight members
Current Issues and Suggested Changes:
Imo the hiring process for Oversight Coordinator and Oversight Controller needs to change.
An offer was made to an Oversight Coordinator candidate on August 30th by Youssef.
Although I respect the candidate, the hiring process should be redone due to recent misconduct/mismanagement of the GM. Aug 30th, is also the same day I remitted an internal incident report documenting potential misconduct/mismanagement of the GM.
Oversight Coordinator and Oversight Controller must involve an open application period, as Oversight serves hub stakeholders, not the DAO.
The current hiring process for Oversight is not aligned with oversight mandate and function. The current process is highly susceptible to the strategic and business interests of the core DAO members.
I would support any effort to improve and develop Oversight. I have confidence in your abilities to carry this out.
What would you propose as new process? Oversight hires its members? it would make sense, you usually get selected by a DHR then reselected by your direct manager.
I’m looking into who negotiated, and how/why/what justifies cost basis.
Separately, I’ll be asking StratComm to fund an Oversight led initiative for a Grants Working Group
The objective of the GWG: recruit qualified community members to helpexecute a simplified price/performance audit on all grants (active, complete, discontinued).
Review the scope, delivery, and efficiency of resource allocation.
There was an internal “retro” done by AADAO in July.
But it was too superficial.
The purpose of the GWG audit isn’t to produce an 'I could have done this for…x" sort of document. That would be non productive.
If you can be helpful in developing an eval criteria for this possible initiative, or would like to be involved, pls reach out: grace@atomaccelerator.com
I’m more interested in the cost efficiency side of the grants program.
I’d like to clarify the scope of the proposed/potential audit.
While I appreciate enthusiasm and ideas for future improvements, the proposed simplified audit is strictly limited to a resource efficiency assessment.
Specifically:
Examine grantees’ budgets and cost breakdowns
For example, wrt to the auction module, evaluate the justification for the $150,000 allocation.
Assess any premium labor costs and their rationale.
Review pricing structures (hourly rates vs. flat fees) and their appropriateness.
Identify any additional costs (e.g., auditing fees, GTM fees) included in the approved grant amounts.
Please note that this audit is not intended to recommend process improvements or alternative methodologies at the present time. The focus is strictly on:
Actual expenditures
Reasoning behind costs
Negotiation processes
Justification of expenses
The primary objective is to determine whether AADAO has overpaid or underpaid based on market standards and provided services.
We will not be exploring potential efficiency gains or suggesting operational changes at this time.
Such considerations are valuable for future engagements but fall outside the scope of the proposed audit I have in mind.
AADAO’s Financial Controller has announced her departure. She is committed to remaining in her position until a suitable replacement is found, ensuring a smooth transition of responsibilities.
The Controller and I are collaborating with StratComm to revise the hiring process for two key positions: Oversight Coordinator and Oversight Controller.
We recognize that the previous hiring approach for these roles was significantly and inappropriately influenced by GM preferences. Both Oversight and StratComm are in agreement that filling these vacancies should begin with an open and transparent application process.
We plan to share more detailed information about the revised hiring process for Oversight roles EoW.