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The Catalyst Circle - Background

The Catalyst Circle is an experiment to establish a decentralised community model of governance and representation. As the seat of decision making shifts from IOG to the community, the Circle provides invaluable community problem sensing and input. It has four primary goals:

• To facilitate communication between the different functional groups with Catalyst

• To provide a heads-up when red lines are crossed within a certain group

• To suggest improvements on plans and processes that shape Project Catalyst

• To refine the election process for Circle V3

Member duties and responsibilities

Like Project Catalyst itself, the Circle will also evolve over time. Initially, elected members will serve 3-month terms, and elections will follow to continue improving and iterating the process. For elected members, we have identified these initial duties and responsibilities. Each member of the Circle should:

• Represent the community that selected them

• Exercise their own best judgement about matters that come before the Circle

• Familiarise other members with the projects, activities, aims, hopes, and concerns of their communities

• Periodically take the opportunity to introduce policy proposals into the Circle's agenda for consideration

• Inform their communities about initiatives of the Circle

Each member also has the responsibility to:

• Regularly attend meetings every two weeks

• Maintain an agile backlog list to track issues between meetings

• Review and comment on agenda issues ahead of time

• Maintain awareness of the interests and concerns of their community

• Disseminate the Circle's outputs transparently and accessibly

• Learn and practice effective meeting procedures

• Produce an election protocol document for the next elections

• Attend training sessions focused on inclusive and lean startup leadership techniques

• Provide feedback on the effectiveness of the Circle

Members will be able to set each meeting's agenda and periodically introduce policy proposals into the Catalyst Circle for consideration. The 'minimal functional group' is the bootstrapping version, based on consultations with leaders within the Catalyst community, an expert group in the field of novel governance structures.

As trusted best practice is established, the Circle might grow and divide. Maybe the future has many 'Circles'? Ultimately, it will be up to members to advance our goal to legitimize decentralized governance, paving the way for an alternative to the status quo, and continuing to break new ground in building the future of blockchain governance.

The Catalyst Circle - Mentorship Work

Members of Catalyst Circle v1 (CCv1) continue to provide support, mentorship and assistance to the members of Catalyst Circle v2 (CCv2). Because CCv2 only lasts for three months, the help from CCv1 is crucial to ensure a smooth transition and to allow the most productive use of time for CCv2. 

Members of CCv1 received funding for the time they served in CCv1 (https://cardano.ideascale.com/a/dtd/Power-Up-The-Catalyst-Circle/373192-48088). However, they are continuing to volunteer their valuable time in support of CCv2. This proposal seeks to address that gap by providing funding in support of the time they have already spent and continue to spend.

CCv2 has enjoyed significant benefits as a result of the mentorship and support from CCv1 and has directly experienced the importance of this mentorship work. As a result, CCv2 will provide the same transition support to the members of CCv3. This proposal would provide funding for those activities as well. 

KPIs - CCv1

• Attendance at the first Catalyst Circle Congress

• Number of meetings with CCv2 members regarding Circle practices

• Documentation created and provided to support transitions

• Number of introduction to key stakeholders and other community members that support the activities of the CCv2

KPIs - CCv2

• Attendance at the second Catalyst Circle Congress

• Number of meetings with CCv3 members regarding Circle practices

• Documentation created and provided to support transitions

• Number of introduction to key stakeholders and other community members that support the activities of the CCv3

Budget breakdown:

CCv1 member remuneration: $5000

CCv2 member remuneration: $5000

Requested funds in USD 10000