Sensemaking session to facilitate upcoming RLabs meeting with Delegates

General
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Thanks to @Axia for the inital push, Rootstock Collective Delegates will now enjoy a Q&A with RLabs to align on priorities.

To make the most of this opportunity we created a harmonic.chat session to distill the most pertinent questions, and identify those that can have an actionable answer. The goal is to make the most out of the Q&A and use the opportunity for Delegates to align to north-star goals.

Harmonica uses LLMs to guide users to a set of questions and then synthesizes the responses into a coherent whole. A task that LLMs excel at.

Please join the session and go through the questions. The more information you put in, and the more honest and accurate you answer the questions, the better the result will be. This result will be a tremendous resource in getting pertinent answers and aligning.

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Rootstock Collective Governance-at-a-Glance 26-03-26
Rootstock Collective Governance-at-a-Glance 26-04-10
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Thank you so much, @Raphael_Anode for creating this Harmonica link (we’ve used it before, it’s a pretty useful tool for this type of discussion).

Question for you, do you have a deadline time that we need to add our comments to it, so the collective results can be addressed in our meeting with RT team? Tks!

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Ideally we would take a week to fill this as a group. So please make sure to go through the questions until 2 April!

Thanks for your response!

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Hey @Raphael_Anode , Eren from DAOplomats checking in. Just wanted to drop a quick note to say we’ve completed our Harmonica session and submitted our questions. Excited to unpack the final Harmonica synthesis with the rest of the delegates and the RLabs team during our April Q&A session.

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Same here, we have completed our Harmonica sessions a few days ago. Really excited to see the final outcome with the compilation from all the other delegates’ sessions, and may this mark the starting point of a very fruitful collaboration with RLab.

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So far we have 5 contributors. Since we have one more week till the meeting with Labs it’d be amazing to get more.

Here’s the output of the current research:

Summary: Delegate Questions for RLabs — Strategic Alignment Session

:bullseye: Session Overview

This session captured critical questions from Rootstock Collective delegates seeking clarity on RLabs’ priorities, roadmap, and how delegates can contribute beyond grant review. The conversation reflects a maturing DAO looking to minimize information asymmetry and maximize strategic alignment between Labs and the Collective.

:key: Core Strategic Questions to RLabs

1. Roadmap & Priorities

Top-Level Strategic Direction:

  • What are RLabs’ top 3-5 priorities for 2026 for the protocol and Rootstock chain?

  • What is the 6-month and 3-year strategic vision?

  • What are the current roadmap plans and how do they align with ongoing grant discussions?

User Segmentation Strategy:

  • Is RLabs focusing on retail users (individual wallets, transaction volume) or institutional/corporate users — or both?

  • If both, what is the priority weighting between these segments?

  • Where should delegates focus their efforts for maximum impact?

Geographic Priorities:

  • Which geolocations are priority targets and why (ranked #1, 2, 3)?

  • Where is Rootstock lacking presence vs. where does it have strong ambassador communities?

  • What specific tactics are needed for each region (not a blanket approach)?

2. Liquidity & TVL Strategy

Liquidity Quality & Retention:

  • How does RLabs differentiate between “rented” (incentive-driven) vs. “owned/sticky” (utility-driven) liquidity?

  • What is the core strategy to transition TVL from yield farming to real economic activity over the next 12 months?

  • Critical metric needed: What is an acceptable TVL retention rate at 30, 60, and 90 days post-incentive?

Utility-Driven Mechanisms:

  • What specific mechanisms does RLabs consider “utility-driven”? (e.g., fixed-rate lending, institutional lockups, gamified savings)

  • This would help delegates fast-track the right grant architectures and scrutinize mercenary farming

3. Grant Strategy & Ecosystem Composability

Grant Focus Areas:

  • What specific grant types should delegates prioritize and encourage?

  • What are the missing grant types needed to strengthen the Rootstock protocol?

  • Should there be a shift from passive to active grant strategy — proactively seeking specific types of builders?

Ecosystem Synergy Requirements:

  • Should the DAO stop funding proposals that redundantly recreate existing infrastructure?

  • Request: A technical whitelist of core primitives (stablecoins, lending markets, DEXs) that new grantees must utilize

  • How can RLabs enforce an “Ecosystem Synergy” prerequisite in grant evaluation?

Grant Structure Innovation:

  • Should final milestone payouts be tied to 60/90-day TVL retention metrics?

