Research Topics for 2025

[jolow99]

In a recent workshop discussion, members of DAOstar came together and ideated on areas of research we are interested in for 2025. Here are the collection of topics contributed, which we hope can inspire potential researchers in our community:

Labor Dynamics of DAOs

• Analysis of compensation structures and taxation for DAOs.
• An exploration of what it's like to work for a DAO in 2025, including average wages.
• Strategies for attracting and retaining high-quality contributors in the DAO ecosystem.
• Examination of labor practices and the historical trajectory of DAOs.

State of DAOs Across Regions

• Insights on the status of DAOs in the Middle East, Europe, LATAM, and NZ/AUS.

Analysis of already existing use cases

• Examples and case studies on decentralized governance in practice.
• Real-world applications of decentralized governance, including unique cases like dumpling shops.

Value and Purpose of DAOs

• Discussion on what DAOs excel at and their problem-solving approaches.
• Opinion-driven mini-essays from founders, academics, CEOs, investors, and regulators on the current state of DAOs.

Challenges in DAO Standards

• Investigating the lack of attention to standards in the DAO space despite ongoing efforts

We invite interested researchers to apply for our Open Call for DAOstar Research Contributors. Join us in pioneering research on DAOs! Apply here.

[unfriendlyamendment]

Thank you for starting this list!

Ideas:

Practical challenges in starting a DAO. I admire this piece of work on design dark patterns, where the author went on subscribed to stuff and note down practical challenges https://pudding.cool/2023/05/dark-patterns/

[unfriendlyamendment]

Would also love to see more work from the larger standards community + translating those learnings to the DAO context - e.g. what are some challenges standard orgs usually face, what solutions have they found - how does it translate to our context (governance, decentralisation, emerging space of DAOs)

[unfriendlyamendment]

would also like to see work on political sentiments/ affect in a political theory / sociology vein -- what makes people want to govern? what motivates decentralisation? what makes it attractive + what kind of sentiments make it sustainable over time?

[unfriendlyamendment]

also, DATA. what kind of public good datasets we can produce/ enrich?