CCv3 Onboarding Call with Admins - 17th February 2022 - 1700 UTC

[stephen-rowan]

Members Present:

• [x] Bullish Dumping
• [x] Mercy A - Emilia Safro sitting in for Mercy
• [x] Nadia Hopkins
• [x] Joey Chessner
• [x] Rhys Morgan
• [x] Harris Warren
• [x] Dimitri Fernando
• [ ] Nadim Karam
• [x] Nori Nishigaya
• [x] Felix Weber
• [x] Peter Wolcott
• [x] Stephen Rowan
• [x] JP

Welcome new Circle members! This first meeting is to get you oriented with the tools of the Catalyst Circle, how meetings will run, set expectations of your attendance and role, and to answer questions.

We will go over:

1) Meeting schedule and agendas

• When meetings happen, how agenda items are added, how to notify of a substitute attendee

  2) Catalyst Prioritized Problem GitHub board

• Stephen will go over the Catalyst Prioritized Problem GitHub board and highlight what problems each Rep currently owns.
• https://github.com/Catalyst-Circle/Catalyst-Prioritized-Problems/projects/3

  3) Google Workspace set up

• Your CCv3 email details

  4) Slack as a communication tool

• The Slack channels available - how to use

  5) Town Hall as a communication mechanism

• Every week you have an opportunity to create a TH Slide

  6) Q & A

• Any Questions

[JP-Canada]

We want to help the CCv3 members up to speed on the tools and processes in place to operate the circle.

Any preliminary questions:

1. Are substitutes allowed to sit in for us?
   • Yes, we ask that members do create a small group of potential replacements who can sit in as a replacement if necessary.
   • As a group we are going to try to find a time that works for everyone - the times we meet has been at this time on a bi-weekly basis but we now have Dimitri from Sri Lanka and want to find a time that works for everyone.
     2. Harris - are we going to have a round of intros?
   • yes we will start with that.

Introductions

• Joey - lives in NJ - works in Philadelphia.
• Nadia - just outside of Philadelphia - CA rep and looking to collaborate
• Dimitri - in Columbo Sri Lanka - very glad to be part of circle as the General ADA Holder - platform - inclusivity, change, diversity.
• Emilia - Exec Ass at WADA GHANA, part of the previous funds as proposer
• Bullish Dumpling - in UK - cardano ambassador and building the Cardano Chinese community - conducting twitter spaces and interviewing key players in the ecosystem. Want to bridge gap between CF and the community.
• Peter - from Tenessee - makes TH slides, assist in the background to make the circle function.
• Rhys - Runs STOIC pool - represents SPOs. Looking forward to making a difference.
• Harris - Happy to be here and have great representation. With IOHK/IOG - came from the community but joined the company. Using this opportunity to explore governance for the Catalyst community. Focused on getting funding to great projects building on Cardano. Welcome all ideas and want to support the process. Was a rep in v2 and we can make even more improvements with greater impact in v3.
• Stephen - QA DAO - Documented CC since v1. QA-DAO is responsible for supporting the documentation of circle activities. Was a secretary for CCv1 and then was the funded proposers rep as CCv2. Here today to give a history of a rep from v2 and give a quick start for the prioritized comments.
• Nori - on Admin - facilitates meetings. We are having these training and onboarding meetings now to allow members to hit the ground running.

Previous member experience from CCv2 (Surprises, expectations, experience) Stephen

• Don't worry about being overwhelmed at first. If you can attend meetings, do try to attend, if you can't attend, try to build a network of contacts who can support you and sit in your place.
• You always feel a bit of failure because you can't represent everyone or do everything. But what you can do is work with others on the initiatives coming down the line.
• There are already lots of problems identified that can be dealt with. Harris
• Appreciates the ADMIN team and the circle couldn't function without their support. We want to bring and payment to the staff that are working on holding the circle together. We can make improvements to the systems - while we know people want to volunteer - we have some good tools to transition.
• In the last circle we started to click after a few sessions together, and began the conversation for extending the term lengths - this is why we want to have some pre-prep meetings to get that groove.
• There is pressure to get proposals submitted into the Catalyst project - there isn't a specific amount set aside for the circle - so there is a need to get to proposals super fast at the onset.
• Really appreciate because we keep the human element. Checking in with each other is important and helps understand where members are.
• We hear what the community is saying and we want to prioritize their problems and use the tools at our disposal to enact measures. We also want the community to know that we are hearing them.
• Our goal is to continually grow and learn to be better for the community.

