HIP 99: Formalize the Maker Program through a New Legal Entity

[hiptron]

HIP 99: Formalize the Maker Program through a New Legal Entity

• Author(s): Scott Sigel, Helium Foundation
• Start Date: 2023-10-25
• Category: Governance
• Original HIP PR: #796
• Tracking Issue: #801
• Vote Requirements: veHNT holders

Summary

Creates a formal and sustainable structure to oversee and manage the Maker Program as originally inspired by HIP-19. To date, Hotspot manufacturer management has been driven primarily by the Manufacturing Compliance Committee (MCC) which was composed of full-time Helium Foundation employees and supportive volunteers from stakeholder organizations in the Helium Network as well as individual contributors.

The current MCC mandate is to ensure the sustainability of the Helium network by (1) establishing the rules under which Hotspot manufacturers will operate; (2) providing mechanisms for enforcement of those rules; and (3) performing audits of the hardware produced by manufacturers to ensure that technical, security, and ethical standards are met before hotspots can be on-boarded onto the Helium Network.
In order to sustain the Maker Program, this HIP authorizes the Helium Foundation to establish a distinct legal entity as the management arm of the Maker Program. The entity would receive funding from the Network through grants and be financially accountable for all work performed.

The new entity would establish formal commercial terms with Makers, compensate program contributors, and oversee the security audit process. The responsibility of the current MCC will pass to the new entity, with authority sitting with the Helium Foundation. The Foundation may hire program managers until such time as new bylaws for the entity may transfer authority to an elected committee (of community members and Network stakeholders). This HIP explicitly delegates authority over the Maker Program to this subsidiary to perform the mandate established by the current MCC, and supplants the standards and practices defined in HIP-19.

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