Accountability & Performance Standards

A well-designed delegate program is only as effective as its accountability mechanisms. Without clear standards and performance tracking, governance can become inefficient, dominated by passive delegates or actors misaligned with the community’s interests.

Ensuring transparency, reliability, and high performance requires structured eligibility criteria, performance metrics, and enforcement mechanisms.

Eligibility Criteria

Set clear requirements for becoming a delegate, such as community endorsements, expertise, or minimum activity levels. For example, some DAOs require active forum participation before granting voting power.

Performance Metrics & Accountability Mechanism

Simply appointing delegates is not enough—regular performance tracking is essential to maintaining high governance standards. DAOs should use on-chain analytics tools and structured reporting to ensure delegates remain active and aligned with the community.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for Delegates:

• Participation Rate: Delegates should vote in at least 60-80% of governance proposals.

• Voting Rationale Transparency: Best-in-class DAOs require 90-100% of votes to include a written explanation.

• Proposal Engagement: Tracking how often a delegate authors or contributes to proposals helps measure governance involvement.

• Forum Activity: Regular engagement in governance discussions prevents passive delegation.

Monitoring Tools:

• Tally & Boardroom Dashboards – Provide live tracking of delegate voting participation.

• Karma Reputation Systems – Assign reputation scores based on governance performance.

• Dune/Flipside Analytics Dashboards – Allow DAOs to track individual delegate activity and effectiveness.

Code of Conduct

A strong code of conduct prevents conflicts of interest, ensures transparency, and upholds governance integrity. Without clear ethical guidelines, governance can become susceptible to self-serving actors, bribery, or misalignment with the DAO’s mission.

Essential Code of Conduct Elements:

• Transparency: Delegates must disclose conflicts of interest, affiliations, and paid relationships.

• Due Diligence: Votes should be cast based on thorough analysis and alignment with DAO objectives.

• Accountability: Delegates must provide public explanations for governance decisions.

• Ethical Standards: Prohibit vote-selling, governance bribery, or collusion.

Example: Arbitrum’s Delegate Code of Conduct is a standout model, combining professionalism with community alignment.

Implement Offboarding Processes

Governance stagnation often occurs when inactive or disengaged delegates retain voting power indefinitely. Establishing clear offboarding criteria ensures that non-performing delegates are replaced by active participants.

Offboarding Mechanisms:

• Participation-Based Removal: If a delegate fails to meet a minimum participation threshold (e.g., voting in at least 50% of proposals over 3 months), they are automatically offboarded.

• Community-Led Review: Token holders can propose removal votes for delegates who underperform or act against the DAO’s best interests.

• Fixed-Term Limits: Delegates must reapply or renew their status periodically to prevent governance stagnation.

Example: Uniswap DAO uses the Franchiser contract to undelegate from inactive delegates who fail to meet an 80% participation threshold.