Navigating Transition: From Ad-Hoc Operations to Process-Driven Infrastructure
Review Period: January - June 2025
This post was written by @mfw78 with help from the rest of the Grants Council Team. He is traveling this week so I’m helping to get it up on the forum and provide the community and update!
Executive Summary: A Transition Phase
The first half of 2025 represents a transition period for the CoW DAO Grants Committee. Following committee renewal with the departure of three members from the original eight-member committee (sohkai, netrunner.eth, and fairlight), we focused on rebuilding, establishing foundational processes, and positioning for scalable operations.
This review documents our progress through this transition, highlighting both achievements and ongoing initiatives that will mature in H2.
H1 2025 Transition Highlights
- Committee Renewal: Successfully navigated departure of 3 members from 8-member committee
- Infrastructure Modernization: Migrated from unmaintained OTS tokens to custom HERD governance system
- Operational Foundation: Established processes while managing ongoing grant operations
- Strategic Hire: Added @Sov bringing grant program and funding mechanisms expertise from Gitcoin
- System Planning: Designed integration architecture for Discord/Discourse automation (H2 implementation)
1. Committee Evolution: Managing Through Change
Membership Transition
The Challenge: The committee experienced substantial turnover with three members departing from the original eight-member committee during the renewal cycle:
- sohkai - Removed during committee renewal
- netrunner.eth - Removed during committee renewal
- fairlight - Removed during committee renewal
This change in committee composition required careful management to maintain operational continuity.
Strategic Rebuilding Process
Professional Hiring Implementation:
- Received 6 qualified applications for 2 open positions
- Conducted interviews with 4 shortlisted candidates:
- @Sov - Selected (experience with grant programs, funding mechanisms, active contributor at Gitcoin, Optimism, ENS, and others)
- @MasterMojo - Strong candidate, not selected
- @shivani - Strong candidate, not selected
- @sharkonomics - Strong candidate, not selected
- Made strategic decision to fill only 1 position, maintaining high standards
- Reserved second position for future needs rather than compromise on quality
Current Committee Composition:
- @mfw78 - Technical lead, implemented HERD token system
- @Chim9 - Grant steward, administrative coordinator handling payments
- @middleway.eth - Core Team member, grant stewardship and financial oversight
- @Kubesqrt - Grant steward
- @Master_CoW - Core Team member, strategic alignment
- @Sov - Newest member, retroactive funding framework lead
Key Support: @c3rnst (Core team, non-committee member) provided process establishment support during transition
2. H1 Operational Reality: Building While Flying
Grant Processing During Transition
H1 2025 Activity: (Note: Application numbers to be confirmed)
- ~22 applications received in H1
- ~6 applications denied - either didn’t meet quality standards or failed to meet eligibility criteria for funding
- ~7 in active evaluation - review process ongoing
- ~6 progressed to funding - grants moving forward
- ~4 applications stalled since April - identified bottleneck requiring process improvement
Operational Challenges Identified
- Transaction Signing Delays: Some transactions taking 7+ days for sufficient signatures
- Grant Termination Process: Need for clearer framework on ending non-performing grants
- Review Process Bottlenecks: Technical review has historically been a deficiency
- Communication Gaps: Need for improved SLAs on application processing
Technical Infrastructure Updates
HERD Token Development:
- Previous OTS token system became unmaintained and non-functional
- Grants technical lead (mfw78) developed and deployed replacement system
- Enabled continued snapshot voting on cowgrants.eth space
Safe Migration:
- Simplified from complex nested safe structure to streamlined 4/6 multisig
- Improved operational efficiency for transaction execution
3. Process Development: Foundations for Scale
Current Process Framework (In Transition)
What’s Been Established:
- Clear application submission pathway
- Snapshot voting mechanism via HERD tokens
- 4/6 multisig execution process
- Basic grant tracking across Discord and Forum
What’s In Development for H2:
- Integration Architecture: Discord/Discourse automation for measurement, reporting, and verification
- Automated Tracking: Systematic grant milestone monitoring
