We’re introducing the Stacks Foundation objectives for Q4. The work we did in Q3 in combination with feedback from the community survey helped us set clear priorities for Q4. For a full recap of Q3, you can find our Q3 objectives here. You can always find our current quarter OKRs on our website.

Here are the top Q4 priorities, many of which are already well in motion:

• Successfully roll out Stacks 2.1, which will bring a host of improvements to the network, through communication, partnership updates, core development, and SIP governance.
• Address critical needs in the ecosystem through coordinating Working Groups focused on speed and capacity improvements and building deeper connections and capabilities related to Bitcoin.
• Onboard more blockchain developers across the ecosystem and support a steady stream of talent to support community growth.
• Improve infrastructure around the protocol, including better blockchain incident communication, developer documentation, and items like bridges that provide new capabilities to builders and users.

We’ve mapped this work along with the foundation’s core functions into our four consistent objectives, which all flow under the higher-level 1-year vision stated above that serve our mission to unleash Bitcoin.

Read about each high-level OKR below, or skip to the full table of detailed OKRs and projects.

Stacks 2.1 is a very important upgrade for the network. The upgrade rollout process needs intense attention this quarter when 2.1 is ready for voting and launch. We are preparing for growth from this upgrade and Subnets by readying alerts and chain status systems, to publicly address any issues faster. Another huge priority is recruiting more blockchain developers across the ecosystem to accelerate work on SIP proposals and features.

(29% increase from end of Q3)

Stacks technology is evolving rapidly with the upcoming 2.1 and Subnets upgrades so we want the latest narrative to be clear to all. We are focused on the best way to share our mission and communicate the huge opportunities with this technology more succinctly. After our survey, the Ecosystem’s highest priorities are clear, so we’ve worked to focus all of our programs, especially Grants, Stacks Chapters, and Dev education to address the most pressing items to have the biggest impact.

(15% increase from end of Q3)

We’ve seen that core development is still a big bottleneck, so our most critical area of focus is on infrastructure needs and blockchain development. As such, we’ve shifted our priorities from growing a high number of new founders, to instead focusing more on addressing the needs of the ecosystem and current founders. We acknowledge that our Q4 growth goals for attracting founders will be lower this quarter, preserving resources for growth mode alongside the new technical upgrades in coming quarters.

(28% increase from end of Q3)

Developers continue to be the lifeblood of the ecosystem. We have done an incredible job attracting developers over the past 6-12 months through programs like Clarity Camp even during the bear market. Now that we’ve built a strong pipeline, we’re working to fill any holes in developer onboarding to grow faster and to attract industry-leading teams. This quarter, we’ll tackle documentation improvements, lead the way on new tutorials, and launch a clear path for new developers to follow. As we focus on improving resources, we could see slower growth in new developers this quarter, but believe the tradeoff is worthwhile for long-term developer growth and retention.

Our priorities are informed directly by feedback from you, the community survey, the ecosystem offsite, regular ecosystem calls, lessons learned in Q3, and guidance from our board. Thank you for being a part of a community that contributes in such varied and meaningful way to serve our mission.

We’re grateful to be part of a community that isn’t afraid to get their hands dirty, and we thank you for continuing to work alongside us to take Stacks to the next level.