Questions for v2 members? Joey - Is there an official start and end date? Harris - yes, it has been aligned to the fund cycles. As we move to the next fund it is in the scope of the fund that we are in now (Fund 8).

• Approximately a quarter but not fully aligned with the fiscal calendar.
• We have evolved the length, timeframes, cycles, phases and can continue to do so.
• While we have been a problem sensing function, we are moving to making some decisions. Stephen
• There has been discussion in previous circles about time limits (3 months or 6 months terms) but these are informal. Could be an opportunity for v3 members to go for 6 months but that's within the control of this group.
• In collaboration you get to define what you are going to do, how long it will be etc... Dimitri
• Catalyst members can make a wide array of decisions about how to operate. But at first I udnerstood that CC members did not have decision making powers.
• What is the status? If we don't ahve the decision making power how can we get it? Stephen
• Originally CC was a problem sensing organization but in my view it has always made decisions. It chooses the problems, prioritizes them, and then acts ont hose proirotiies. Harris
• One impetus for moving to community governance for the community to be making decisions was to have a pilot where ccv3 is working on what parameters can be changed in Catalyst.
• Right now these have been decided by IOG but we want to move it to this group and the CTC.
• This will be influenced by the community and the sub communities of each Circle member.
• While we can do deliberation, part of the objective is to hand off the reins of decision making and the Circle is a part of this group who will be making some decisions. Joey Dimitri
• if it's a few decisions who decides, Us? IOG? Harris
• we are specifically talking about Catalyst Parameters.
• If teams need to create sub committees, who looked at structuring things differently with the community to improve the flow of information. Nori
• You have a lot of autonomy and decision making on how you organize your communities and how you want to engage with them.
• You have been funded $7K USD to fund participation of your communities. https://cardano.ideascale.com/c/idea/384249
• This was voted by the community and is that the disposal of this group. Joey
• Been approached already by people wanting to play a sub role - is there a stipend? Is there a set number of roles, is it voluntary? Nori
• The current circle will be paid $1k USD for the first 3 months. The second 3 months is unclear.
• The treasury team will be setting up the funds to share.
• The proposal shared above could be used to fund community activities. Joey
• So could sub circles be given a stipend? Nori
• Now that each elected rep has 7k at their disposal they are able to use to support community participation.
• We have a treasury team who is responsible for tracking and controlling the funds we have received.
• Many successful proposals in the last fund which is available for the circle.
• We pay out after the term of service - we get funded in ADA so we will pay out in ADA and it will be the conversion on that day at the current rate. Nadia
• For training for circle members and open source tools - one of my focuses in this role is to have our group be better to track the communication, collaboration, and feedback.
• Most of the tools are not easy for onboarding for lay-people.
• Is the training available for people who need to learn the tools themselves. Stephen
• QA-DAO open sourced training - is Stephen training community members to prioritize CCv3 members CCAdmin and some Challenge teams, and perhaps CA sub-circle to conduct the training.
• Can meet to find the specific needs and then do targeted training.
• Do tailored trainings that are recorded and then can be used elsewhere.
• There are resource issues as it's 1 person but Stephen will put focus on this - it's about meeting and finding what the needs are. Joey
• Understand about circle funding, but what about rapid funding.
• If they are in a sub circle are there parameters or processes in place. What is appropriate use of the funds? It's supposed to be used in your communities to further progress and their participation.
• It is going to be very transparent - these should be decided in conjunction with your communities. If it's a sub circle that can't exist on volunteerism alone you can pay some of these members for participation but needs to be decided by the group. Dimitri
• How was the $1K amount chosen as it's 40+ hrs a month - is this a professional role or voluntary role? Do we have the opportunity to have a more reasonable number given the time and effort required to participate?
• Should we submit a proposal to this fund? Can we ask the community to provide funding to members to raise questions. Nori
• CCv1 was volunteer. CCv2 was minimal stipend but indicated the need for some incentive. Increasing this could be a main focus of CCv3. Harris
• One of the main activities of CCv3 is what is an appropriate amount of remuneration for this group? Dimitri
• I was a general ADA holder and a CA and vCA - should I bring them up or should that be left to Nadia. Nori
• While Nadia is the rep this is a collaborative group - most people wear many different hats - so we want to make sure that your role is specific to your seat but we want you to collaborate with each other to advance key issues affecting your communities. Harris
• In CCv2 we had many breakout meetings that were open for participation to solve collective problems. We want to facilitate this process and make sure that all ideas are welcomed and captured in our efforts.

