How to Use Off-Chain Governance Processes

Off-chain governance refers to the social coordination and discussion phase that occurs outside a blockchain's core protocol. Before a proposal is voted on using on-chain tokens, stakeholders debate its merits, feasibility, and potential impact in forums like Discord, Discourse, and Commonwealth. This process is critical for refining ideas, building consensus, and catching critical flaws early. For example, a Uniswap upgrade proposal will spend weeks in the Uniswap Governance Forum for community feedback before any code is deployed on-chain.

The typical workflow involves several key stages. It often begins with a Temperature Check, an informal poll to gauge initial community sentiment. If support is sufficient, the proposal moves to a Request for Comments (RFC) phase, where the technical and economic specifics are drafted and debated. Finally, a formal Governance Proposal is structured for on-chain voting. Tools like Snapshot, which uses signed messages instead of gas-consuming transactions, are frequently employed for these off-chain signaling votes. This layered approach prevents network congestion and allows for more nuanced discussion than a simple yes/no on-chain vote.

Successful off-chain governance requires clear communication channels and participant incentives. DAOs use forum activity rewards, governance NFT badges, and delegate programs to encourage informed participation. The goal is to move beyond token-weighted plutocracy to a deliberative democracy where reasoned arguments can influence outcomes. However, challenges remain, including voter apathy, forum toxicity, and the complexity of highly technical proposals. Understanding these off-chain processes is essential for anyone looking to actively contribute to or analyze decentralized protocol evolution.

Effective participation begins with understanding the governance forum. Platforms like Discourse and Commonwealth are the central hubs for discussion. You must create an account, often linked to your wallet address for identity verification. Before posting, thoroughly review the forum's guidelines, pinned announcements, and recent discussions to understand community norms, active debates, and proposal templates. Lurk and learn the community's culture and key contributors before engaging.

You need a cryptocurrency wallet that is compatible with the DAO's native chain, such as MetaMask for Ethereum or Phantom for Solana. The wallet must hold the governance token required for creating or voting on proposals. For many forums, you must also verify your wallet ownership by signing a message. This links your forum identity to your on-chain address, proving you are a token holder. Ensure you understand the gas fee implications for any on-chain actions that follow off-chain consensus.

Familiarize yourself with the proposal lifecycle. A typical flow is: 1) Temperature Check: An initial idea is posted to gauge sentiment. 2) Discussion: The proposal is refined based on community feedback. 3) Formal Submission: A final version is posted, often with executable code. 4) On-Chain Vote. Follow this structure to understand where a proposal stands. Use tools like Tally or the DAO's custom interface to track active and past votes linked from forum posts.

Develop the skill of writing clear proposals. A well-structured post includes: a concise title, a summary, detailed specifications, a rationale with data or analysis, and a clear voting options breakdown. For technical upgrades, link to the relevant code repository (e.g., a GitHub pull request). Use formatting, headers, and bullet points for readability. Engage with comments constructively, be prepared to incorporate feedback, and provide clarifications to build consensus.

Finally, stay informed. Governance moves fast. Subscribe to forum categories, join the project's Discord or Telegram for real-time announcements, and use governance aggregators like Boardroom. Set aside regular time to review new posts. Effective off-chain participation is less about raw token weight and more about contributing informed, reasoned arguments that shape the community's direction before code is deployed.

Snapshot is a decentralized, off-chain voting platform that allows token holders to participate in governance without paying gas fees. It uses a signature-based mechanism where users sign messages with their wallets to cast votes, which are then recorded on IPFS and Arweave for permanence. This approach separates the cost-intensive execution of a decision from the low-cost signaling of intent, making frequent community polling feasible. Popularized by major DAOs like Uniswap and Aave, Snapshot supports various voting strategies including token-weighted, quadratic, and delegation-based systems, defined per proposal via a customizable space configuration.

The core technical workflow involves three steps. First, a proposal creator defines the voting parameters—such as the snapshot block number, voting strategies, and choices—within their DAO's Snapshot space. Second, eligible voters connect their wallets and sign a message containing their vote choice. This signature is verified against the voter's token balance at the specified snapshot block, which is queried from an archive node or indexing service like The Graph. Finally, the vote payload and its signature are stored on decentralized storage. The entire process is gasless for voters, with costs for proposal creation and storage typically covered by the DAO treasury.

Signaling refers to the act of gathering non-binding community sentiment before executing an on-chain transaction. It is a critical risk-mitigation tool, especially for treasury management or protocol upgrades. A signaling vote might ask "Should we allocate 500,000 USDC to a new grant program?" A successful Snapshot vote signals community approval, but the actual fund transfer requires a separate, on-chain transaction executed by a multisig or via a tool like Zodiac's Reality Module. This two-step process ensures consensus is reached before any irreversible action is taken, aligning with the principle of "soft" governance for discussion and "hard" governance for execution.

Effective off-chain governance requires careful parameter selection. The snapshot block must be set before a proposal is published to prevent manipulation. Voting strategies must be audited; a common pattern is a erc20-balance-of strategy that checks balances, but more complex strategies can include staked tokens or LP positions. Voting duration typically ranges from 3 to 7 days. It's also crucial to integrate Snapshot with communication platforms like Discord or Discourse to foster discussion, as off-chain votes thrive on transparent deliberation before the signature phase begins.

While powerful, off-chain governance has limitations. The most significant is the coordination gap: a successful Snapshot vote does not automatically execute changes. Teams must be trusted to follow through, creating execution risk. Furthermore, signature-based voting is susceptible to vote spoofing if the frontend or IPFS gateway is compromised, though the immutable ledger of signatures provides auditability. Best practices to mitigate these include using reality.eth oracles to bridge off-chain votes to on-chain execution, and implementing quorum thresholds and delay timelocks to ensure sufficient participation and allow for last-minute challenges.

To implement a basic Snapshot vote, a DAO first creates a space on snapshot.org. The space settings define admins, voting strategies, and plugins. A proposal is then created with a title, description, choices (e.g., "For," "Against," "Abstain"), and a snapshot block number. Developers can interact with the Snapshot GraphQL API to fetch proposal data programmatically. For on-chain execution, frameworks like OpenZeppelin Governor can be configured to use a Snapshotted voting module, or bridges like the Zodiac Reality Module can be used to conditionally execute transactions based on a verified Snapshot vote outcome.

Snapshot is a decentralized voting platform that enables communities to conduct gasless, off-chain governance. Unlike on-chain voting, which executes transactions directly on the blockchain, Snapshot uses a signature-based model. Voters sign a message with their wallet to cast a vote, and these signatures are aggregated off-chain. The final result is recorded on-chain via an oracle or a simple transaction, making the process significantly cheaper and faster. This model is ideal for frequent, non-binding signaling votes that guide a DAO's direction without incurring high gas costs for every participant.

To vote, you must first connect a Web3 wallet that holds the relevant governance token for the specific DAO or project. Snapshot supports wallets like MetaMask, WalletConnect, and Coinbase Wallet. Your voting power is typically determined by your token balance at a specific block height, known as the snapshot block. This prevents users from buying tokens just to sway a vote after the proposal has started. You can check your voting power on the proposal page before casting your vote. Ensure your wallet is connected to the correct network (e.g., Ethereum Mainnet, Arbitrum, Polygon) where your tokens are held.

Navigate to the specific proposal on the project's Snapshot space (e.g., snapshot.org/#/uniswap.eth). Read the proposal details, discussion links, and voting options carefully. Common vote types include single-choice (vote for one option), approval voting (vote for multiple options), and quadratic voting (where voting power increases with the square root of tokens committed). Once you've decided, select your choice and click 'Vote'. Your wallet will prompt you to sign a message—this is the off-chain signature, not a paid transaction. After signing, your vote is submitted and will appear on the proposal page. You can change your vote until the voting period ends.

