Exciting workstream with lots of challenges here! There are some other ideas I’d like to throw into the mix.
Evolution
I think the assumption here is that this is the next of many phases of evolution in Radicle’s org design. We are unlikely to come up with a perfect solution, so whatever we arrive at will need to be iterated upon. Is there a way we can factor in the on-going evolution of our org design? Can it be incorporated into the org design itself? What can we do now that would encourage that process or make it more efficient?
Values, mission and narrative
I’ve been banging this drum for a little while now because I think it is fundamental to a lot of things. By this I mean is diving into things like autonomy, hierarchy, responsibility, accountability, collaboration, evolution, trustlessness, incentives, wholeness, inclusion, contributors, our broader mission, etc — we need to define all of these things, figure out where we stand on them and assemble them into a coherent picture that everyone can agree upon. Org design especially needs to be informed by these things or it risks embodying the wrong values or optimising for the wrong outcome.
Culture
I know Abbey is also sympathetic to this idea so I may be preaching to the choir here, but I thought it was worth bringing it up in this context.
Culture is important! I’d argue that it may be one of the most important parts of Web3 both presently — i.e. the current state of Web3 culture — and in terms of the future — i.e. where some of the biggest challenges are and where the biggest opportunities lie. It’s also hugely important within organisations and is influenced by organisational structure.
This workstream will naturally be heavy on the so-called “tangibles” (objective things) like structures, mechanisms, processes, etc, as they are the output and are easier to rationalise, visualise and design. But the “intangibles” (subjective things) such as culture and norms — things that are more mysterious and difficult to design for — are just as important.
We should be considerate of and intentional about culture, what sort of culture we want to encourage and how we can go about achieving that. Part of this lies outside of the scope of org design, but I also think a part of it is overlapping, in that org design is one of the factors that creates and influences culture.
There’s some discussion and ongoing research along these lines on the SCRF forums: here, here and here.
Research
There are a bunch of orgs doing research work in this area and there may be scope for collaboration or sponsored research on particular topics.
SCRF, Metagov, RnDAO, DAO Research Collective, and the DAO Research Hub (currently forming).
Open discussion
I’d love to see and participate in some open discussion focusing down on particular topics or questions, either here on the forum or in discord.