Project info

Critical Inquiry into Decentralised Autonomous Organisations (DAOs) working for Sustainability (CIDS) project investigates whether these new digital beings are like virtual states, global cooperatives or non-governmental organisations. We ask whether those DAOs that advocate public goods (such as refugee assistance, saving of whales, equal finance etc.) are really up to the job. We study what they do, how they do it and whether they add value to global and local grassroots activism for sustainable development. We all need maps to orient in the digital world or “cyberspace”. The project informs decision-making, encounters and governance of the DAOs that may support grassroots interest, democratic engagement and add to the available funding towards achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs). In addition, the SDG-oriented DAOs may offer avenues to boost local communities in the pandemic era. The project supports understanding of the virtual reality and enables us to approach it with positive albeit critical attitude instead of fear of the unknown.

The project constructs an overview of DAOs, whose constitutions proclaim support for the SDGs (in particular, no poverty, affordable and clean energy, reduced inequalities, climate action, life on land and partnerships). The project

  1. analyses the constitutions and their impact on the SDG-aims of the organisation; we also ask whether the organisation’s own governance is in line with its aims, whether and how it supports equality and participation in the striving for its SDG-related aims;
  2. the project also strives to understand whether and what kind of international legal personality could such emerging technology based organisations achieve, and how it impacts their aims.

The Project is Funded by Academy of Finland (2022–2026)