- Performance Metrics: KPI framework for grant impact assessment
- Technical Review Framework: Addressing historical deficiency in technical evaluation
- Improving Intake Process
- Establishing Retro-funding Model
Communication Channel Optimization
- Discord: Real-time operations, committee coordination, quick decisions
- Forum: Formal record keeping, governance participation, public accountability
- Planned Integration: Automated synchronization between platforms (H2 deliverable)
4. Financial Management and Grant Distribution
H1 2025 Grant Activity
Notable Grants Processed:
- CoW SDK Upgrade - Bleu selected as implementer
- Data Pipeline for Solver Team - Multi-milestone project
- CoWAMM Trade Envy Analysis - Completed by tommel
- ZeroMEV Infrastructure Maintenance - Ongoing support
- Dune Governance Dashboard - Analytics infrastructure
- Manipulation-Resilient Price Oracle - Technical infrastructure
Committee Operational Structure
- Safe Address: 0xCA1F000D520c21C47E6c634DD31b92b91A6338bD
- Signing Threshold: 4/6 (reduced complexity from previous structure)
- Budget Management: Operating within DAO mandate allocations
- Monthly Operations: Focused on sustainable grant distribution
5. Technical Review: Addressing Historical Gaps
Current State
- Technical review has been consistently identified as a process deficiency
- Ad-hoc external reviews without standardized framework
- No formal review process or quality assurance metrics
H2 Solution Design
- Developing structured technical review framework
- Planning integration with retroactive funding round
- Focus on quality assurance rather than volume
- Building reviewer network for specialized expertise
6. Retroactive Funding: Strategic Initiative
Framework Development (H1 Planning → H2 Execution)
Timeline:
- Design Phase: H1 2025 (completed)
- Launch: End of July 2025
- Build Period: August-November 2025
Strategic Focus Areas:
- Solver Infrastructure Development - Core protocol enhancement
- Developer Tools & SDKs - Ecosystem enablement
- MEV Protection Research - Academic partnerships
- AI Agent Infrastructure - Next-generation capabilities
- User Experience and Education - Accessibility improvements
7. H2 2025: From Transition to Execution
Planned Process Improvements
Integration Implementation
- Deploy Discord/Discourse automation
- Enable real-time grant tracking
- Automate reporting workflows
Operational Excellence
- Reduce transaction signing time to <48 hours
- Clear grant termination procedures
- Defined SLAs for each process stage
Technical Review Enhancement
- Structured evaluation framework
- Quality-focused approach
- Specialized reviewer network
Key Success Metrics for H2
- Processing Efficiency: Reduce average decision time significantly
- Operational Automation: Majority of tracking/reporting automated
- Grant Quality: Improved technical evaluation for all grants
- Committee Performance: <48 hour response time on all actions
Conclusion: Transition Achieved, Transformation Ahead
H1 2025 was fundamentally a transition period for the CoW DAO Grants Committee. We successfully:
- Navigated significant membership changes (3 departures from 8-member committee) while maintaining operations
- Replaced critical infrastructure (OTS → HERD tokens) to ensure continuity
- Established foundational processes while managing active grant pipeline
- Identified and planned solutions for operational bottlenecks
- Designed strategic initiatives (retroactive funding) for ecosystem growth
The committee enters H2 2025 with:
- Stable membership including strategic new expertise
- Functional infrastructure replacing legacy systems
- Clear roadmap for process automation and integration
- Plans to address historical technical review deficiencies
- Strategic initiatives ready for launch
While H1 was marked by rebuilding and stabilization, H2 will focus on executing the process improvements and automation that will enable the committee to scale its impact across the CoW ecosystem.
Key Takeaways
- Transition Management: Maintained operations through departure of 3 committee members
- Infrastructure Stabilized: Critical systems replaced and functional
- Process Foundations Laid: Framework established for H2 automation
- Strategic Planning Complete: Retroactive funding and technical review improvements designed
- Ready for Scale: H2 will transform planning into automated, efficient operations
The grants committee has successfully navigated a challenging transition period and is positioned to implement scalable, automated processes in H2 2025.
Questions and Comments are welcome!