The Future of sCoop

Community sCoop
1

Authors: @kindeagle @coolhorsegirl
Reviewers: @StepvhenH @mel.eth

History & Vision

Since its inception last August by @mel.eth, sCoop has served as the community resource that distills organizational knowledge, surfaces opportunities, and identifies areas for collaboration so that Index Coop contributors can move forward together.

The aim is to seed cross-functional connections and be the touchpoint between Nests and contributors that helps enable the great work we do together. By creating a shared narrative and highlighting contributors’ efforts, we build trust, confront issues and celebrate wins together.

The current deliverables are 4x daily sCoops (M-Th) and 1x sCoop Weekly (Fr) each week. The efforts of four writers have produced 131 daily and weekly sCoop publications for 24,134 views.

The knowledge shared in daily sCoops positions us as industry leaders in the DeFi/DAO space and provides a flow of information needed to deliver the new Index Coop Newsletter. Writing for sCoop is also a rapid path to gain Index Coop organizational knowledge that has enabled multiple Owls to make valuable contributions across our DAO.


Season 1 Changes

With the Index 2.0 move to Nests, significant changes are taking place within Index Coop, and like everyone else, sCoop is adjusting. Currently, almost all initiatives are Nest-focused and there’s no clear framework to support cross-functional projects that benefit the entire Index community.

For Season 1, sCoop moved from a Business Development Working Group sponsorship model to a home in Community Nest. Due to budget constraints and other objectives, sufficient funding sCoop is no longer a Nest priority. The current proposal is an 80% reduction in the monthly budget for sCoop operations ($5000 → $1000).

At this level of support, the publication schedule and output will need to be drastically reduced or ceased entirely.

We seek the community’s feedback and comments about the value of sCoop to the Index Coop community.

We encourage you to vote in the polls below.


The Future of sCoop

Given that it’s not feasible for one Nest to shoulder the operations of sCoop and pending sufficient community support, I propose the following operational model for sCoop moving forward:

1. Structure:

  • sCoop spins out of Community Nest.
  • sCoop leadership will be held accountable and funded by the community as a whole and revisited on a Seasonal basis.

2. Budget:

  • Each Nest will contribute $1000/month to the sCoop operations budget

3. Staff:

  • @kindeagle, Editor ($2250/month)

    • Oversee editorial, planning, operations, admin
    • Write and publish sCoop Weekly
    • Recruit & budget guest writers

  • @coolhorsegirl, Lead Writer ($2250/month)

    • Write & publish Daily sCoops
    • Fill-in editorial duties when needed
    • Onboard guest writers

  • Guest writing bounty (up to $500/month)

    • Substitute for coolhorsegirl kindeagle

4. Deliverables:

  • 4x daily sCoops - covering Nest meetings, Index Planning Call, Leadership Forum, product community calls, product launches
  • 1x sCoop Weekly - the recap of the happenings at Index Coop and inform the community about what’s next
  • Collaboration and continuous improvements on sCoop formats with consultation from Nests to deliver a distilled dashboard and touchpoint for daily and weekly Index Coop operations

It’s been an honor and great experience having first started at Index Coop with mel.eth at sCoop and now collaborating with @coolhorsegirl.

But it’s ultimately the community’s decision whether sCoop and the value it provides is worthy of our efforts and resources. We are dedicated to the long-term success of Index Coop and will respect the community’s wishes. Definitely open to your thoughts and ideas in the Comments.

We encourage you to vote in the polls below.

Is the sCoop a community resource worthy of Index Coop funding?
  • Yes
  • No

0 voters

Do you support sCoop spinning out of Community Nest and each Nest contributing $1000 to a monthly budget for operations during Season 1?
  • Yes
  • No

0 voters

6 Likes
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For me, the sCoop has been instrumental to keeping up with an async organization like IC. In particular the weekly rollups have helped me stay connected to the ‘big picture’ of what is happening across the Nests. Internal communication is so important in any organization and this is the only formal, internal communication channel we have. I think it is something the IC should financially continue to support as it benefits all active contributors to work together more effectively regardless of your timezone, level of commitment, or family/life situation for any given work week.

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3

I would love to know how SCoop is viewed as “low” priority given the nature of async communication in a DAO across timezones by Nest(s). Especially those who voices out this notion.

I find it odd that if a particular or any initiatives that “doesn’t” necessarily add “value” directly in terms of growth/financial profitability to the Coop be viewed as “less” priority.

Personally SCoop has been very helpful for those in not so friendly timezone to keep to date with the day to day top level updates. And I’ve personally benefited from this since it’s inception.

It would be ashamed if this initiative doesn’t continue, as it would further alienate those who don’t have the “privilege” to share similar timezones as most contributors whom in the Western Hemisphere.

2 Likes
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Hi @kindeagle @coolhorsegirl, thanks for this post.

I just want to seek some clarity here around the financial aspect.

As part of the season 1 budget sCoop was to be remunerated through Community Nest and I assume through the coordinape circles? This is an initiative that supports the community in my opinion and is best suited within this Nest as a pod.