1) Meeting schedule and agendas When meetings happen, how agenda items are added, how to notify of a substitute attendee

2) Catalyst Prioritized Problem GitHub board Stephen will go over the Catalyst Prioritized Problem GitHub board and highlight what problems each Rep currently owns. https://github.com/Catalyst-Circle/Catalyst-Prioritized-Problems/projects/3

Stephen presents the board Prioritized problems - are the most critical, urgent, relevant or constructive issues that affect each community. [Stephen's presentation:(https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1GyPQr37dNJ9CiSfbVhdJzXQ17amcyMHi2V1Lop1g4io/edit?usp=sharing)] Joey

• Are the solutions tied to the voting cycle or can the solutions move faster? Stephen
• At each stage the solutions are decided by circle members.
• I.e. Nori will share the problem board which shows where the problem is at - during the circle meetings you decide the status of this problem and course of action.
• If Joey says it's ready and been taken to the community - the circle decides whether it can be moved across the board.
• It's currently based on a loose consensus model but this is to be explored by CCv3. Stephen shows the problem board
• Some issues (listening) is attached to all members.
• Other ones like the parameters pilot is owned by IOG but as it moves along the board other members will need to participate in working to get input from the communities.
• During the meeting we will go through the board by each rep - then it would be over to the rep to report on the current state of the problems and identify any potential options for moving them forward.
• Also - stress that we can change the process as the elected reps. Nadia
• For our group meetings - when we get into our ATH and we talk, we have an open discussion and don't come to a set of problems.
• If a new CA comes in and wants to learn, to visualize what the problems are and the flow of information. What is your suggestion? In our groups we have a challenge with the amount of info shared.
• Question here is: when we get the problems out and look at them - that's a lot to funnel into there, but should our groups be coming to those places to contribute? Stephen
• Historically different reps have managed it in different ways.
• CAs used to be quite tight knit but has expanded out and so adaption may need to occur.
• Felix as the TM&M rep had many meetings outside of circle to gather the information.
• It is up to each of the members to decide how to organize their communities - BUT, the caveat is, this is what you are using.
• We want to make the board useful to ensure information sharing is open and transparent, and help direct people for accountability. (This is what prioritized now, this is what I'm working on with other circle members)

3) Google Workspace set up Your CCv3 email details We will be sharing the administrative documents outside of this meeting to allow for onboarding with the necessary tools. Catalyst Circle Meeting Agenda

• We post this a week before the meeting
• We take attendance because the expectation is you attend each meeting or send a substitute.
• We do a welcome/go around - it's really a mental, physical, emotional check ins - we want to know how you come into the meeting.
• If there are any short announcements we do that.
• Then we will align the agenda - if you want to raise something CCv3 members are responsible for updating the agenda and /or removing items if no longer necessary.
• Then we will go over the agenda to approve the order and length.
• Then we go to the prioritized problem board and we ask
• • What did you work on since last meeting?
• • What will you work on during the time before the next meeting?
• • What are your blockers and any supports needed?
• At the end of the meeting we ask that all members fill out the feedback team - helps the Admin team know what worked, what didn't, and how to adjust as needed?
• Final check out - similar to check out at the beginning - but how you're feeling and where you're at.

5) Town Hall as a communication mechanism Every week you have an opportunity to create a TH Slide Peter

• Each TH provides an opportunity to use a slide to update the community on current efforts, coordination attempts, messaging out updates and to talk to the broader community.
• The slides get shared very widely.
• On Monday each week, Peter will put a link to a deck template in Slack, then members can go into that deck and create their own update slide.
• We do not edit your content, we will only look at formatting
• On Wednesday we do a final review to ensure things are in place and filled out - then goes to Danny for use at the TH.

Questions? Harris - one consideration is to move the meeting before town halls

• It would be great to align our messaging or updates to before townhalls.

Meeting times

• Nori has created a spreadsheet to help identify times that work for all members. We will work over this on the main week.
• Hopefully by Tuesday at the mentorship meeting we can come to a time that works.
• All members please put a check mark in the times that they are available. Harris
• A constant time is ideal but am open to finding even some non-ideal times that can fit for all members. Nori
• We can work together on Slack to go through and identify the days that work for them.

Homework for CCv3 - On the same sheet as the meeting schedule selection.

