The Crypto-Governance Observatory is a research tool being developed collaboratively by researchers around the world who are conducting social research into the governance of blockchain communities.
The Crypto-Governance Observatory is a research tool being developed collaboratively by researchers around the world who are conducting social research into the governance of blockchain communities.
The Crypto-Governance Observatory is a research tool being developed collaboratively by researchers around the world who are conducting social research into the governance of blockchain communities.
It is a multi-sited digital ethnography project consisting of a Discord server that is linked to other Discord servers where governance discussions are taking place.
By providing data on the practise of online community governance, The Observatory will produce new insights into the emerging field of blockchain governance. Our research is valuable to practitioners who are experimenting with new forms of governance and to the wider community seeking to understand new and transformative tools for cooperation.
Through the Observatory we will be able to engage participants in conversations about governance and provide participants with a direct and informed means to contribute to the research. The technique allows ethnographers to not only “go to the field” where the community is but also go through the digital coordination tools that the community uses.
Discord is one of the primary places where discussion related to community governance occurs. Each project or company typically has one Discord server containing many channels. Discord servers are important in blockchain governance processes as they provide developers with critical information about the performance of protocols and can lead to decision-making votes by token holders.
The Observatory is designed to meet users where they are participating in community governance, on Discord. The Observatory allows people in the community to contribute to research by connecting directly with researchers. Using custom tools, participants in Discord servers can highlight posts that they think are relevant and interesting to researchers. Participants can also join conversations and focus groups with researchers, all within Discord. The unique tools created by The Observatory also create an ethical process for permissions that will ensure no data is ever used without the informed consent of the author and the project.
Professor Ellie Rennie is leading the project at RMIT in collaboration with researchers from the University of Paris/Berkman Klein Centre at Harvard, and the Stanford Digital Civil Society Lab/University of Oxford. Industry partner BlockScience and the open-source research database Govbase are also core contributors to The Observatory. We will make summaries of ethnographic research that emerges through this collaboration accessible through the Govbase platform.
For more detailed information about participation and consent, please see the information for participants page.
Acknowledgement of Country
RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business - Artwork 'Luwaytini' by Mark Cleaver, Palawa.
Acknowledgement of Country
RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business.