An appropriate budget was put forth by Community Nest and approved to support sCoop, reviewing the contributor rewards payment for last month the coordinape allocation is pretty much in line with what you are both requesting per month above?

Maybe @Pepperoni_Joe or @bradwmorris could shine some light on the reasoning for pushing sCoop to the broader community to fund?

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Hi @ElliottWatts, you are correct. For February, compensation for sCoop was handled via Coordinape.

After our Coordinape retrospective and FNest feedback, it became clear that changes to the Community Nest budget allocations are needed to achieve the initiatives and projects that demonstrate impact and are tied to product adoption.

The sCoop will be compensated as a stipend moving forward with a proposed budget of $1000/month. I appreciate @Pepperoni_Joe & @bradwmorris needing to act in the best interests of the Nest and don’t envy having to make those decisions.

With our data-driven, proof of impact approach to all Nest operations, sCoop would likely be a “liability” for any Nest. Since all Nests and contributors benefit from the cross-functional information and organizational knowledge provided by sCoop, it makes sense that the operational budget would be shared as well.

That’s why we’re asking for feedback from the entire Index Coop about sCoop’s value and not asking Community Nest to be the sole source of funding.

2 Likes
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With contributors dispersed all across the world, everyday coordination and communication is our biggest challenge. sCoop serves as a great resource for those who missed a meeting or want a recording. It also provides a space for contributors to ask questions. As a resource, sCoop is also very outward-facing. It is a resource for others in the ecosystem and is one of the reasons Index Coop is seen as a gold standard DAO.

Does it need to be every day?

As we have less frequent public calls, updating contributors daily could be unnecessary (financially/operationally) and only act as a burden for sCoop writers. If there is a day without meetings or substanative updates I argue we should roll into the next days’ edition.

What can change?

I think it is currently helpful for INDEX holders, but hopefully we can provide more actionable items or delegation info for INDEX holders. sCoop Weekly is a major success in my opinon and can be a great time to activate investors.

:owl: <3 sCoop

3 Likes
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Hey @kindeagle and @ElliottWatts ,

I should have clarified this better before our Community Nest call yesterday and can see how I’ve probably caused some confusion. In Community Nest (largely influenced by Finance Nest and conversations we’ve had with other DAO’s) we’re experimenting with more project delivery contingent compensation.

The $1,000 for sCoop highlighted yesterday was just a suggestion for us to discuss as a group.

I haven’t suggested we push sCoop to the broader community. We can keep the sCoop within the Coordinape circle, however, this amount is going to be significantly reduced as we move to deliverables.

My personal opinion here:

@kindeagle and @coolhorsegirl 's time is incredibly valuable, they’re super high context individuals (contributor-centric) and have been valuable community advocates.

I also don’t like the idea of trying to box absolutely everything into immediate KPI driven objectives and I agree async communication is incredibly valuable.

However, I don’t think we (Community Nest) should be investing $5,000 per month and this much time into the sCoop until we more clearly understand value add (which I know is difficult for something like this).

I agree with @funkmasterflex that a comprehensive weekly sCoop would be more suitable at this stage.

I would also like to see some readership and engagement metrics/objectives. If 20%+ of contributors were reading and finding benefit from the sCoop, I think this would change the conversation.

But that’s just my opinion. And if the broader community decides otherwise and wants to fund x-nest, that’s also a win in my opinion. I would prefer to see the majority of Community Nest resources directed toward community (non-contributor) engagement, driving value and product adoption.

I’m voting ‘Yes’ to the sCoop being a resource worthy of funding, and ‘No’ to all Nests contributing. I do hope to see the sCoop continue to evolve and bring value to the Coop.

2 Likes
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Hi @bradwmorris,

I too would really want to see sCoop continue. I do enjoy reading it and catching on things that I have missed. What @funkmasterflex mentions really resonates with me. That said, I do think that this is an interesting pivot in direction so soon in the first Season.

I think we all see the value for an information sharing and context building perspective. I always viewed the sCoop as a community newsletter of sorts and with that I thought it was a good fit for Community Nest. We can always continue to iterate and pivot towards what we think works best for cadence and content. Could sCoop be like internal content and therefore something within Growth Nest linked to content creation ? is there any overlap or collaboration levelling up opportunity.

I would like to highlight that the budget put aside to fund sCoop in the Season 1 proposal should stay with sCoop wherever sCoop is within the community. I think that is fair, and with that I would like to see Community Nest make that budget available to sCoop. I believe this is very similar to @ElliottWatts what’s thoughts shared earlier, highlighting a budget was created with sCoop in mind, so sCoop has a claim to expect that level of funding during Season 1.

5 Likes
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To clarify I think 3 sCoop articles per week would be ideal

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The sCoop is a great brand & it communicates our values of transparency & accessibility by making context available for our contributors & community, but, for me, personally, i rarely ever read it anymore. To be fair, I’m not in the target audience as i already have a high level of context throughout the org as a cross-functional contributor / glue guy.

