DAOIP-5 is a metadata schema developed by DAOstar to standardize the web3 grants ecosystem to improve transparency, interoperability, and a whole lot more.
As the Web3 space has grown in recent years, grant programs run by protocols and projects have themselves exploded in size and popularity. Over a billion dollars in capital have been deployed or committed, grant programs have come and gone, and many organizations are now assessing the progress and impact of their issued funding.
There have been a wide range of approaches, from transparent (e.g. Aave) or closed (e.g. Ethereum Foundation and Solana Foundation) to communally architected (e.g. Stacks Foundation) to being launched by a compensated team (e.g. Mantle), from prospective (e.g. Uniswap Foundation) to retroactive (e.g. Optimism) to research-focused (e.g. Protocol Labs Research Grants) to quadratically funded (e.g. Gitcoin), to RFP-based (i.e. Protocol Labs, Uniswap Foundation, Solana Foundation, etc.). The diversity of thought on how to best run such programs has led to innovative approaches for grants management but has also fragmented capital and reduced transparency.
This specification lays out a set of off-chain data schemas for grant programs looking to deploy funding and for projects looking to receive funding, as well as a simple attestations architecture. It is intended to increase interoperability between grants tooling, improve the transparency of grant programs, and ultimately make grant programs more efficient for funders, administrators, and grantees. In particular, this specification lays the groundwork for a “common application” for grants as well as easier coordination between grants programs.
To be the Best Data Source For Grants
Common Application for Grantees
A Live Pipeline of Data from Grant Programs
Limit Grant Farming
Connect with DAOIP-5 OAuth across Grants Programs
Reputation Systems for Grantees and Grantors
Public Impact Verification
Enabling Higher Quality Impact Evaluation
Increased Interoperability between Grant Tooling
Retroactive Funding on Impact