A Guide to Initiating a HIP for Community-Driven Governance

October 24, 2023

A Guide to Initiating a HIP for Community-Driven Governance

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Intro

Horizon Protocol’s primary aim is to provide the community with a wide array of secure, trustless, and globally accessible tools for trading and investing in synthetic assets that represent the real-world economy. This vision can only become a reality with the unwavering support of our community.

As the project scales and in continuation of the upcoming product releases, our commitment is to collectively build towards this vision alongside the entire community. Horizon DAO was established with the specific purpose of uniting, motivating, and actively involving the community as a cohesive whole.

We are strong proponents of community-driven decentralized decision-making. To help the community adapt to this self-governing future, we are introducing the Horizon Improvement Proposal (HIP) framework to enhance the agility and robustness of Horizon DAO’s governance process.

HIP Proposal Standards

Stage 1 — Signaling

Signaling allows you to gauge community sentiment and determine whether your idea has widespread support before submitting a formal proposal.

How can I share the Signaling with the community?

Draft your idea in a clear and concise message, and share it in either our Telegram (TG) group, or the Governance proposal channel on our Discord server. Encourage the community to join the discussion.

To progress from a Signaling to a formal governance proposal, it must meet certain criteria, as described below:

Signaling is integral to the HIP creation process, enabling members to introduce and explore ideas. The community plays a pivotal role in ensuring these Signals develop into actionable HIPs. This transition requires detailed discussions, valuable feedback, and constructive debates on various aspects of implementation, ultimately shaping a concept into a comprehensive proposal.

During the proposal’s developmental stage, it may lack essential details, such as numerical data, models, or technical specifications. Active participation in idea discussions becomes vital at this juncture, enabling the gathering of diverse perspectives and identifying the additional information necessary for drafting a well-rounded HIP.

To gauge community sentiment on the direction of your HIP, you can consult the CMs and create polls on TG or Discord to gather feedback. After engaging in at least a week of conceptual discussion, you should have a better idea of whether to proceed with drafting a HIP.

How can the community practice Signaling?

Participate in the conversation in a constructive manner, share your support, thoughts, and different opinions around the ideas.

Stage 2 — Turn Signaling Into a Proposal

The next step is to combine your ideas and take the feedback from signaling discussions to draft your proposal.

The proposal should follow the structure outlined below:

Summary:

Provide a concise summary of the main points covered in your proposal.

Specification:

Include any relevant details or specifications to provide additional context for your proposal.

Motivation:

Offer detailed, informative, and specific explanations about the benefits of your proposal to Horizon Protocol and its community.

Potential Risks:

Address any potential risks and downsides. Being transparent about the risks and offering mitigation strategies can build trust with the community.

Considerations:

Additional thoughts should be taken into consideration.

Feedback & Questions:

List the feedback and questions you received from the community.

Stage 3 — Releasing & Improving the Proposal

After making the HIP public, consistently assess its performance and remain receptive to possible changes. Make adjustments or enhancements based on the feedback you received.

Stage 4 — Voting

When there are no further questions or feedback to be incorporated into the HIP, the Horizon Protocol Team will initiate a snapshot vote. This vote is crucial in determining the final decision regarding the proposal.

Horizon Protocol is a DeFi platform that facilitates the on-chain trading of synthetic assets that represent the real economy. Horizon Protocol seeks to provide exposure to real-world assets risk/return profiles via smart contracts on the blockchain.

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