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Founding Phase · Private Beta. The Institute is in private beta. Any example content is labelled as such and is never presented as real.

DSI
Worksheet

Proposal Evaluation Canvas

This tool has been retired

It stays online so existing links, version history and any work you already started against it still resolve. It is no longer maintained or reviewed.

Use Action Intake instead
Type
Worksheet
Difficulty
Intermediate
Time
45 min
Version
v1.0.0
Updated
7/28/2026
proposal analysisgovernance

What this helps you do

The canvas exists to slow down the first reaction. It asks you to write what a proposal claims, what it evidences, and what it leaves unanswered before you form a position.

It is deliberately position-neutral. Completing the canvas does not produce a recommendation, a score, or a suggested vote - it produces a record of how you reasoned.

When to use this

  • A governance action has been posted and you are forming a first independent view.
  • You want a structured record of your reasoning before community commentary shapes it.
  • A proposal has been amended and you need to re-run your assessment.

When NOT to use this

  • As a scoring system that produces a vote. It organises reasoning; it does not decide.
  • On procedural or purely informational actions where the sections do not apply.

What you'll need

  • The full governance action text
  • The proposal budget
  • The milestone or delivery plan
  • Any supporting evidence supplied
  • Relevant constitutional provisions

Estimated completion time

45 minutes

Working time for one governance action, assuming the inputs listed here are already to hand.

How to use it

  1. 1Complete it before reading community commentary, so your first view is your own.
  2. 2Fill the evidence missing column as carefully as the evidence supplied column.
  3. 3Raise your open questions publicly while there is still time to get answers.
  4. 4Publish the completed canvas alongside your rationale.
  5. 5Re-run it from scratch if the proposal is amended.

The tool

Full worksheet - v1.0.0

Canvas sections

  • Problem statement in the proposer's own words
  • Evidence supplied vs. evidence missing
  • Cost breakdown and comparable benchmarks
  • Delivery risk, dependency risk, concentration risk
  • Accountability: who reports, how often, to whom
  • Open questions to raise publicly before voting

How members use it

  • Fill it in before reading community commentary
  • Publish the filled canvas alongside a vote rationale
  • Re-run it if the proposal is amended
Fictional Example

Invented for illustration. It does not describe a real governance action, proposal, or organisation.

Fictional canvas extract

  • Problem: a fictional proposal claims wallet onboarding is the main barrier to adoption.
  • Evidence supplied: one survey of 40 self-selected respondents.
  • Evidence missing: any comparison against existing onboarding tooling.
  • Concentration risk: all delivery sits with one unnamed contractor.
  • Open question: what happens to the second tranche if the contractor withdraws?

How to interpret the result

  • A filled canvas shows what the action changes, who it affects, and what remains unknown.
  • Gaps in the canvas are findings: they tell you what to ask the proposer before deciding.

Limitations

  • It does not score, rank, or recommend a voting position.
  • It cannot verify claims; that requires the evidence and source checks.

Sources and methodology

Learn this method

This tool records the work. The Training Lab teaches how to do it.

  • proposal-due-diligence · Proposal Due Diligence: From Claim to Evidence

    Proposal Due Diligence: From Claim to Evidence

    Teaches the intake and scoping method the canvas records.

    Open lesson

Downloads

  • Markdown export: the complete tool, including metadata, instructions, the template, limitations, sources and version history.

No other file formats are published for this resource. We list a format only when the file exists.

Version and governance

Current version
v1.0.0
Published
8/9/2026
Last updated
7/28/2026
Next scheduled review
1/28/2027
Licence
CC BY 4.0
Editorial status
Not yet externally reviewed

No named reviewer is shown because no external review has been completed. Attribution appears only once a verified reviewer has signed off.

Changelog

  • v1.0.0 (2026-07-28) - Migrated from the static library into the resource register.
  • v1.0.0 (2026-08-10) - Retired. Superseded by Governance Action Intake & Classification Brief. Kept for version history and existing member workspaces.
Next in the workflow

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A shared format for explaining DRep decisions clearly and consistently. Standardize the explanation, not the vote.

Workflow
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