Executive Summary
- The aim of Advisory Boards is to align ecosystem stakeholders on a long-term roadmap & near-term opportunities.
- The Livepeer Foundation facilitates the formation of Advisory Boards and the execution of their strategic production process.
- Each Advisory Board consists of 4-8 Livepeer core contributors, representing different parts of the Livepeer ecosystem, and operates over 6 months.
- Initially there will be four core Advisory Boards which cover different aspects of the Livepeer project: Network, Growth, Governance, Capital Markets.
Livepeer Foundation: A vehicle for ecosystem participation
We’re launching the Livepeer Foundation because we think that this is a unique moment to secure the long-term success of the Livepeer project, bring in the best talent in the industry and align all ecosystem stakeholders towards building the world’s open video infrastructure.
Our strategic priorities are to build a pro-active, long-term vision for the network, make sure key voices closer to users and operational realities are included in high-level planning and to develop a shared roadmap to inform effective execution.
We believe that progressive decentralisation of strategy-setting is key to the longevity and sovereignty of the Livepeer network; and that widening representation of ecosystem participants will enable the Livepeer community to thrive.
Advisory Boards: Towards a co-created and aligned strategy
With the creation of the Livepeer Foundation (LF), the Livepeer project has a golden opportunity to create a more co-created strategy-setting process which is:
- Representative – inclusive of the diverse stakeholders within the Livepeer ecosystem
- Transparent – clear visibility into how strategic decisions are made so that contributors can trust and engage with the process.
- Efficient – a lightweight, focused process that minimizes overhead while still delivering meaningful strategic alignment and actionable outcomes.
To empower all ecosystem stakeholders to participate in the strategic direction of the Livepeer project, the LF is excited to announce the creation of a new mechanism: Advisory Boards.
Advisory Boards (ABs) are small, domain-specific groups consisting of Livepeer core contributors, representing different parts of the Livepeer ecosystem.
ABs are an extension of the LF and serve a critical role in setting strategic directions within specialized domains of Livepeer.
Their aim is to set the strategic direction of the Livepeer project in conjunction with the broader ecosystem, by defining and prioritising opportunities.
Some examples of near-term opportunities which require considered ecosystem coordination include:
- Driving resources towards the development and adoption of real-time video AI capabilities.
- Improving Livepeer’s gateway technology and onboarding to diversify demand sources.
- Implementing a comprehensive solution to DEX and CEX liquidity.
Once the ABs have made their recommendations, it is then the responsibility of the LF core team, to (a) publish a coherent Livepeer roadmap; and (b) coordinate different teams in their efforts to accelerate the Livepeer project.
OODA: Mapping this new strategy setting process
The Advisory Boards help create a responsive system within Livepeer governance, through an OODA loop (Observe, Orient, Decide, Act):
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World - Environment as Input
The current state of the network, its needs and constraints. -
Observe - Data Collection, Feedback Observation
Advisory boards observe the network and produce strategic direction specific to their domain (Supply, Demand, Markets, Governance) using qualitative & quantitative data collection, research, and synthesis. -
Orient - Data Analysis and Synthesis, Strategy Production
The LF synthesizes the recommendations of the ABs into a coherent network strategy to inform of opportunities, challenges, and priorities. We will create clear strategic outputs such as long-term Roadmap, Goals, Objectives, Key Results, RFPs and more. -
Decide - Governance, Decision-making, Funding Allocation
The Onchain Treasury, governed by token holders, the Livepeer Foundation and other ecosystem participants distribute resources to implement the network strategy. -
Act - Actions, Output
Core contributors, SPEs and external talent execute on aligned and high-value initiatives on the Livepeer project roadmap. We will measure the impact created and iterate. -
New World - Feedback as new input
With each action, the ecosystem of Livepeer is changed and observed. We will repeat this loop, integrating feedback and, in time, create a flywheel for the success of the Livepeer ecosystem.
We think that by increasing the systematisation of strategy creation, bringing together voices that represent the ecosystem, and prioritising the allocation of resources into the highest value opportunities of the network that will attract the best talent to help us win, that together we can drive the long term success of the network.
The productive lifecycle of Advisory Boards
We’re maximising the bandwidth of all ecosystem participants with a short period of strategy setting at the very start of the AB process that will gain time through speed of execution once we reach collective alignment.
The lifecycle of the strategy setting process through Advisory Boards is 6 months.
The LF facilitates the end-to-end process of Advisory Boards, by working closely with different stakeholders to ensure there is sufficient representation with a structured, efficient process. The process follows the rough timeline of:
Formation - Ecosystem participants signal interest in becoming members of an Advisory Board, which are then selected by the LF.
Survey - LF and ABs gather structured feedback from diverse sources and real-time data to surface challenges and opportunities critical to network health.
Recommend - ABs aggregate and publish their domain-specific (local) challenges and opportunities based on input from the community and their own expertise.
Roadmap - the LF synthesizes the work of ABs into a coherent network (global) roadmap to inform potential teams and working groups of immediate and long-term priorities.
Screen - ABs assess the suitability of teams and working groups looking to tackle near-term opportunities, signaling their support or suggesting revisions.
Advise - ABs provide domain-specific support to LF as it provides ongoing mentorship, impact evaluation and strategic guidance to different groups executing on near-term opportunities.
Through this end-to-end process, the Livepeer Foundation aims to provide strategic guidance to new and existing teams, whether companies, applications SPEs, independent builders, to enable them to maximise their impact to the Livepeer project.
Which Advisory Boards will there be?
To ensure that the Livepeer roadmap is on a path to progressive decentralisation, the collective set of Advisory Boards should be exhaustive, covering every aspect of the Livepeer project.
Joel Monegro summarised this in his piece on Sovereign Cryptonetworks: “To be sovereign, a cryptonetwork must be able to operate and create, execute and modify its internal rules according to its own governance process. To get there, it has to be sufficiently decentralized across four dimensions: supply, demand, governance and capital market infrastructure.”
We have adapted Monegro’s exhaustive list of 4 core advisory boards, each focusing on a different question:
(1) Network
How does Livepeer create a highly performant network as a product to build on and contribute to?
Orchestrator onboarding and tooling; network capabilities; gateway development and diversification; documentation; developer tooling, GPU supply.
(2) Growth
How does Livepeer generate and diversify demand on the network?
Educational programs (bootcamps, hackathons), key partnerships & events, project marketing, startup programs (credits, grants, accelerators).
(3) Governance
How does the Livepeer project progressively decentralise to a community -governed protocol?
Protocol development and upgrades; treasury management; security councils; consensus mechanism.
(4) Markets
How do we improve the experience for token holders and accessibility of the token?
Exchanges, wallets, custodians, liquidity provision, sources of financial capital.
These questions are intentionally challenging: they require long-term, strategic thinking combined with tactical, near-term prioritisation.
Naturally, there will be cross-over and dependencies between the different Advisory Boards. The LF will ensure that any overlapping discussions are coordinated and resolved through both the facilitation and publication processes.
Who do Advisory Boards consist of?
To ensure that the Advisory Boards are formed in an efficient and controlled process, they will initially be selected by the LF. Over time, these Advisory Boards will be co-developed into a more distributed selection process, as their function emerges.
Each Advisory Board will consist:
- 1 Chair - responsible for steering each Advisory Board, and to publish their recommendations within the allotted time. Each Chair will initially be a member of the Livepeer Foundation.
- 3-6 Members - domain-specific Ecosystem Participants who are invested in the long-term success of the Livepeer project. These should represent a cross-section of different participants.
The LF team will also work with external facilitators and contributors to ensure that all members of the Advisory Boards maximise their time.
What are the requirements to join an Advisory Board?
Each application to join an Advisory Board will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis by the LF team.
The initial selection criteria by the Livepeer Foundation will be:
Established reputation - have a solid standing within the Livepeer core contributor community.
Strategy-oriented - does this person have the cognitive capacity to think both long-term and laterally, taking into account different aspects of the Livepeer project.
Collaborative attitude - have showcased a collaborative way of thinking and working within the Livepeer ecosystem.
Stake in Network - have 100+ LPT staked within the network.
It is important to acknowledge that there may be conflicts of interests from AB members (e.g. leading an SPE or an Executive in Livepeer Inc). It is the role of the AB Chair to navigate these complexities and be transparent with the community.
Once an initial shortlist has been established, the LF will then invite any new Advisory Board members to ensure they meet the required time commitments.
What are the benefits of joining an Advisory Board?
Advisory Board members can have a significant impact on the health and productivity of the Livepeer network.
Therefore, those who are aligned with Livepeer’s success long-term naturally have the largest incentive to participate in ABs.
Members will also be compensated with 1000 LPT for the 6-month period to cover time commitments for strategic planning sessions, paid out in tranches by the Livepeer Foundation. Livepeer Foundation and Livepeer Inc members will not be paid additionally.
What is the timeline for the initial Advisory Boards?
To ensure that we keep momentum, we have an ambitious timeline to form the initial Advisory Boards:
By May 23rd - completed the formation of the initial four Advisory Boards.
By June 6th - surveyed ecosystem participants and mapped core community problems.
By end of June - defined long-term roadmap and near-term opportunities for ecosystem participants.
By end of July - screened new teams to work on near-term opportunities.
By end of August - conducted first opt-in advisory sessions with new teams..
Apply to join an Advisory Board
We encourage all ecosystem participants to consider the opportunity, even if you don’t fulfil all criteria.
If you think you are suitable and are interested in joining an Advisory Board, simply follow the steps on each of the posts to submit your application.
You have until Thursday May 22nd to submit, with the final decision made the following week. To give ample time to review and consider, we advise everyone to submit their applications ASAP.
How can I learn more or give feedback on the above?
Simply reach out to any of the core Livepeer Foundation team on Discord. Or respond in a comment below.
We are pleased to introduce @vengist, a systems designer with deep experience in governance design and facilitation across distributed organizations. He’ll be supporting the formation and facilitation of Advisory Boards through lightweight, high-impact processes and will also lend support on governance and process improvements as needed.
We are excited to share more about the Livepeer Foundation in the near future and look forward to hearing from you!
From the Livepeer Foundation core team: Rich, Ben, Rick, Joseph