Governance & Proposals

Master the art of decentralized decision-making through proposals, voting, and execution.

What is DAO Governance?

Governance is how your DAO makes collective decisions. Members propose changes, vote on them, and approved proposals are automatically executed on-chain. This creates transparent, trustless coordination without central authority.

Proposal Types

Treasury Proposals

Fund allocation, grants, spending, and financial operations.

  • • Transfer funds to recipients
  • • Approve grant applications
  • • Investment decisions
  • • Emergency fund access
Requires: 66% approval, 20% quorum

Governance Proposals

Changes to voting rules, quorum, and governance parameters.

  • • Modify voting period
  • • Update quorum requirements
  • • Change approval thresholds
  • • Adjust proposal deposits
Requires: 75% supermajority, 30% quorum

Tokenomics Proposals

Token supply, rewards, fees, and economic mechanisms.

  • • Adjust staking rewards
  • • Modify transaction fees
  • • Token burning mechanisms
  • • Reward distribution rates
Requires: 60% approval, 25% quorum

Membership Proposals

Add/remove members, assign roles, and manage permissions.

  • • Grant admin privileges
  • • Remove malicious actors
  • • Create new member tiers
  • • Modify role permissions
Requires: 51% approval, 15% quorum

Technical Proposals

Smart contract upgrades, integrations, and technical changes.

  • • Upgrade canister code
  • • Add new features
  • • Fix security vulnerabilities
  • • Integrate with protocols
Requires: 66% approval, 20% quorum

General Proposals

Community decisions, partnerships, and general governance.

  • • Community initiatives
  • • Partnership approvals
  • • Policy decisions
  • • Mission/vision updates
Requires: 51% approval, 10% quorum

Creating a Proposal

1

Navigate to Governance

Access the governance section from your DAO dashboard.

Dashboard → [Your DAO] → Governance Tab → Click "Create Proposal"

2

Select Proposal Type

Choose the category that best fits your proposal. This determines voting thresholds.

Each type has different requirements:

  • Treasury (66%) - High stakes, needs strong consensus
  • Governance (75%) - Changes rules, requires supermajority
  • Tokenomics (60%) - Economic changes, moderate threshold
  • Membership (51%) - Member management, simple majority
  • Technical (66%) - Code changes, high threshold
  • General (51%) - Other decisions, simple majority
3

Write Proposal Details

Craft a clear, compelling proposal that members can understand and evaluate.

Title (Required)

Concise, descriptive title (5-100 characters)

Good: "Increase Staking Rewards by 5%"

Bad: "Important Proposal Please Read"

Description (Required)

Detailed explanation with context and rationale (500+ characters recommended)

Include:

  • • Problem: What issue does this address?
  • • Solution: How does this proposal solve it?
  • • Impact: Who benefits? Any downsides?
  • • Implementation: How will this be executed?
  • • Timeline: When will changes take effect?

Action Parameters (If Applicable)

For executable proposals, specify the on-chain action:

Example: Transfer 1000 ICP to Principal
Recipient: rdmx6-jaaaa-aaaaa-aaadq-cai
Amount: 1000 ICP
Reason: Community Grant Q1 2025

Pro Tips

  • • Use Markdown for formatting (bold, lists, links)
  • • Add external links to supporting documents
  • • Include budget breakdowns for financial proposals
  • • Reference similar past proposals
  • • Be transparent about conflicts of interest
4

Submit Proposal Deposit

Lock tokens as a deposit to prevent spam. Refunded if proposal passes.

Required Deposit: 100 GOV tokens
Your Balance: 500 GOV tokens

Note: Deposit is locked during voting. If proposal fails, deposit goes to treasury.

5

Review & Submit

Final check before publishing to all members.

Pre-Submit Checklist

  • â–¡ Title is clear and specific
  • â–¡ Description explains problem, solution, and impact
  • â–¡ Action parameters are correct (if executable)
  • â–¡ Proposal type and category are appropriate
  • â–¡ Deposit amount available in wallet
  • â–¡ Reviewed for typos and clarity

Voting begins immediately and lasts for the configured period (typically 5-7 days)

Voting on Proposals

How Voting Power Works

Your voting power is determined by your staked tokens with time-weighted multipliers: 

Voting Power = Staked Tokens × Time Multiplier

Time Multipliers:
• No lock: 1.0x  (can unstake anytime)
• 3 months: 1.2x  (20% bonus)
• 6 months: 1.5x  (50% bonus)
• 1 year: 2.0x  (100% bonus)
• 2 years: 3.0x  (200% bonus)

Vote Yes

Support the proposal. Your voting power counts toward approval.

Vote No

Oppose the proposal. Your voting power counts against approval.

Abstain

Count toward quorum but don't affect outcome. Used when conflicted.

Proposal Lifecycle

1

Submission

Proposal created, deposit locked, voting begins immediately

2

Active Voting

Members cast votes, discussion happens, creator can cancel proposal

3

Voting Ends

Time expires, final tally calculated, outcome determined

4

Execution (If Passed)

Automatic on-chain execution after optional time-delay, deposit refunded

5

Archived

Proposal moved to history, outcome recorded permanently on-chain

Best Practices

For Proposal Creators

  • • Discuss proposals informally before submitting
  • • Provide clear rationale and data
  • • Respond to community feedback
  • • Split complex proposals into smaller ones
  • • Set realistic timelines for implementation

For Voters

  • • Read proposals thoroughly before voting
  • • Consider long-term impact on DAO
  • • Participate in discussions
  • • Vote on every proposal (quorum matters)
  • • Use abstain when you lack expertise

Learn More

Explore related topics to deepen your understanding of DAO governance.

Staking & Voting Power →

Learn how to maximize your influence

Treasury Management →

Understand financial proposals