vPA RP & Petitions Overview/Guidelines

What is the Resolution Process (RP)?:

In fund 8, the Resolution Process was put in place to allow Veteran Proposal Assessor (vPAs) to challenge the vPA review algorithm results and to raise concerns about issues with other vPAs. The Resolution Process provides space and time for vPAs and community members to have these discussions in a more formal setting. Ideally, each of these petitions will resolve issues, and the hearing of these cases will guide vPA process improvements for future funds.

The RP process in its current form is solely intended for contesting vPA outcomes. RPs for the PA process and other areas of Catalyst may be implemented at a later date.

How the RP Works:

  1. A vPA or community member can initiate the RP by obtaining supporting ‘signatures’ from at least two other vPAs who participated in the same fund and creating a written petition. Signatures can be gathered in places such as the Catalyst United Discord Server and PA Telegram (link provided below). The written petition should contain a description and explanation of the contest to be resolved (more on written petition expectations and guidelines at the end of this document). 
  2. Logistics:
  1. Initiation of the process must be raised within five days of the published vPA results document. The document can be found as a pinned message in the #rewards-petitions channel on the Catalyst United Discord.
  2. The RP petition document shall be distributed to the vPA body on these platforms:
  1. Catalyst United Discord Server (Main hub for petitions)
  2. PA Telegram
  1. If the petitioner is bringing forward evidence against another vPA, the evidence and petition should be forwarded to all affected parties. The initial request should also mention the name of all affected parties.
  2. A member of the Catalyst PA Rep Sub-Circle will take on the role of facilitator, arrange the meeting date/time and post the opportunity to the PA channels (above).
  1. Please note that the written petition document MUST be completed before any hearing date can be scheduled.
  1. The resolution meeting will take place within seven days (typically on a weekend) after the petition receives the minimum number of supporting ‘signatures,’ has a completed petition document, and is recognized by the RP administrator/moderators. 
  1. A group will be assembled and open to all interested parties via an audio visual space (discord or Zoom).
  2. The group will participate in a recorded open discourse for no longer than 30 minutes, during which the petitioning party can have its case heard.
  3. An anonymous vote will be carried out at the end of the discourse for 24 hours using the poll feature in Discord and recorded by the moderating team.

Guidelines for Written Petition Document:

  1. Basic Information:

Provide basic information about yourself at the top of the document. Please note that  all petition documentation will be publicly available – please refrain from entering data you wish to remain private. All documents and hearing sessions are recorded and published online. Please provide the following information:

  1. Name (required)
  2. Date of document creation (required)
  3. Discord ID (required)
  4. Other contact info (optional)
  5. The time zone that you will be in for the hearing (required)

  1. Introduction: 

The written petition should begin with a statement that outlines your petition – the people hearing your case are not all knowledgeable about your situation, so provide context to the situation and a desired outcome. Length does not matter as long as your case is clear to the reader. Here are some guiding questions to get you started:

  1. What is your petition about?
  2. Why are you petitioning the vPA outcome?
  3. What do you hope the outcome will be?
  4. The text of a clear and understandable Yes/No motion that will be voted on by those who listen to the hearing. It must be officially worded, proposed, and agreed upon before the vote. Without an agreed text of the motion that is being put to vote, a vote cannot be held.

  1. Evidence:

A good lawyer doesn’t go into a courtroom unprepared. Provide evidence for your case. Ensure you provide the necessary information for the audience to make an informed vote. Examples of good evidence include but are not limited to:

  1. Copy-and-pasted PA assessments from the master vPA document (provide the assessment ID so their validity can be verified)
  1. Please provide evidence for every single assessment you wish to petition and make sure to number each piece of evidence. If the petition is against the deviation script, the moderators will randomly select 20 assessments or 10% of the assessments (whichever is bigger) to be discussed in the hearing. For example, if a vPA brings forward 250 assessments they wish to petition, 25 assessments will be randomly selected to be reviewed during the hearing.
  1. Statistical analysis
  2. Charts
  3. Tables

  1. Analysis:

Along with your evidence, provide your own analysis. Putting analysis with each piece of evidence is critical to convincing readers of your case. Otherwise, those hearing your case might not be able to vote in your favor since they do not understand the reasoning behind your evidence.

  1. For example, if you are petitioning against the deviation script because you had a high disagreement rate with the majority, provide some analysis of the assessments you copied onto the document outlining why you think you were correct and the majority was wrong.
  2. Making use of the wording on the PA/vPA guidelines in your analysis can make an effective case.

Petition Hearing Schedule:

Petitions will be scheduled in order of completion of petition and schedule availability of petitioners and their supporters.

Sequence of Events in the Hearing:

  1. This guideline document and the petitioner’s written document will be provided.
  2. Petitioner will be invited to present his/her issue with explanation and any supporting data.
  3. Invitation to comment from petition supporters as to why they are supporting.
  4. Invitation for community response on the issue. The discussion is part of the value of the process, so allowing the conversation and also keeping it on track will be a balance.
  5. Call for a vote. Votes will be cast via an anonymous poll in Discord that will run for 24 hours. Anyone from the community who attends the hearing or watches the hearing recording is eligible to vote. The results of the poll will be tallied by the administrator/moderators.
  1. For petitions by a vPA against the deviation script:
  1. Each assessment from the 10% random selection will be individually voted on by the community. Simple majority vote will apply, so >50% in the affirmative is required for each individual assessment to be approved.
  2. If ≥90% of the randomly selected assessments are determined valid in favor of the vPA petitioner, then the entirety of the vPA’s petition will be approved, and the recommended next steps will be passed on to IOG for final determination.
  3. If <90% of the randomly selected assessments are determined valid in favor of the vPA petitioner, then the vPA’s petition will not be considered valid.
  1. For petitions against another vPA or vPAs:
  1. In this case, the meaning of the vote will be based on the specified Yes/No motion determined before the vote is opened.
  2. Greater than 50% of eligible voters in the affirmative will result in petition agreement.
  3. Less than or equal to 50% of eligible voters in the affirmative will result in petition disagreement.
  4. Abstentions are tallied and have NO EFFECT on affirmation.
  1. The “what’s next” will be determined according to the vote outcome and what is feasible.
  2. Throughout the session, the community may take notes on areas where they see improvements can be made. Community members should refrain from sharing these ideas during the session due to the short amount of time dedicated to each petition hearing. Instead, these notes can be shared in the PA-discussion or vPA-discussion channels on the PA/vPA Discord Server. Alternatively, community members can submit feedback in the Shared Ideas tab on Dework.

Since each petition has been presented in the necessary channels beforehand, each hearing from presentation to vote will last approximately 30 minutes.

Outcome Limitations:

The “work” included in the voting process can no longer be removed or changed. It is a goal for the future to have both the rewards and the vPA assessment work affected by the RP. 

Checklist For Petitioners Before the Session:

  1. At least two current vPAs as supporters.

  2. Completed petition document following the guidelines above.
  3. Contact has been made with the hearing administrator/moderating team on the Catalyst United Discord Server, and they have created a corresponding thread in the #rewards-petitions channel.
  4. If applicable, contact has been made with the person(s) being petitioned against, and they have had at least 3 days to review the written petition document prior to the hearing.

Proactively Improving the Process:

There are suggested improvements to the PA/vPA Process outlined on a Dework Community Suggestions board. This group is invited to engage in changing the process for Fund 9 by: