The application period for
Decentralized Voices — Cohort 5 opens July 21, 2025!
In early 2024, the Web3 Foundation introduced Decentralized Voices (DV) to foster greater community involvement in Polkadot and Kusama OpenGov. This initiative delegates W3F’s voting authority to knowledgeable community members.
Learn more about the original program. Over the past year, these delegates have served as a vital community safeguard, filtering out questionable proposals and introducing diverse regional and technical viewpoints to each vote.
Cohort 5 is an improved version of an already excellent idea. It includes more seats, individual voting clout, and a new “DV-Light” track designed for subject matter. The core mission of the program remains to shield Polkadot and Kusama from malicious suggestions, while amplifying the voices of a more varied community. All participants are expected to adhere to strict transparency and accountability.
If this excites you,
apply between now and August 5th
. Read on to learn about the changes, expectations, and how to participate.
What’s New in Decentralized Voices Cohort 5
Cohort 5 presents significant updates to the DV program, aiming to better address the community’s demands. We aim to achieve that by increasing the number of people participating, while lowering individual authority, introducing a new category of participants and tightening the rules of accountability.
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DV-Light Guardians — New Individual Delegates: To encourage more participation, we’re introducing
DV-Light, a new governance category called
“guardians”
who will participate
alongside the main delegates
. We expect to choose
3–8 individual, experienced and proven in various domains. Each DV-Light member will receive about one-tenth of the voting power of a full DV delegate. Their job is to vote on the referendums within their expertise, and
skip those they are not familiar with. -
DV-Light participants, unlike the main delegates, will not be compensated by the W3F for their services at the end of the program. If the community values a DV-Light member’s participation, anybody can
retroactively reward them via the Treasury
(for example, with a tip or bounty). This will give passionate specialists a way to join, while also making sure their incentives align with community sentiment. -
More Delegates, Less Power per Delegate: The central DV delegate cohort (teams or organizations) will expand to a maximum of
10 delegates. The goal of this expansion is to encourage
more participation and power dispersion. - Each delegate will have a smaller DOT delegation compared to previous cohorts (which peaked at 1,000,000 DOT at 6x conviction per delegate). For Cohort 5, the voting power per delegate will be 2,000,000 DOT & 30k KSM. This means that a small group or individual cannot dominate a vote.
- Stronger Accountability & “One-Delegate-One-Human”: We are implementing stricter guidelines and monitoring to address any transparency and conflict-of-interest issues.
- To begin, an individual may only lead or be a part of one delegate entity. DV DAOs will have to share their lists of voting members before the start of the program.
- Voting members of all delegates (DV and DV-Light) have to abstain from referendums where they have a conflict of interest. This is not new, and we will continue to enforce it.
-
We will be more rigorous in applying the “two strikes” rule. Any delegation will be promptly revoked if a delegate violates the regulations or acts in bad faith twice. We encourage the community to submit any self-dealing or conflict of interest concerns to
dv@web3.foundation. We promise to investigate these reports within two weeks and act on them accordingly.
How to Apply for DV Cohort 5
We are now opening applications for Decentralized Voices Cohort 5, with these modifications now in place. If influencing Polkadot (or Kusama) governance appeals to you, apply now! These are the details and expectations:
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Application Timeline: The application period starts today, July 21, 2025, and lasts until August 5, 2025 (midnight CET).
Please use the official form.
The W3F will go over all submissions. After that, delegates will be revealed on August 15, 2025, and Cohort 5 will officially start and delegations will be activated. -
Who Should Apply: Teams, collectives, and people are welcome to apply. Indicate if you want to be a DV DAO delegate, a DV-Light individual delegate, or an individual representing a group.
Strong governance is a must
in any event. Candidates should have a history of contributing to Polkadot or Kusama OpenGov. This includes contributing to governance initiatives or analysis, participating in discussions on Polkassembly, Subsquare, the Polkadot forum, Attempts at Governance, and a history of on-chain voting. We would like candidates who have shown a strong interest in the ecosystem’s future. - Public Governance Philosophy: Candidates must present their governance philosophy. Post this declaration on the Polkadot Forum for community visibility. Use this chance to clarify your decision-making, principles, and areas of expertise. Give the community a good idea of how you think. This is done by citing real-world political analogies, outlining the criteria for proposals, and highlighting the past. A link to this statement is needed to complete your application. Even if you did so in the past, update or reaffirm your philosophy post for Cohort 5.
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Commitment and Integrity: Decentralized Voices delegates have to
vote consistently and carefully
on governance referenda and
provide justification for each vote
on public platforms. Delegates must explain their vote to help educate the community. You cannot vote against a competitor or approve funding for yourself or for your project. If in doubt, delegates should either recuse themselves or seek guidance. This all helps to ensure the program’s integrity. Abusing a position will result in removal. We need candidates who understand the importance of this responsibility. - Benefits of Participating: Those that are selected to be DV delegates in Cohort 5 will get a sizeable donation of voting power from W3F. This gives you influence over proposals across all relevant areas. Voicing the community’s viewpoint gives you the chance to have a real effect on Polkadot’s future.
-
DV delegates have been rewarded by W3F for their work. For example, primary delegates previously earned 3,500 DOT for four months of service. We intend to give the primary delegates a similar end-of-cohort compensation. DV-Light guardians, can be retroactively compensated by community-driven tips. DV provides a
unique opportunity to be a leader
in the Polkadot ecosystem. You will learn from each other, collaborate with other passionate participants, and assist in safeguarding the network from passivity.
If you agree with all of the above, we encourage you to apply for Cohort 5. Fill out the form and give your Polkadot/Kusama address, share links to your governance participation, and provide your written governance philosophy.
Even if you have already served or applied, do not hesitate to come forward again.
Importantly, we understand that designs can always improve. We will observe how it goes, get your comments, and keep refining the fit. From day one, the destination has remained constant: a Polkadot and Kusama where decision-making is participatory and shared. Decentralized Voices gets us to that destination faster.
Thank you to everyone who provided support to help us shape this cohort.
On behalf of the Web3 Foundation, we look forward to this next chapter.
Applications start July 21st — apply to lend your voice to the chain!