Governance templates for Cardano DAOs.
Start with a DAO Charter and Community Proposal Matrix, then adapt them to your DAO. Both templates are available now.
The Multisig Approval Matrix and three explanatory documents are coming soon.
- Editable templates
- Proposal-type matrix included
- Legal wrapper choice as a template option
Start with the rules. Make them your own.
DAO governance needs more than a vote. It needs clear roles, decision rights, proposal processes and treasury controls.
DAO Codex provides practical templates you can adapt to your DAO instead of starting from a blank page.
DAO Charter
Define how your DAO is structured and who can make which decisions.
Membership and voting eligibility; governance bodies and roles; decision-making authority; treasury governance; delegates and multisig holders; conflicts of interest; amendments and dissolution.
The Charter defines how treasury authority is allocated, while the Multisig Approval Matrix will set the detailed custody and signing controls.
Community Proposal Matrix
Define how proposals move from an idea to a decision and, where approved, execution.
Proposal submission; discussion and review; voting; quorum and approval thresholds; challenges; execution; verification and closure.
The templates are designed to work together and be adapted to each DAO’s structure.
Legal wrapper options
Includes drafting options for DAOs with or without a legal wrapper.
Separate decisions from operations
Key governance decisions are reserved for Eligible Voters, while operational roles and delegated authority are defined separately.
Governance safeguards built into the process
The Proposal Matrix includes rules for voting snapshots, quorum, proposal challenges, voting periods and execution.
Build public records into governance
The templates include processes for recording proposals, votes, treasury activity and execution outcomes, subject to legitimate legal, privacy, security and confidentiality restrictions.
Two templates. Two different jobs.
The templates are designed to work together and be adapted to each DAO’s structure.
DAO Charter
Sets the DAO’s core governance structure, including membership, roles, decision rights, treasury authority and governance bodies.
Community Proposal Matrix
Sets the process for submitting, discussing, voting on, challenging and executing DAO proposals.
Treasury custody, approval and signing controls.
Additional guidance for adapting and using the governance templates.
Start with the template. Adapt it to your DAO.
Open the template, complete the placeholders and adjust the governance choices to match your DAO’s structure and needs.
Start with the Charter
The Charter sets the core governance structure that every other document is read alongside. Read it first, then the Proposal Matrix.
Complete the placeholders
Fields such as purpose, membership token and acceptance mechanism are left for the adopting DAO to define. Identify and complete every incomplete field before adoption.
Adopt and publish
Adopt the templates through your own process, then publish at a canonical URL with a version number and document hash.
Templates are informational and do not constitute legal advice.
Links.
Project Catalyst
The funding programme for the DAO Codex. Explore open Cardano ecosystem proposals.
Sparring
The legal practice behind the Codex. Visit the Sparring website for more information.
DAO Codex was developed under Project Catalyst Fund 13, Cardano Open Ecosystem, project 1300079.
FAQ.
DAO Codex is a set of adaptable governance templates for Cardano DAOs. The DAO Charter and Community Proposal Matrix are available now, with additional governance documents coming soon.
It sets the DAO’s core governance structure, including membership, roles, decision rights, treasury authority and governance bodies.
It defines the process for submitting, discussing, voting on, challenging and executing proposals.
They are designed to work together: the Charter establishes governance authority, while the Proposal Matrix establishes the decision-making process.
They are governance document templates designed to be adapted to a DAO’s specific structure and circumstances. Their legal effect may depend on applicable law, jurisdiction and any legal wrapper.
It is a companion document covering treasury custody and signing controls and is coming soon.
Yes. The templates contain placeholders and governance choices intended to be adapted to each DAO.
The DAO Codex was developed under Project Catalyst Fund 13, Cardano Open Ecosystem, project 1300079.
Get the DAO Codex templates
Take the templates and adapt them to your DAO. They must be adopted and completed for a specific DAO before use. They are informational and do not constitute legal advice.