Preamble
This post shares how we plan to move the Future of Finance Index 2.0 Workshops from discussion to action.
It is intended to be in line with the guidance provided by Index 2.0: Autonomy Next Steps:
The outputs of these workshops will help inform our understanding of the problem (which feeds into our master list on pain points) and will allow the community to craft well-considered plans which can be executed upon. The intention is that these plans for issue resolution are presented as IIPs for further discussion ahead of formal snapshot voting.
We believe that the output of the “Future of Finance” workshops should be an in-depth forum post that shares the “well-considered plans” for community consumption and feedback. Read on* for more about what might go into such a post.
Pending feedback on these proposed next steps, we hope it offers something of a model for how other Index 2.0 topics can move from conversation to action, while ensuring the broader community remains part of the journey 
Author(s): @ElliottWatts, @Hammad1412, @rashmiashok11, @Pepperoni_Joe, @Matthew_Graham, @anon10525910
Background
On August 25, 2021 the forum post Index 2.0: Autonomy Next Steps kicked off the ongoing workshop process. “Future of Finance” is one of the workshop themes, and it has covered “Financial and Administrative capabilities” in the Coop.
Thus far, two workshops have occured:
- Workshop #1 was held on September 2, 2021 (Session Recording, Deck, Forum Post)
- Workshop #2 was held on September 16, 2021 (Session Recording, Deck)
Workshop #1 set the stage for the community to come together and brainstorm on an overhauled structure. The participants identified the issues and pain points being faced and provided a first review of a proposed, new structure.
This provided context for the community and in turn allowed Workshop #2 to become a forum for participants to both dive deeper into some of the outputs of the first workshop, and begin thinking about questions like:
- What are the values and principles we believe are important to guide our financial institutions?
- How do we ensure those institutions are built to last, serving the Coop long into the future?
- What does an ideal structure for Index Coops financial and administrative capabilities look like?
Moving Forward
Workshop #2 provided clarity on a number of topics and resulted in the above authors gaining a sense of alignment within the community. We now feel ready to put into writing, and then share on the forums, how we believe we should move forward.
At this stage, it seems wise to take a step back, look at the big picture, and answer questions like: What is the vision for the future of finance that we are pursuing? What are our “well-considered plans” we want to share with the community?
To do that, we believe the proper next step is to produce a clear, in-depth forum post for community feedback that covers topics such as:
- Background [what was discussed in the workshops?]
- The Vision [what is the vision we’re pursuing?]
- Principles & Values [what are the principles and values to guide us?]
- Challenges and Issues [What are the major current issues we surfaced?]
- Our Future of Finance [detailed walkthrough of the proposed changes to structure and responsibilities relating to Finance and Administrative capabilities]
- Proposed Action Items: [What are the specific next steps we are proposing to take?]
- Open questions [What open questions are we not resolving? What needs to get fed back into the Index 2.0 process?]
- Request for questions & feedback [what do you, the community, think?]
Note: this ^ is largely copying the format & process of the Index 2.0 post itself. That post and the related calls were an effective way to move forward on a complicated topic with the community.
We believe this approach will help us look at the bigger picture and develop comprehensive solutions together.
Further, we believe it is important that the entire Coop community is caught up on the discussion, shares a similar understanding of the situation and proposed direction, and is part of the conversation as changes flow from the Future of Finance workshops to IIPs.
Next Steps
Here is what we are proposing as clear next steps 
Key Deliverable: [Forum Post] Our Vision for the Future of Finance - Request for Feedback
Delivered by Date: Friday October 15, 2021
DRIs:
- Authors - These 9 authors expect to contribute to the forum post
- Steward: @rashmiashok11
- TWG reps: @Matthew_Graham, @ElliottWatts, @prairiefi, @acceleratedcapital, @bharatahj
- Funding Council reps: @anon10525910, @pepperoni_joe
- POC reps: @pepperoni_joe, @Hammad1412
- Guiding the process: @anon10525910
- Decision maker on when post goes up: @Matthew_Graham
Input
- Outside of the-above folks, there are many other contributors who voiced strong, informed opinions and whose further input is deeply valued.
- Inputs and feedback from community members provided during the workshop are being leveraged to draft proposed actions.
- We believe the best time for further input - both from informed workshop participants & the broader community alike - is once the forum post is live.
- It seems to make sense to avoid having too many cooks in the kitchen trying to produce the post & that it is very valuable for fresh eyes to see the post and provide outside perspective.
A note on the TWG
Finance of the Future will bring about a number of changes for Treasury WG, and so it seems logical for the TWG proposal to be released in parallel to, or after the “Our Finance of the Future” post goes live (on or before 15th of October).
Whilst this means the TWG Q4 proposal will be posted onto the forum later than the October 6th deadline requested for other WGs, we feel this approach will lead to greater clarity.
Temperature Check
What do you think of this proposed process? In summary:
- Create a forum post
- Seek community feedback & discussion in the forums & on call(s)
- Proceed with further action via specific IIPs
- Yes
- No
- Abstain
