How do I make an API3 DAO proposal?

Can I make my own proposal to the API3 DAO? How would I do it?

API3 is a permissionless DAO. Anyone can create a proposal requesting tokens from the DAO treasury to fund work that will benefit API3. But you have to convince the DAO that the work you propose is worth it and that you will deliver on your promise.

There are two kinds of proposals.

  1. Primary proposals request funds from the primary treasury which contains API3 tokens and requires 50% of the total voting power to vote yes in order to pass.
  2. Secondary proposals request funds from the secondary treasury which contains USDC tokens and requires 15% of the total voting power to vote yes, with more yes than no, in order to pass.

Passing a primary proposal is harder than passing a secondary proposal so secondary proposals are typically used for smaller, more normal efforts while primary proposals would be used for larger, less common efforts.

To create and pass a proposal, follow these steps:

1. Do a Sentiment Check and discuss with others

Post your proposal in the #governance-meta category to share and discuss your idea with the DAO and get a sentiment check on whether it is likely to pass. You don’t want to waste ETH (gas) creating and voting on a proposal that is unlikely to pass. Instead, use the sentiment check discussion to get feedback and mold your idea into something that has a good chance of passing.

It’s good to create polls in your sentiment check topic so that DAO members can do a “soft” vote to tell you how they feel. Sentiment checks have a [SC] in the title.

2. Create an Official Proposal

When you feel like your proposal is likely to pass then create an official proposal on the DAO. Read the entire working with proposals section in the docs first.

You need 0.1% voting power to create a proposal. If you don’t have that then you can ask another DAO member to create it for you. Be meticulous when creating your proposal. Make sure you get all the details right!

After your proposal has been created, move the forum topic to the #official-proposals category and edit its title replacing the [SC] with [Primary/Secondary Proposal XX] to reflect it’s type and number on the DAO.

Post a link to your new DAO proposal in your forum topic to make it easier for voters to find it.

3. Campaign!

Now that your proposal is live, promote it! You have 7 days to get enough yes votes to pass your proposal. Otherwise it will fail.

Unfortunately, DAO members don’t just sit around anxiously waiting for new proposals to vote on. This is a political process. You need to campaign to increase the odds your proposal will pass. Tell people about it. Ask for support. Make a compelling case. Proactively communicate!

Voting power is proportional to how much API3 DAO members have staked. Try to win the support of wallets with significant voting power.

4. Execute It (if necessary)

If your proposal passes, you may need to manually execute it for funds to be distributed.

That’s it. That’s how all the API3 DAO teams currently operate and how you can start your own team to contribute to API3.