GROUNDWORK

Learn

Read GROUNDWORK fluently in under thirty minutes.

One ordered path through the manifesto, principles, theory, mechanics, vocabulary, and our own governance. Read in sequence the first time — afterwards every page stands alone.

  1. 00

    Forms of power

    4 min

    Before anything else: read five institutional forms side by side — LLC, public company, DAO, traditional co-op, GROUNDWORK-style. Without this vocabulary, the register reads as noise.

  2. 01

    The manifesto

    8 min

    The full argument: why collective ownership infrastructure, why legibility before fundraising, why we refuse governance theater.

  3. 02

    The principles

    6 min

    The non-negotiables holding the register together — legibility over transparency, anti-theater, financial separation, procedural pluralism.

  4. 03

    Institutional legibility theory

    5 min

    The theory the platform holds itself and every initiative against. Disclosure is not legibility.

  5. 04

    How the register works

    5 min

    From a public idea to a vetted, financially-eligible institution: the layered journey and what each stage requires.

  6. 05

    Glossary

    3 min

    The vocabulary you need to read any initiative: ladder, drift, capture, sybil, scaffolding, equal vote, founder-controlled.

  7. 06

    Our position

    2 min

    Where GROUNDWORK sits in the field — what we are and, explicitly, what we are not.

  8. 07

    Platform governance

    3 min

    The Stewardship Team, Review Circle, and Appeals Circle. We hold ourselves to the rule we apply to initiatives.

Try it

Can you read these three institutions?

Each card shows what an initiative says about itself and what its governance fields actually contain. Pick the answer the structure supports — not the answer the adjective suggests.

  1. Case 01
    The cooperative bakery

    Self-description: "member-owned, democratically run". Governance fields: governance_model = founder-led; founder_veto = true (unlimited scope); vote_binding = advisory.

  2. Case 02
    The neighborhood DAO

    Self-description: "fully decentralized, no central authority". Governance fields: governance_model = multisig; decision_quorum = 3-of-5 founders; amendment_rule = same multisig.

  3. Case 03
    The civic foundation

    Self-description: "community-led". Governance fields: governance_model = council; vote_binding = binding; decision_quorum = simple majority of council; council_appointment = self-perpetuating board.

Then →

Browse the register

Apply what you just read. Read three initiatives back-to-back.

Or →

Watch the verification queue

See escalating legitimacy claims in public, before they're decided.