Quarterly Governance Process
To balance efficiency with decentralization in the governance process, SCF uses Track Delegate Panels — groups of subject-matter experts with the SCF Pilot role, rotating on a quarterly basis, organized by track that support:
Setting quarterly goals;
Updates to submission criteria, forms, and other relevant resources associated;
Review incoming submissions;
Providing guidance to projects;
[Open Track only] Can be added by voters to their delegation quorum during Community Vote (learn more here).
Delegates are compensated per engagement (excluding SDF employees). See delegate selection for each quarter here.
Tracks
Integration
Applications with existing traction integrating building blocks to support Stellar.
Panel Review only
Review Integration Track Use Cases and vet and update partner Building Blocks (existing + incoming). Integration track guidelines revisioning as necessary.
11-13, with cut-off 1/40 NQG Score
Open
Vetted and proven teams building products necessary to unlock key use cases in the ecosystem “Use Case Enablers”. This can be financial protocols and primitives or other essential features.
Panel Review & Community Vote
Open track guidelines revisioning as necessary.
11-13, with cut-off 1/40 NQG Score
RFP
Proposals for tooling as requested by predefined RFPs created during a quarterly process.
Panel Review only
Review existing RFPs if they still need to have additional projects or if they’re completed, and assess new tooling needs and compile new RFPs. RFP track guidelines revisioning as necessary.
9-11, with cut-off 1/40 NQG Score
Quarterly Cycle
Typically, the SCF quarterly governance review cycle starts 9-10 weeks before the Submission Deadline of the first round of the quarter. Exact dates for each quarter can be found in the SCF Dashboard and are announced in the #governance channel in the Stellar Dev Discord.
1. Delegate Nomination & Signal Intake
Pilot candidate list
Submission form released to ecosystem and SDF for needs signaling (use cases, tooling gaps, partner requests)
t - 8 weeks
2. Delegate Selection & Retro
List of Selected Delegates (onchain)
Quarterly retro summarizing prior quarter outcomes, adoption gaps, and ecosystem needs signals (leveraged using Scoring Process)
t - 7 weeks
3. Ecosystem Needs Deliberation
Delegate-led deliberation on retro findings
Agreement on what should change or be prioritized this quarter (use cases, markets, enablers, integrations)
Initial shortlist of priority ecosystem needs
t - 6 weeks
4. Resource Updating and Creation
Updated Integration Track use cases list
Vetting and updating of Partner Building Blocks (existing + incoming)
Creation of RFPs for priority tooling / protocol gaps
t - 5 weeks
5. Ecosystem Direction Publication
Legal review as necessary
Community Vote on Soroban Governor
Launch quarterly “What to Build on Stellar in Q[x] 2026” report, authored by Delegates
t - 3 weeks
*phase may start earlier
1. Delegate Nomination & Signal Intake
Nominations take place during the Nomination phase in the #governance channel on the Stellar Dev Discord, where eligible candidates inform the community of:
Their name
Track(s) they want to participate in
Why they are qualified to do so (why people should select them as their delegate)
What's their approach when they vote or review projects
2. Delegate Selection & Retro
In order to be selected as a delegate, nominated Pilots who are not SDF employees need to meet the following criteria, which are based on the level of estimated support needed for that quarter, and assessments for sufficient community sentiment.
Current Community Delegate Criteria
Integration
11
13
1/40 of total NQG Voting Weight for that track.
Open
11
13
1/40 of total NQG Voting Weight for that track.
RFP
9
11
1/40 of total NQG Voting Weight for that track.
Delegates who are also SDF employees do not get specifically compensated for their delegate responsibilities, do not need to meet above criteria and are there primarily to support the overall process. The ratio of community delegates to SDF delegates should not be below 70% for each quarter to ensure sufficient decentralization of the process.
After the onchain selection period has ended, the results are published in corresponding thread in the #governance channel on the Stellar Dev Discord and all selected delegates are asked to confirm their participation in that round.
Quarterly Retro
The SCF Quarterly Retro should summarize prior quarter outcomes, adoption gaps, and ecosystem needs signals collected during the Delegate Nomination & Signal Intake phase.
3. Ecosystem Needs Deliberation
Once all delegates have confirmed, three private threads will be created in the #verified-panel for each track to kick off the Ecosystem Needs Deliberation phase. Starting with sharing the Quarterly Retro for everyone to read through, the panel discusses in-thread async as well as on a final meeting to complete all deliberation deliverables for that track.
Deliberation Deliverables per Track
Add comments to complete Quarterly Recap as necessary;
Assess if adjustment of use cases is needed;
Assess if adjustment of overall submission criteria or process is needed;
(Re)vet existing and incoming use case partners for eligibility;
Add comments to complete Quarterly Recap as necessary;
Assess if adjustment of overall submission criteria or process is needed;
Add comments to complete Quarterly Recap as necessary;
Assess if current RFPs should be adjusted or closed;
Assess if new RFPs should be created;
Assess if adjustment of overall submission criteria or process is needed;
4. Resource Updating and Creation
After the Ecosystem Needs Deliberation phase, all discussion and notes are aggregated to update the Updated Integration Track use cases list, Partner Building Blocks list, RFPs for priority tooling / protocol gaps, as well as any submission criteria or process updates for each track.
5. Ecosystem Direction Publication
Updated resources go through final SDF legal review as necessary, after which a quarterly Community Vote on Soroban Governor is launched to formally approve of set changes. As changes are approved by the wider community, a blog post on “What to Build on Stellar in Q[x] [Year]”, authored by SDF Delegates, will be published on the Stellar Community Medium which communicates the updates publicly.
Eligibility Criteria
To nominate themselves as a Quarterly Delegate, community members must meet the following eligibility requirements:
Hold an active SCF Pilot role at the time of nomination and throughout the quarter.
Be in good standing with the community, including adherence to the Stellar Code of Conduct.
Demonstrate prior, consistent participation in SCF governance activities (e.g. voting, reviews, or delegate duties).
Commitment & Performance Expectations
Complete all assigned reviews (abstract, submission, tranche) and responsibilities by their stated deadlines.
Actively participate throughout the full review window, including responding to clarification requests when needed.
Actively vote on all eligible SCF Build submissions in their assigned category during each round
Maintain a reasonable level of availability during the quarter to support timely decision-making and program flow.
Communicate early if circumstances change and responsibilities cannot be fulfilled.
Delegates who do not complete their assigned reviews, fail to vote, or skip core responsibilities may:
Forfeit compensation for incomplete tasks
Be removed from the delegate panel
Be ineligible to serve in future quarters
Specifically, delegates who are consistently late or submit incomplete deliverables across two or more quarters will be required to sit out the following quarter before becoming eligible for nomination again. Delegate contributions shape funding decisions and category direction, so consistent participation ensures the quality and fairness of the SCF governance process.
Delegate Compensation & Expectations
Non-SDF delegates are compensated based on specific tasks completed each quarter. Compensation is tied to active participation in the review process and category planning.
Non-SDF Delegates receive:
$200 worth of XLM* for contributing to quarterly category planning (goal-setting and wishlist updates).
$20 worth of XLM* for each SCF Build submission they fully review during a round + a bonus for Open Track delegates who vote on time.
$20 worth of XLM* for each subsequent tranche review completed.
Payments are issued regularly during the quarter for completed reviews.
Disclaimer
*To determine the number of XLM equal to the USD value of any Award, the USD valuation of XLM shall be calculated using the CF Stellar Lumens-Dollar Settlement Price as administered, maintained, and reported by the cryptocurrency index provider CF Benchmarks Ltd. (using the ticker “XLMUSD_RR”) (available at https://www.cfbenchmarks.com/indices/XLMUSD_RR), or, if such settlement price is unavailable or reasonably suspected by SDF to be unreliable, the settlement price as reported on a substantially similar and equally reputable cryptocurrency index provider as determined by the SDF in its discretion. The USD valuation of XLM for any particular Award shall be calculated using the CF Stellar Lumens-Dollar Settlement Price (or other agreed upon settlement price) reported on the day such Award is paid. The Participants acknowledge and understand that XLM is a highly risky and volatile asset, and that SDF does not provide any representations, warranties, or guarantees of its value.
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