[Temp Check] Implementation of an RFP Framework for Service Provider Engagements

Governance General
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We support this initiative, which we see as an obvious evolutionary step towards an effectively managed DAO.

As @benhoneill pointed out, passively waiting for Service Provider proposals to dictate what’s in the DAO’s best interest doesn’t seem the most efficient way for conducting community-wide strategic planning, let alone fostering market-driven price/SLA discovery mechanisms.

In our opinion, it should be the other way around: the community should decide on the most compelling topics/areas of focus to invest in based on the available budget and optimise for short-term ROI.

Today, the DAO is currently allocating its Service Provider budget to the following areas:

  • Technical Development: maintenance, improvement, and support of the multiple components that comprise the Aave ecosystem’s architecture (e.g. Aave v2/v3; Governance v2/v3; Safety Module; GHO; GSM; UIs; etc.), including the launch of these on new chains (BGD; Aave Companies);
  • Grants: community-led grants program, focused on growing an ecosystem of contributors within Aave through funding ideas, projects, and events that benefit the ecosystem (Aave Grants DAO);
  • Security: smart contract auditing, as well as specification development for the Aave protocol (Certora; Sigma Prime);
  • Risk Management: risk assessment and risk parameter recommendations to optimise capital efficiency Vs insolvency risk and liquidations (Gauntlet; Chaos Labs);
  • Governance: Coordination of Aave governance discussions, development and submission of Snapshot votes & AIPs, and collaboration with Delegates and Stakeholders (ACI);
  • Protocol and Ecosystem Development: Support the onboarding of strategic assets to the Aave ecosystem, push for product innovation and improvement (e.g. GHO; Safety Module), and foster the expansion of the protocol to new chain ecosystems (ACI);

The end of Llama’s Service Provider Agreement will leave a void that will need replacement (even if not necessarily for the entire scope). This is the perfect opportunity to execute differently and potentially avoid the pitfalls that led to the unexpected reduced stream for Llama’s last two months: an undesired outcome both for the DAO and for the Service Provider.

We’d be keen to know the opinion of more experienced Delegates, especially the ones involved in this domain e.g. @MarcZeller; @fig; @Kene_StableLab.

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