  • This would force builders to share the risk of user retention

4. Business Development & Partnership Support

Target Integration Whitelist:

  • What are the top 3-5 institutional partners, CEXs, custodians, or liquidity providers that RLabs is actively pursuing but facing friction with?

  • Where can delegates leverage their networks to accelerate specific deals?

Ecosystem Needs Matrix (Double-Sided):

  • Map specific grantees to exact partner categories they’re missing

    • Example: “Project A needs US-based custodian” or “Project B needs LatAm fiat off-ramp”

  • This enables delegates to make warm, contextual introductions with specific use cases

Go-To-Market Bottlenecks:

  • Where are funded projects struggling? (e.g., finding first institutional LP, scheduling tier-1 audits)

  • Delegates can help with B2B networking and GTM strategy for existing ecosystem projects

5. Delegate Contribution Framework

Areas Where Delegates Can Support Labs:

  • Marketing

  • Event organization for potential users

  • Content creation

  • Regional partnership, growth, and business development initiatives (leveraging delegates’ local networks)

  • Social media promotion coordinated with RLabs social team

Areas Where Delegates Should Lead:

  • What areas is RLabs not dedicating efforts to (due to resource constraints or other priorities)?

  • What obstacles has RLabs encountered in these areas that delegates might solve differently?

  • Understanding why RLabs isn’t working on something is critical for delegate strategy

Coordination Mechanisms:

  • Periodic alignment meetings: Monthly or bi-monthly global coordination

  • Open communication channel: Telegram or smaller groups for real-time questions and tactical coordination

:bar_chart: Information Requirements from RLabs

Level of Detail Expected:

Initial Conversation (General):

  • High-level priorities and strategic themes

  • Broad identification of where delegates can contribute

  • General obstacles and reasoning

Follow-up Iterations (Detailed):

  • Specific success metrics and KPIs

  • Detailed execution plans with resources required

  • Target metrics by priority area

  • Ranked priorities (#1, 2, 3) with success definitions

  • Timeline expectations and milestone definitions

Confidentiality Balance:

  • Delegates understand some roadmap details must remain confidential

  • Request: At minimum, high-level priorities and focus areas to guide delegate efforts

:light_bulb: Key Principles & Frameworks

Value Creation Philosophy (from Anode/Raphael):

  • Distinguish value accretion from extraction

  • Prove value creation first, then seek compensation

  • Reference: Aave Chan Initiative model — provided millions in revenue before formal DAO funding

Strategic Litmus Test:

  • Every action/decision should be verified against the “North Star”

  • Does this program/grant/project provide value to Rootstock?

Risk Sharing:

  • Delegates should share in the value they create

  • Grant structures should force builders to share retention risk

  • Compensation should align with demonstrated impact

:bullseye: Desired Outcomes from RLabs Response

  1. Prioritized Strategic Roadmap with success metrics and timelines

  2. Grant Strategy Guidance including whitelist of priority mechanisms and required ecosystem integrations

  3. TVL Retention Benchmarks to evaluate DeFi grant success

  4. Target Partnership List where delegate networks can accelerate deals

  5. Geographic Strategy with ranked priorities and local tactics

  6. Delegate Contribution Framework defining high-value areas beyond grant review

  7. Coordination Mechanism for ongoing Labs-DAO alignment

:globe_showing_europe_africa: Regional Leverage Opportunity

Multiple delegates highlighted their local networks and geographic presence:

  • SEEDGov: Argentina and LatAm

  • Other delegates: Various global locations

Opportunity: RLabs may have strong networks in some territories but gaps in others. Delegates can provide complementary regional BD, partnerships, and community building where their networks are strongest.

:counterclockwise_arrows_button: Next Steps

  1. RLabs to provide initial strategic response addressing the core questions above

  2. Iterative refinement based on initial answers to develop detailed execution plans

  3. Establish coordination cadence (monthly/bi-monthly meetings + open channel)

  4. Define success metrics for delegate contributions beyond grant review

  5. Pilot specific initiatives in high-priority areas identified by RLabs

:memo: Meta-Observation

This session represents a healthy governance maturation moment — delegates are proactively seeking to:

  • Minimize information asymmetry

  • Align DAO resources with Labs priorities

  • Evolve beyond passive grant review to strategic ecosystem building

  • Establish frameworks for value creation and compensation

The quality and specificity of questions demonstrates sophisticated understanding of DAO governance challenges and genuine commitment to driving Rootstock ecosystem growth.

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