Hello all,

As part of my work on a comprehensive guide to Polkadot-JS Apps, I have been looking at the official documentation on the Council as a governance body of Polkadot/Kusama. I have found that this documentation mostly consists of academic research and technical explainers. I haven't found any resources addressing the notion of conflict of interest, even though this is a rather common issue experienced within governance systems.

In the case of Kusama and Polkadot, the questions to be answered would be: what happens when council members are acting as advisors for a project and that project submits a Treasury proposal? What should council members do when someone they know personally or have previously worked with makes a request for Treasury funds via bounties or tips? Should they comment formally on their involvement with the project/person and vote? Should the commentary and/or abstaining be left to their own discretion?

There doesn't seem to be any practical forward-guidance on this matter, which could be detrimental to the whole system in two ways:

1. Perception of a lack of transparency: if there is no declaration of interest required prior to voting for proposals, council members might later realise that they had some relevant information that they could have shared in a timely manner but didn't. However, if members of the community come across that same information further down the line and believe that it had the potential to sway the outcome of the vote at the time of the proposal yet wasn't publicly discussed, they will eventually start casting a doubt on the whole governance process.

2. Obstacle to council candidacy: if community members are already involved in successful projects but also interested in advocating for ecosystem initiatives at large, joining the council makes practical sense. However, given that their influence is already established in the community and that they are not required to declare their interest, their joining the council could very well be perceived by the community as an attempt to gain more power to serve their own interests, which could eventually dissuade them from becoming candidates.

The primary purpose of a declaration of (conflict of) interest isn't to police or run inquiries on members of governance bodies. Instead, it is used to encourage collective discussion, mindful participation and ethical self-reflection. It seems to me that having council members declare their interest prior to voting on proposals would be welcome at this point in time where the ecosystem is growing and in need of expertise, funding and advice; all 3 being scarce resources across the board.

If there are more publications about Polkadot/Kusama Council and governance available out there that I have missed, please do share your links and commentary, as I am really interested in your take on this matter as a community.

Many thanks,
Anaelle.