Dedicated Domain Allocation

TL;DR

Delegated Domain Allocation breaks up the funding problem into parts. Trusted stewards manage capital within their domains, enabling scalable, transparent, and context-aware funding decisions without centralized control.


Delegated Domain Allocation (DDA) is a decentralized funding pattern designed for large, diverse, or growing ecosystems. Instead of having one central group make all funding decisions, DDA delegates authority to trusted individuals or teams (called domain stewards) who manage capital allocation within clearly defined areas—such as DevRel, Ecosystem, Governance, or Research.

Each domain has:

• A mandate (what it’s responsible for funding)
• Stewards (people with expertise and legitimacy in that area)
• A pool of capital to allocate
• Processes for sourcing, reviewing, and approving funding

This structure creates parallelism and focus: different parts of the community can allocate capital at the same time, with people who understand the context. It also introduces accountability—because each domain can be evaluated independently based on impact and transparency.

DDA is most powerful in ecosystems that want to scale trust without centralizing power—including protocol DAOs, foundations, and network states.

Best For

• Large or growing ecosystems
• DAOs with multiple areas of focus
• Strategic funding across different contributor types
• Scaling coordination without sacrificing quality

Good At

1. Matching expertise to funding decisions
2. Allowing parallel allocation processes
3. Increasing accountability and transparency within each domain
4. Reducing bottlenecks at the top

Dependencies / Requirements

• Clear domain definitions
• Trusted, legitimate stewards
• Allocation logic per domain (open call, review board, RFPs, etc.)
• Oversight or evaluation mechanisms to prevent capture

Not Good At

• Very small communities (may add overhead)
• Situations with no consensus on who should hold trust
• Funding one-off or spontaneous projects across domains

Who Should Use It?

• Protocol DAOs with multiple workstreams
• Foundations coordinating across technical, community, and governance domains
• Ecosystems needing both structure and flexibility
• Any group seeking to modularize decision-making while retaining alignment

Example Use Cases

• A protocol treasury assigns 4 domain stewards (e.g. Dev Tools, Governance, Ecosystem, Research) to run their own funding rounds within a shared budget
• A community creates a rotating steward system where new people are onboarded to funding roles in each domain
• A regenerative network distributes regional funding via locally delegated stewards, each responsible for their bioregion