{"@context":{"CIP100":"https://github.com/cardano-foundation/CIPs/blob/master/CIP-0100/README.md#","hashAlgorithm":"CIP100:hashAlgorithm","body":{"@id":"CIP100:body","@context":{"comment":"CIP100:comment"}}},"hashAlgorithm":"blake2b-256","body":{"comment":"**Feedback on the \"Governance Incentives Framework 2026\" Proposal**\n\nThank you to the proposal team for introducing the [Governance Incentives Framework 2026](https://dreptalk.com/t/governance-incentives-framework-2026-8e4e928f/). I fully agree that the increasing concentration of voting power is an important governance topic that warrants thoughtful attention. However, after carefully reviewing the proposal details and the publicly available completion reports of the team's past projects, I remain hesitant to support this treasury withdrawal of **₳4,207,967** at this stage.\n\n#### Public Completion Records and Verifiable Limitations of Past Projects\n\nTo ground this discussion in objective reference points, I reviewed the public pages and completion reports for the team's relevant completed Catalyst projects:\n\n1. **Smart Pack: parcels damage verification system on Cardano**\n* **Project ID:** 1100259｜[Catalyst Project Page](https://projectcatalyst.io/funds/11/cardano-use-cases-concept/smart-pack-parcels-damage-verification-system-on-cardano)\n* **Project Managers:** Eric den Boer & Sebastian Pereira\n* **Timeline:** 04/24/2024 – 02/15/2025\n* **Status:** Marked as *Complete*; fully funded.\n* **Key Completion Details:** Deliverables included freight calculation sheets, an AI photo database, ChatGPT damage evaluation demo videos, backend screenshots, test transaction hashes, UI mockups, workflow recordings, LiDAR tests, early app store links, and web demos.\n* **Reported Limitations:** The *“Next Steps”* section explicitly notes: *“We are in contact with a few agricultural producers in the US... These discussions are in a very early phase, so for now we do not have concrete plans to deploy this solution in a more realistic environment.”* The team also thoughtfully pointed out: *“Cardano is not very friendly to mobile devices... very slow... In a mass commercial production environment, this will be a severe problem.”*\n\n2. **Littlefish - Coordinating Action**\n* **Closeout Video:** [Watch on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSrohwJk9xQ)\n* **Status:** Marked as *Complete*.\n* **Verifiable Limitations:** The closeout video has recorded approximately 87 views. The disclosed community size at the time was on the order of around 100 members, and subsequent public sources do not indicate significant transition into a widely adopted coordination platform.\n\n3. **Cardano Smart (AI Documentation & Developer Assistant)**\n* **Milestone Page:** [Catalyst Milestones](https://milestones.projectcatalyst.io/projects/1100069/milestones)\n* **Verifiable Limitations:** Although successfully closed out with open-source deliverables, publicly visible GitHub activity remains quiet, with limited records of ongoing user traction or broad integration into mainstream developer workflows.\n\nThese projects were all officially marked as completed within the Catalyst system, demonstrating that *milestone deliverables* were fully satisfied. However, information in the public completion reports suggests that evidence of subsequent real-world adoption and sustained long-term usage remains relatively modest. This leads me to remain prudent regarding whether *allocating over 4.2 million ADA toward another extensive research and framework initiative will seamlessly translate into real-world governance adoption and long-term, measurable value.*\n\n#### Perspective on Problem Diagnosis\n\nThe proposal highlights that *“one Constitutional Committee consortium retired due to lack of compensation”* and that *“there is no systematic, data-driven approach to determine how to incentivize governance participants.”*\n\nI fully acknowledge that appropriate incentives play a crucial role in sustaining active participation. However, I am not entirely convinced that this necessitates an immediate *“investment of ₳4.2M into a comprehensive research framework.”* A more direct and pragmatic approach might involve substantive refinements to the Constitution or Guardrails, or the rollout of clear, actionable incentive mechanisms.\n\n#### Preferred Direction for Governance Incentives\n\nI strongly favor establishing an incentive mechanism for DReps, but I gently advocate that **incentives should ideally stem from sustainable non-Treasury models**. For instance, delegators could consider allocating a small, fixed, or dynamic percentage of their own staking rewards to compensate their chosen DReps.\n\nThis operates similarly to a \"delegation service fee\": delegators receiving rewards from the ecosystem reasonably support the operational costs of their elected representatives. Linking rewards to engagement, dialogue quality, and voting participation creates a healthy feedback loop—**allowing dedicated DReps to receive fair compensation while allowing natural delegation choices to optimize resource allocation.** This approach minimizes reliance on the Treasury while fostering an active and accountable governance culture.\n\n#### Conclusion\n\nGiven the finite nature of Treasury resources, the modest long-term adoption observed in past similar projects, and the ability of existing tools to cover foundational needs, I believe allocating **₳4.2 million ADA** to this research framework may not represent the highest priority at this time.\n\nI look forward to seeing concrete proposals that directly address structural challenges (such as voting power concentration and silent non-voting dynamics) through sustainable incentive models that do not depend primarily on treasury funding.\n\nBased on publicly verifiable records and the available information, I am unable to support this proposal at present. However, if the project team can provide additional context regarding the ongoing adoption of previous initiatives, or demonstrate why alternative lower-cost pathways are insufficient, I would be very open to re-evaluating my perspective."}}