I think a middle ground may be to publish the sCoop 3/week, or place a little bit of the burden on the Nest standup to include a “what the community needs to know” segment in their slides that can be easily fed into a daily sCoop w/ minimal effort. making the Nests proactive about community Calls to Action may make the organization better at activating a class of community contributors that are underutilized anyway.

the sCoop in its current form is valuable to its audience, but I think some shifting is in order. I believe we could get a higher ROI from the talent / capability we have built up if we repurpose some resource time to make the weekly sCoop to be more external-facing with an intent to showcase How we DAO to an audience of contributors across the web3 ecosystem to build our credibility & standing throughout the DAO ecosystem.

@kindeagle & @coolhorsegirl have been doing an excellent job with the sCoop. serving contributors with needed context should remain a baseline for sCoop to meet, but i think they deserve all the budget allocated in season 1 proposal to sCoop & a bit of autonomy to decide how to best apply their talents, experience & time.

4 Likes
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This sparked a lot of questions in mind; everything from the funding of public goods, the need to overcommunicate in a DAO, transparency as a default, gaps in organizational goals, the need to be agile, and a theory that DAOist have a wee bit of an issue with authority.

But, Brad said:

Which sounds to me like this is still up for discussion in the Pod, and its for the Pod to work.

Principles I would apply:

  1. The C-Nest > Community Pod Season 1 Proposal included the sCoop (4x1 days a week)
  2. Budget** was allocated to Community Pod for the work
  3. The Season 1 Budget was approved
  4. Now we all go do what we said we would do - and draft changes for next season
  5. If a Pod can’t do what it said it would do, it becomes a Nest issue to work

Caveats:
The world changes & Nests & Pods need to have the flexibility to change with it. When stuff happens (budget slashed, new idea, new critical issue, unplanned cost, etc.) and if a Pod/Nest is not going to do what they said they would, if it can’t be solved internally (Pod then Nest) - then bring it to the community to socialize.

Final point:

This makes sense. It Community Pod is not the right place for sCoop, then for Season 1, the sCoop and its budget should go somewhere else (in the Nest).

**This is an assumption on my part. I think including pod level budgets in the Nest proposals would be helpful for next season. Yes, I know some pod detail is in the budget.pdf - but it is just a PIA to have to hunt for stuff.

1 Like
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In Season 1 there was Pod level budget breakdowns which each Nest was meant to have included as a update to their respective post. Each Nest proposal should include each Pod’s budget and Nest level budget summary.

Do note: Finance Nest is unable to update their Season 1 post due to the permission settings on this forum and others may be experiencing this challenge as well.

3 Likes
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I am a strong supporter of the sCoop and hope to see it continue.

Building on what @pujimak_in mentioned, most of us in the APAC region rely on the summaries provided by the sCoop to keep up to date with any ongoings within the DAO.

In general as a team, we are also pushing to learn more about our nests/pods/products. It is not always feasible to attend the Leadership Forum where this information exchange happens, but having the sCoop’s summaries will help us achieve this goal.

Long live the sCoop!

7 Likes
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The @sCoop is an integral part of the overall community, such that it disseminates information and fill several knowledge gaps within the coops internal and external community. Its a good avenue for a daily and weekly brief comprehensive update on decisions, bounties, opportunities, collaborations, events, hot topics so many more. It’s external advantages to giving insights and prompt updates to the coop’s external community is also priceless.

I say, long live the @sCoop!!!:rocket:

2 Likes
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I have a suggestion that might be controversial. What if we posted the org and Nest KPIs at the end of each sCoop?

KPIs are very important but right now they’re buried in various places in Notion, are not well maintained, and not very visible. Posting them at the end of the sCoop would ensure maximal and frequent visibility, as well as create more social accountability. The process could be simple where a Nest leader simply DMs you when they have an update or you could pull it from their Notion board if that’s the preferred approach for that Nest. We’d probably want to limit it to the top 2-3 KPIs per Nest.

What do you think?

7 Likes
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It’s a good suggestion @JosephKnecht and controversial indeed. From the perspective of the sCoop’s responsibility to serve both internal and external audiences, having org and Nest KPIs on each sCoop :thinking: well, I think org and KPIs has a closer relationship with our internal audience.

That’s what I think.

19

Interesting idea, putting our nest measures where they are easily consumable is a solid move towards greater transparency. And with that, we can visualize how our Strategies & measures support the mission / vision statement. Something I think we need more of.

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I love this suggestion. There are certainly KPIs that would have a positive to neutral impact on an external audience, and benefit the internal audience. The sCoop leaders could simply consult with nest leads and not publish sensitive KPIs.

I also think publishing KPIs is consistent with a working-in-public ethos, which I think we should embrace.

In general I think the content of sCoop should be as templatized and automated as possible. I do not think having a secretary-like person attending meetings across the Coop is sustainable long term. Not all information has equal value, and we should prioritize surfacing and disseminating the information that is most relevant and can guide decision making (like org level and nest level KPIs)

7 Likes