Introduction

This research proposal, submitted to the Ethereum Foundation's EcoDev Research Fellowship program in November 2024, outlines a comprehensive framework for enhancing Ethereum's coordination capabilities through fractal democracy. While ultimately not selected, the proposal represents an important exploration of how democratic coordination processes could strengthen Ethereum's ecosystem.

Building on four years of practical implementation across multiple communities, it presents detailed research objectives for implementing these frameworks throughout Ethereum. Below, I share the complete proposal to contribute to ongoing discussions about Ethereum's evolution as coordination infrastructure.

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Proposal Overview
• Fractal Governance on Ethereum: Research into Scalable Democratic Coordination
• Research Objectives & Scope
• Methodology, Deliverables & Broader Impact
• Proposal Details
• Use Case: Fractal Democracy on Ethereum
• Why It Matters for Ethereum
• Research Approach
• Broader Impact
• About the Author
• Background & Mission
• Current Leadership
• Track Record & Impact
• Ethereum Ecosystem Experience
• Conclusion

Proposal Overview

Fractal Governance on Ethereum: Research into Scalable Democratic Coordination

Ethereum needs better ways to grow, coordinate, and govern while increasing decentralization. Traditional governance approaches often lead to plutocracy or capture, limiting genuine participation. Fractal democracy offers a proven framework for addressing this challenge, enabling effective coordination at any scale while building truly democratic principles into digital infrastructure.

This research project will study how fractal democracy can strengthen the Ethereum ecosystem across all implementation levels, from local communities to global protocols. Building on four years of successful implementations and thriving open-source communities - with multiple teams contributing to software development, educational resources, and governance innovations - we'll research pathways to enhance coordination across Ethereum. Through accessible social games like the Respect Game these processes make governance engaging and fun while maintaining rigorous democratic principles, enabling enthusiastic participation from builders worldwide.

Research Objectives & Scope

Our research explores three interconnected areas of implementation:

1. Community & Organization Adoption: We'll curate comprehensive documentation for implementing fractal governance processes on Ethereum, with best practices tailored for diverse stakeholders - from DAOs and development teams to local communities and global enterprises. This research charts clear pathways for improving public goods funding, resource allocation, and builder engagement across different scales.

2. Protocol Enhancement & Integration: We'll advance understanding of how fractal governance can profoundly strengthen Ethereum's coordination mechanisms across both L1 and L2 networks. This includes documenting implementation paths for increasing decentralization through democratic participation, enhancing network resilience through distributed decision-making, and creating composable governance primitives that benefit all ecosystem verticals - from DeFi and identity to art and culture.

3. Ethereum Fractal Development: We'll research launching an Ethereum-focused fractal community that measures and rewards contributions through peer evaluation at weekly events, aiming to engage thousands of builders in democratic coordination. This creates a practical laboratory for implementing these processes at scale while establishing vital governance infrastructure specifically designed for Ethereum's ecosystem.

Methodology, Deliverables & Broader Impact

Our methodology combines practical implementation through regular community events, technical architecture analysis, and extensive ecosystem engagement. Deliverables include accessible implementation guides for different stakeholders, technical specifications for blockchain integration, comprehensive educational resources with video documentation, and curated feedback from live testing. We'll produce detailed documentation of successful patterns while developing easy-to-use tools that help communities get started quickly.

This research lays essential groundwork for scaling democratic participation in Ethereum's future. The results will enhance ecosystem coordination, improve builder onboarding and retention, enable more effective public goods funding, and strengthen resistance to centralization. By developing proven frameworks for fractal democracy and tailoring them specifically for Ethereum, we help nurture the infinite garden - creating infrastructure that enables communities worldwide to participate in more equitable, efficient coordination systems. This work charts a path toward profound positive impact, helping Ethereum fulfill its potential as a foundation for human flourishing at global scale.

Proposal Details

Use Case: Fractal Democracy on Ethereum

Our research focuses on fractal democracy - a comprehensive framework for democratic coordination that has evolved from theoretical concepts to proven implementation. Through consistent development and testing over three years, we've built open-source tools, educational resources, and thriving communities demonstrating these processes' effectiveness.

These processes combine engaging social games with democratic coordination, enabling communities to build reputation through peer evaluation while fostering collaboration, education, and relationship-building. Beyond governance, they create natural networking opportunities, strengthen ecosystem culture, and provide clear paths for contributors to demonstrate value. Our research explores implementing these multi-faceted benefits throughout Ethereum's ecosystem.

While the technical infrastructure and successful small-scale implementations exist on Ethereum today (including Optimism Fractal, Eden Fractal, and other communities), realizing the full potential of fractal democracy requires dedicated research to develop implementation strategies, educational materials, and sustainable growth models tailored specifically for the Ethereum ecosystem.