Understanding the voting strategies is crucial. A strategy defines how voting power is calculated. The default erc20-balance-of strategy uses a simple token balance check. More complex strategies can factor in delegated votes (like Compound or Uniswap), NFT ownership, or time-weighted balances. The strategy is set by the space admins and is transparent on the space's settings page. As a voter, you should verify the strategy to understand how your influence is measured. For developers, Snapshot provides a flexible framework to create custom strategies using a combination of on-chain data calls and off-chain scoring.

After the voting period ends, the proposal results are final. The Snapshot UI displays the outcome clearly. For binding execution, many DAOs use a timelock contract like SafeSnap. This system requires a separate, on-chain transaction to execute the approved proposal's actions, but only after the off-chain vote has passed and a security delay has elapsed. This two-step process combines the efficiency of off-chain voting with the security of on-chain execution. Always monitor the project's official channels for next steps after a successful vote, as execution often requires a separate multisig or smart contract interaction.

Off-chain governance is the initial, non-binding discussion and signaling phase for protocol changes. It precedes on-chain voting and is crucial for building consensus, refining ideas, and gauging community sentiment without incurring gas fees. The primary tools for this process are discussion forums like Discourse or Commonwealth, and signaling platforms like Snapshot. A well-structured off-chain proposal typically follows a standardized template, which includes sections for a title, abstract, motivation, specification, and voting options. This structure ensures all critical information is presented clearly for community evaluation.

The first step is drafting the proposal. Begin by formulating a clear problem statement or improvement idea. Use the protocol's designated forum to create a new topic, adhering to any official template. For example, a Uniswap proposal on its forum requires sections for Summary, Abstract, Motivation, Specification, and Rationale. This draft should be technical and data-driven, linking to relevant forum discussions, code repositories (like a GitHub PR), or financial models. The goal is to provide voters with everything needed to make an informed decision.

Next, initiate the community discussion phase. Share your draft across the protocol's social channels (Discord, Twitter) to solicit feedback. Actively engage with comments, answer questions, and be prepared to iterate on the proposal based on community input. This phase can last from a few days to several weeks. Key metrics to watch include the sentiment of replies, the identification of potential attack vectors or unintended consequences, and the general level of delegate engagement. Successful proposals often undergo multiple revisions before moving to a vote.

Once discussion matures, you can create a signaling vote on Snapshot. Snapshot uses a decentralized storage system (like IPFS) and wallet signatures (e.g., MetaMask) to allow token holders to vote without spending gas. When setting up the vote, you must specify the voting system (e.g., single choice, weighted), the voting period (typically 3-7 days), and the eligible voting strategies (e.g., ERC-20 token balance, delegation). The proposal text should be finalized and include a link to the forum discussion. This vote measures formal, quantifiable community support.

If the Snapshot vote passes (according to the protocol's defined quorum and majority thresholds), the proposal is considered to have off-chain consensus. The final step is preparing for on-chain execution. This usually involves creating the actual executable code—such as a Governor Bravo proposal for a Compound-like system or a DAO module transaction for a Gnosis Safe. The exact calldata, target addresses, and values defined in the 'Specification' section must be packaged for on-chain submission by a proposer who meets the governance token threshold.

Best practices include starting discussions early, being transparent about trade-offs, and clearly separating signaling from execution. Always reference real examples, like Aave's Temperature Check template or Compound's Proposal Process. A failed Snapshot vote is not a loss; it provides vital feedback. The ultimate goal of off-chain governance is to ensure only well-vetted, secure, and community-supported proposals proceed to the costly and immutable on-chain stage.

