May 14, 2025 Budget Comm Minutes

Attendees:

Name	Attendance	Role	Voting Seat (Y/N)
Lloyd Duhon	Yes	Budget Secretary
Kriss Baird		Voting Member, IOG, Catalyst
Kristijan Kowalsky		Voting Member, Tweag
Jack Briggs		Interim Executive Director, Intersect
Mercy		Voting Member, WADA
Sunsuke Murasaki		Former Voting Member, Mentor, Emurgo
Megan Hess		Voting Member

Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/16SlmplKna1qRyxKLv3H6V8hWFKWF6_nvmWdPmc3IKRM/edit?tab=t.d5us12r4np3r

Agenda 1.16.25

• centered on defending the approved budget process against individual DREP pressures and addressing the challenges posed by multiple Net Change Limits

• The team also explored strategies for future process improvements and increased community education on the budget's value.

Decisions/Actions

Topic	Discussion	Action Items
Defending the Budget Process	Concerns were raised about potential pressure from individual DREPs to exclude specific proposals, even if they passed the established process. The committee emphasized defending the integrity of the budget process and the proposals that achieved community support on Ecclesia.	Maintain a firm stance against singular DREP attempts to remove proposals that have passed the established process.
Negotiation and Learning	Acknowledged that some level of negotiation might be inevitable. The committee should use any necessary project removal as a learning opportunity for future processes, ensuring any such decision comes from broader DREP consensus, not individual strong-arming.	If a project must be removed, ensure it's based on broad DREP consensus. Document lessons learned for future budget cycles.
Info Action Instrument Limitations	The current info action process is a "blunt instrument," taking six weeks to execute. This inflexibility highlights the need for finer, faster tooling to allow DREPs to voice opinions more rapidly on nuanced topics.	Advocate for and prioritize the development of more agile tooling for DREP engagement and decision-making on budget topics.
Contextualizing Budget Risks	Discussion emphasized the need to put the overall budget in context. With large proposals from IO and Catalyst, the remaining small projects represent a comparatively low financial risk. The committee should communicate this to the community.	Develop and disseminate communication to the community contextualizing the overall budget and the actual financial risk of smaller projects.
Improving DREP Engagement & Communication	There's a critical need for designated meeting points for DREPs, beyond current ad-hoc methods. Meeting in person at events and leveraging meetups could foster better communication and governance.	Explore opportunities for DREPs and committee members to meet in person at upcoming events (e.g., summits, Rare Evo) and through funded meetups.
Addressing DREP Impact & Accountability	DREPs seem to lack a full understanding of their impact on the ecosystem. There's a perceived need for a targeted effort to communicate directly with ADA holders, encouraging them to pressure their DREPs for participation and timely voting.	Explore targeted communication campaigns for ADA holders (e.g., Brave browser ads) to encourage DREP engagement and accountability.
Multiple Net Change Limits (NCLs)	The proliferation of NCLs is a distraction. The primary focus should be on the value the budget's work delivers, emphasizing it as an allocation rather than a guaranteed withdrawal, with treasury withdrawals being a separate, NCL-governed process.	Shift the narrative in community communications from NCLs to the value and future impact of the funded proposals. Reiterate the distinction between budget allocations and treasury withdrawals.
Emergency Constitutional Updates	The committee briefly considered the need for a mechanism to amend the constitution, potentially for a "cool-down period" on NCL proposals to prevent frequent on-chain actions.	Consider proposing a constitutional amendment for a cool-down period on NCL changes during future constitutional reviews.
Intersect's Neutrality & Trade-offs	Intersect aims to be neutral and reflect the general will of the ecosystem. Over-caution is understood, stemming from the lack of mature tooling. Intersect will communicate the trade-offs associated with different budget decisions.	Continue to communicate Intersect's neutral role and clearly outline the trade-offs of budget decisions.