1. Create Github and share with Admin Team (Mandatory)
2. Select preferred email to be used for all Circle communication (Mandatory)
3. Share your socials to get us connected (Optional but recommended)

4) Slack as a communication tool The Slack channels available - how to use Nori

• This is the main place we work, has a more business tone to it and fits our needs better
• Once we have your emails we will sign up all members immediately. There are also CCv1 and v2 members, plus the whole admin team who participate on that platform.

6) Q & A Any Questions Harris

• In the retrospective we want to have the CCv1 and v2 members to discuss with CCv3 group to help share insights. Stephen
• We encourage you to reach out to your previous rep to encourage their participation. Nori
• Going forward, the Admin team will set up google workspace accounts - you will have your own community website.
• The CCv2 has these set up but we will update that workspace via the email provided. This is a good way for all community members to provide the information to the CCv3 members. Allows for continuity of communication for the seat.
• Once we find a good meeting time we will message that out
• We will invite to the workspace
• we will invite you all to Slack
• We will invite you all to the google drive Harris
• There is also a www.catalystcircle.io website
• Could be utilized by CCv3 to get the messages out and work with the community. Currently under-utilized but we could create a space for more functional actions. Nadia
• Would we use this website as an outward facing tool to share with the community.
• It is owned by the circle but managed by the Admin team.
• Will try to prioritize it as a marketing tool too - get all the information posted and profiles of the members.
• There is also the QA-DAO website that is a good link to the circle documentation that can be shared.

Funding for CCv3 members

• The success of the circle is dependant on the community participation.
• Each member has their own treasury that they can access to fund participation.
• Can also use these funds to fund projects that are critical but may not fit within existing challenges or have the leniency of time. Harris
• If we find value in this idea we can submit more proposals to increase this amount and improve how we manage it. Nori
• We know this can be overwhelming and proposal writing takes a lot of time so please use the mentors available to you to help get these done. Felix
• All members should be contacting their previous reps - they are funded for this work Stephen
• Can help drafting proposals as needed, depending on the specific proposal. Joey
• Since there are some things that likely benefit the whole circle (Website) members can use their contingency funds to pay a community member to do the work.

Other Questions Nadia

• How previous circle members managed the flow of building relationships - how did you sort out what was prioritized? How ddi you keep from being tagged and dragged into lots of conversations or being the final say on many issues? Felix
• In CCv1 - it became clear that even though you are the rep you can't do it all on your own.
• Make sure to build a small network of engaged community members to share yoru responsibility with them. Having this teams to support you can make it easy.
• Circle is a microcosm of the wider community. Stephen
• It's really critical that you as a Circle member build a network and collaborate with other people.
• Need to be clear that you won't be/can't be the solution to everyone's problems and you will need to filter people's expectations.
• It can be hard to find your way through the noise - the challenge is listening, and then taking their person's POV and to incorporate it, if possible/helpful. Harris
• There are a few vehicles that can be useful. Social Media and telegram can be good for listening, do some prioritization from that.
• Use ATH to hold community meetings to expand the discussion to those who are actively participating.
• Setting up office hours or other planned meetings. Emilia
• Is this a governing council in the sense of a Board of Directors?
• What is the actual role of this particular circle? Stephen
• Best way to describe it is like a cooperative
• It's non-hierarchical - no one person is the leader - everyone in the circle represents their own communities but come together in circle.
• They do have decision making powers that are changing over time and growing over time.
• There is an agreement that Circle will begin to explore governance and the shift of decision making power from IOG/CF to the community.
• The Board of Directors analogy could be useful because it does make some decisions but also isn't because it is not as formalized as a BoD but instead is more informal and comes through consensus. Dumpling
• So much to chew on.
• Would like to discuss with Matthias about his experience and what his workload looked like.
• Don't have a community behind me, but building that relationship is likely different than the other more elected communities. Stephen
• While not having a community per se, there are many opportunities to participate in the governance process and the mechanisms, tools, projects being proposed to participate in. Harris
• Is there anything we want to bring in to THs as CCv3.
• You will have slides that you can use to relay any messages you want to share. Dumpling
• Would we be presenting to the TH? Nori
• Not every member will use it every week. It's only if you want to communicate out.
• However for the next TH it may be good

Call back of CCv3 Requirements

• Email addresses to share with us
• Github accounts
• Fill out availability
• Prepare TH slide for each week (as applicable)