Why It Matters for Ethereum

Ethereum needs better ways to coordinate as it grows while increasing decentralization and accessibility. This infrastructure enhances Ethereum's capabilities across multiple dimensions:

Democratic Scaling: Through randomized peer evaluation groups, communities build sybil-resistant reputation while maintaining genuine human connection. This enables meaningful participation at any scale, from small teams to global protocols, creating resilient coordination capacity through consistent practice.

Resource Allocation: Regular events create transparent, verifiable data for recognizing and rewarding valuable contributions. This helps accelerate ecosystem development by providing credibly neutral mechanisms for measuring impact and distributing resources effectively, including public goods funding.

Builder Engagement: Weekly events foster natural collaboration and learning while enabling participants to showcase their work, receive feedback, and build relationships. Through collaborative video creation and educational content, these processes help spread Ethereum's values while attracting and retaining talented builders.

Technical Integration: Reputation-based governance complements existing consensus mechanisms across L1 and L2 networks. The composable reputation primitives enable sophisticated coordination across all ecosystem verticals, providing critical infrastructure for community growth and decision-making.

Research Approach

Our investigation combines four interconnected streams:

Documentation and Resources: Developing Ethereum-specific educational materials, implementation guides, and technical specifications. These resources will help any community or organization understand and implement these processes effectively.

Practical Testing: Hosting regular events that welcome builders to participate in governance experiments, gathering feedback for iterative improvement. We'll share frequent updates through text and video formats, creating an accessible record of research progress.

Technical Research: Exploring optimal blockchain integrations across L1 and L2 networks, analyzing security considerations, and developing composable coordination mechanisms tailored for Ethereum's infrastructure.

Ecosystem Growth: Building relationships with key stakeholders, gathering implementation feedback, and developing sustainable funding models for long-term operation through the Ethereum ecosystem.

Broader Impact

By researching and developing this infrastructure, we enable Ethereum to become the foundation for genuinely democratic coordination at global scale. As societies face challenges from exponential change and existential risks, these frameworks developed on Ethereum can help communities worldwide implement more effective, accessible forms of collaboration and decision-making. This positions Ethereum as the home for democratic innovation, enabling abundance through enhanced human coordination.

About the Author

Background & Mission

I'm Dan Singjoy, a builder dedicated to developing open-source coordination infrastructure that helps communities thrive. As founder and host of multiple pioneering communities implementing democratic governance on blockchain networks - including Optimism Fractal and Eden Fractal - I've spent the past three years leading practical development of fractal coordination systems. From hosting hundreds of community events to coordinating technical teams building innovative infrastructure on Ethereum, I focus on making democratic coordination accessible and engaging.

Current Leadership

I currently lead two complementary teams advancing this mission: Optimystics, which develops open-source governance software on Ethereum, and Eden Creators, which produces educational media about democratic coordination. Working closely with developers, community leaders, and contributors, I coordinate implementation of fractal governance frameworks while developing accessible resources to help communities adopt these practices. I oversee marketing initiatives and author extensive documentation across our ecosystem's websites, creating comprehensive educational materials about practical implementation.

Track Record & Impact

My experience is uniquely suited to researching democratic coordination on Ethereum due to my proven track record bootstrapping engaged communities and coordinating collaborative development. Across our fractal communities and associated town halls, I've hosted over 200 participatory events with consistent weekly attendance, documenting these governance experiments through hundreds of educational videos. This has inspired extensive open-source development, with multiple teams and communities now building and implementing these processes. Our impact is demonstrated through multiple measures (linked below) including over 100 curated testimonials from builders and thousands of live onchain attestations with my team's software. Recent recognition includes approval of a significant research grant from the Optimism Grants Council focused on an aspect of fractal democracy, as well as successful RetroFunding applications supporting ongoing development.

Ethereum Ecosystem Experience

I deeply align with Ethereum's values of decentralization, openness, and credible neutrality - principles I've championed throughout over a decade of engagement with blockchain ecosystems. Through regular research into Ethereum's evolution - from protocol developments and L2 scaling solutions to emerging applications - I work to distill complex developments into accessible insights for builders and community members. In addition to my current focus, I have extensive experience in researching technical developments, writing weekly reports, and hosting news shows for the foundation of a multi-billion dollar Web3 ecosystem. My prior leadership experience also includes serving as an elected Chief Delegate in the first implementation of fractal democracy on blockchain, where I helped lead hundreds of participants and steward treasury allocation of approximately $1.5 million toward ecosystem development.

Conclusion

This research proposal demonstrates the potential for fractal democracy to enhance Ethereum's role as infrastructure for human coordination. While not funded through the EcoDev fellowship, the vision and frameworks outlined here continue to evolve through ongoing development and community implementation.

For context on the broader vision of Ethereum's potential to transform coordination, I encourage readers to explore my companion piece "Ethereum and the Future of Human Coordination." The Optimystics blog provides additional resources on fractal democracy's practical implementation. To learn more about Ethereum's development and opportunities to contribute, visit Ethereum.org.