How We Selected 16 Impact DAOs to Study #Season2
How We Selected 16 Impact DAOs to Study #Season2
Picking the right DAOs to study is critical. Insights into our selection criteria.
Here are the 16 Impact DAOs we’ve selected for our second study. In our first study, we researched 12 Impact DAOs and published a book, The Definitive Guide to Impact DAOs. Our goal is to study Impact DAOs from the inside out and list them as case studies in our living book, available for free at impactdaos.xyz
Why Study Impact DAOs
Impact DAOs are the new operating framework for doing good. They are digital organizations using web3 tools for coordination and transparency. In the next couple of years, Impact DAOs will be the most natural way for people to organize around causes. It's therefore essential we study this emerging model, provide great documentation and keep the knowledge fresh as this landscape continues to evolve.
To make things a little more meta this project is itself a DAO. A decentralized collaboration by folks who, like me are curious to learn about Impact DAOs.
Selection Criteria
They need to be an Impact DAO. There are many web3 impact projects that are not DAOs. We’re interested in understanding the digital web3 powered operating framework, and therefore only DAOs are considered for this study, whose core purpose is to do good to people and the planet.
To have a diverse mix of Impact DAOs from the top 5 Impact DAO categories - Enabler, Social Impact, Climate, DeSci, Network State. Also, diversity in their sub-focus areas, country of origin, gender, growth stage etc.
Impact DAOs that have been in operation for 9 months and more as of Jan 1, 2023. We call them ‘meaty’ DAOs as they offer us a lot to learn from.
(We’ve increased the operating limit from 5 (for the last study) to 9 months. In June 2022, we had difficulty finding DAOs with 5 months of operating exp. This time we had many to choose from.)
DAOs with tangible impact. We’re interested in studying DAOs that get work done despite the decentralized community-driven approach to work.
Selection Process
We researched and crowdsourced a list of 70+ Impact DAOs. We create a pod of 5 members to screen the list as per the set criteria and to make 2 top recommendations from each of the category. The once most recommended and that met all the criteria made it into the list. Note, DAOs in certain categories are far more mature and therefore have a bigger representation.
Our 16 Selected Impact DAOs
🚀 Big Green DAO
🚀 Giveth
🚀 Lex DAO
🚀 Public Nouns
🌳 Basin DAO
🌳 Kokonut DAO
🌳 Kolektivo
🌳 Regens Unite
❤️ 40 Acres
❤️ Tampa Bay DAO
🧬 Valley DAO
🧬 Vita DAO
🌐 Cabin DAO
🌐 City DAO
🌐 Kift DAO
🌐 Priceless DAO
Scope of the Study
Our scope of study is wide and deep. The research would involve 1:1 interviews with founders and contributors to understand the structure, tokenomics, governance, funding, tooling, deliverables and impact measurement criteria.
If you have any questions reach out on Twitter or here.