Ideal budget: $24,000
Minimum budget: $9,800
Ostrom5 is a mediation, remediation, and reporting organization that makes it easy for anyone in a network of organizations to have their issues addressed. It is designed for organizations within Web3, open source, climate, and social activism groups to resolve issues based on two of Elinor Ostrom’s eight principles for governing the commons:
- Principle 5. Sanctions for those who abuse the commons should be graduated.
- Principle 6. Conflict resolution should be easily accessible.
Challenge: Organizations want to show they are safe, and individuals want to know they are joining or collaborating with a safe organization. Individuals and organizations want to have a clear process of how to address issues when they arise.
Solution: An organization called Ostrom5, which involves at least 3 participant organizations in a network who either pay dues or provide volunteer mediators, that is the "authority" to go to for violations of code of conduct. This allows people and organizations within a network/ecosystem to hold one another to account and avoids the internal politics that can gloss over problems.
Phase 1: We will launch the Sideways Ostrom5 with 3-5 organizations in Berlin who already have good conflict resolution internally and want to create a network-based Ostrom5. Phase 1 includes:
- Recruitment of 3-5 organizations to create the foundational group of Ostrom5, consensus on a shared code of conduct and appropriate graduated sanctions and remediation resources.
- Coding of a technical certificate solution that will allow organizations to hold and display their membership certificate, with a software or smart contract solution for automated renewal or revocation based on the organization’s participation and adherence to mediation.
- Coding of the interface for members of organizations to make a complaint / request for mediation across the organizations.
- Funding for organization of the group (Jack Becher) and specifications and development management (Grace Rachmany).
- Funding for the tech development team (TBD).
- Funding for mediators for minimum 1 complaint.
Following the success of this project, we expect that there will be interest from other organizations to join this Ostrom5 or to create their own Ostrom5 with sustaining memberships. Within Web3 ecosystems and DAOs, the Ostrom5 structure can be deployed with membership dues, to become a financially self-sustaining public good for organizations that want to prove their adherence to a code of conduct. \
Here’s how it works:
- An organization joins the Ostrom5. They submit their code of conduct, or agree to the default code of conduct of the Ostrom5. They may pay a membership fee or be asked to provide other resources, for example, taking turns in mediating disputes from other organizations.
- The Ostrom5 issues a digital certificate that the organization can display. The certificate shows its membership in the Ostrom5, allowing people who join or interact with the organization to know it adheres to the mediation process of that Ostrom5 (there may be different Ostrom5s that an organization can join).
- When any member of a participating organization has a complaint or dispute, they submit it to the Ostrom5.
- The Ostrom5 assesses whether the complaint should be addressed, and if so, they request for the relevant members of the participating organization to show up for a mediation effort between the parties.
- The relevant member(s) of the organization may agree or disagree to come to mediation.
- If the member(s) do not agree to mediate, their organization gets a warning. After 3 warnings, their certificate is withdrawn (because they have opted out of the process).
- If the member(s) agree to mediate, the Ostrom5 will reach an agreement between the parties involved. There may be conditions, reparations, or training involved.
- Over time, if there is an organization that gets a lot of complaints, or who does not keep their end of the agreement in the resolution, they can have their certificate withdrawn.
Founders:
Jack Becher
Grace Rachmany
Development team: Eduardo Moreira
For the 12-week timeline and budget breakdown, please visit www.sideways.earth/ostrom5