Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) are the formal mechanism by which changes, upgrades, and standards are proposed and documented for the Ethereum platform​. An EIP is typically a design document outlining a new feature or process, along with technical specifications and rationale. The EIP process was introduced by Vitalik Buterin in 2015 (with EIP-1) to ensure transparent, community-driven evolution of Ethereum. EIPs cover core protocol changes (which require network hard forks), standards for applications (like token standards), and meta/process proposals that govern the EIP process itself​.