Off-chain governance refers to the informal processes that occur before a formal on-chain vote. This includes community discussion on forums like Discourse or Commonwealth, signaling votes on platforms like Snapshot, and the creation of Request for Comments (RFC) documents. The primary goal is to build consensus, refine proposals, and gauge community sentiment without incurring the gas costs or finality of an on-chain transaction. For major protocols like Uniswap or Compound, this stage is essential for vetting complex changes to protocol parameters, treasury allocations, or smart contract upgrades.

The typical workflow begins with an idea posted to a governance forum. Community members debate the merits, potential risks, and implementation details. A key tool here is the temperature check, often conducted via a Snapshot vote. This non-binding vote uses off-chain signatures (like EIP-712) to measure support without spending gas. A successful temperature check signals that a proposal has enough backing to proceed to a formal draft. This stage filters out poorly conceived ideas and ensures only well-vetted proposals move to the costly on-chain phase.

Once off-chain consensus is reached, the proposal must be bridged to on-chain execution. This involves packaging the agreed-upon parameters into a transaction that interacts with the protocol's governance smart contract, such as Compound's Governor Bravo or Uniswap's Governor Alpha/ Bravo. A proposer, who must typically hold a minimum threshold of governance tokens, submits the formal proposal. This transaction includes the target contract addresses, the function to call (calldata), and the voting period. The code snippet below illustrates the structure of a proposal submission in a generic Governor contract:

solidityCopy
function propose(
    address[] memory targets,
    uint256[] memory values,
    bytes[] memory calldatas,
    string memory description
) public returns (uint256 proposalId);

Security and correctness are paramount when bridging off-chain decisions on-chain. The calldata must be meticulously verified to ensure it executes the exact intent debated off-chain. A common practice is to use simulation tools like Tenderly or the OpenZeppelin Defender to dry-run the proposal's effects on a forked mainnet before live submission. Furthermore, many protocols implement a timelock delay between a proposal's passage and its execution. This gives users a final window to exit the system if they disagree with the change, acting as a last-resort safety mechanism.

Successful governance requires active participation. Token holders should monitor forums and Snapshot spaces relevant to the protocols they use. Voting power is usually token-weighted, so delegating votes to knowledgeable community members or delegates is a common practice to increase engagement. The entire process—from forum post to executed upgrade—exemplifies how decentralized communities coordinate to evolve a protocol, balancing agility with the security and finality provided by the underlying blockchain.

You should now understand the key components of a robust off-chain governance system: a dedicated forum for discussion, a signaling tool like Snapshot for gas-free voting, and a clear, transparent process for moving proposals on-chain. The goal is to create a structured feedback loop where community sentiment is measured and refined before committing irreversible transactions to the blockchain. Successful DAOs like Uniswap and Compound use this model to debate major upgrades, treasury allocations, and parameter changes, ensuring decisions are well-vetted and broadly supported.

To implement this for your own project, start by establishing your communication hub. Platforms like Discourse or Commonwealth are purpose-built for governance. Clearly document your governance lifecycle stages—from Temperature Check to Consensus Check—and the thresholds required to proceed. Integrate a tool like Snapshot, configuring your voting strategies (e.g., token-weighted, delegation-based) and connecting it to your forum. Remember, the rules and parameters you set here define your community's voice; they should be immutable or only changeable via a governance vote itself.

The next step is active participation and iteration. Monitor proposal engagement rates and vote turnout. Use the data to adjust quorums or discussion periods. Explore advanced tools like Sybil for delegate discovery or Tally for proposal creation and on-chain execution. For developers, consider automating parts of the workflow using the Snapshot GraphQL API to fetch proposal data or building bots that mirror forum posts to Discord for wider visibility. Continuous improvement of the process is a governance meta-governance task in itself.

Finally, remember that off-chain governance is a social framework enabled by technology. Its success depends on an engaged, informed community and clear leadership from core contributors and delegates. Encourage quality discussion, fund work through grants programs, and recognize active participants. The most resilient protocols are those where governance is treated as a core product feature—continuously audited, documented, and optimized for inclusive and effective decision-making.