NFT Badge Collections to cerfity freelancers who delivered impacts to Cardano-Catalyst projects

[GENERAL] Name and surname of main applicant

Ha Nguyen

[GENERAL] Email address of main applicant

cooperation@proskills39.com

Additional applicants

Buck Nguyen

[GENERAL] Please specify how many months you expect your project to last (from 2-12 months)

6

[GENERAL] Please indicate if your proposal has been auto-translated into English from another language.

Yes

[GENERAL] Does your project have any dependencies on other organizations, technical or otherwise?

No

[GENERAL] If YES, please describe what the dependency is and why you believe it is essential for your project’s delivery. If NO, please write “No dependencies.”

No dependencies.

[GENERAL] Will your project’s output/s be fully open source?

Yes

[GENERAL] If NO, please describe which outputs are not going to be open source. If YES, please write “Project will be fully open source.”

The project will be fully open source.

[METADATA] Category of proposal

NFTs

[METADATA] SDG rating

Our proposal focuses on Sustainable Development Goal #8, which promotes sustainable economic growth, employment, and decent work for all. It addresses post-pandemic, and Ukraine Crisis impacts, aiming to improve unemployment rates and support freelancers. Additionally, it emphasizes the importance of a remote work environment and enhanced worker productivity, ensuring fairness in the workplace, even online working platforms.

[IMPACT] Please describe your proposed solution.

◆Reasons for approaching 

1. Freelancers' achievements and accomplishments should be clearly and verifiable.
2. Support from the community
3. Talents contributing to projects on Cardano, Catalyst should be recognized for their effort.
4. Not all knowledge and skills can be demonstrated with a degree
5. Degrees can be forged.
6. There should be a way to prove that knowledge, skills, and abilities are not faked, like a degree.

◆Our Solution

First, we will design a set of rule logic for Freelancers' level with equivalent seller's benefits.

• Business past results/
• Service quality/
• Profile requirements/
• Operating time/
• Response rate/
• Community contribution

The Output should be as below (we are thinking of 5 levels.)

Second, we will leverage NMKR API to build the NFT for these freelancers who have already integrated their Cardano wallets to receive payments for their work on the platform.

Finally, we will release the NFT to these freelancers in the same Cardano-based wallets.

1. Publish a collection of NFT badges to freelancers on the Freelancer Service Marketplace and project talent on Cardano and Catalyst.
2. This NFT badge proves the person's skill, experience, knowledge, and verifiable origin, not counterfeit, thanks to NFT technology, Blockchain. At the same time, it can be used to improve reputation and decentralized identity in the future.
3. There will be five badge collections for five talent levels.
4. Users who want to level up and receive the NFT badge must meet the criteria and conditions to verify their ability, experience, and skills.

Conditions to receive this NFT badge:

1. Complete the profile: provide enough qualifications and evidence of achievements on the Freelancer Service Marketplace.
2. Reach the number of projects to contribute
3. Achieve a good number of reviews from the project owner.

◆Project end-users aim

1. Developer

2. Freelancer

3. Talent involves Cardano, Catalyst project

◆The uniqueness of this solution

-Application of mint NFT technology of NMKR

-Integrate to create NFT mints directly on Freelancer Service Marketplace.

-Using NFT to recognize achievements, competence is part of the criteria for decentralized identity in the future.

◆Why this is important to Cardano

-Motivate, and motivate talents and freelancers to work harder and more efficiently to receive the NFT badge, which helps to improve the quality of human resources and the quality of work for the project. Projects they participate in.

-Projects on Cardano, Catalyst develop faster thanks to quality human resources and more active activities.

[IMPACT] How does your proposed solution address the challenge and what benefits will this bring to the Cardano ecosystem?

◆This Proposal targets the goal of the Challenge

• Freelancer Service Marketplace applies NMKR's NFT technology, creating more value for users and contributing to the development of NFT on Cardano.
• This proposal is aimed at
• “This challenge is about empowering projects to further advance the NFT Ecosystem on Cardano by creating tools that integrate the NMKR Studio API.
• How can we make the Cardano NFT ecosystem more accessible by creating tools that implement the NMKR Dev API?”

◆The value our proposal brings to the Cardano ecosystem

• Create another valuable application of NFT, stimulating and engaging users.
• Motivate and motivate users (freelancers, developers) to be more active on Cardano.

[IMPACT] How do you intend to measure the success of your project?

Quantitative Indicators to measure project success

• The number of freelancers awarded the NFT badge.
• The number of projects completed by badged freelancers.
• The survey for Freelancers that were certified and received the badges

The qualitative long-term Impact on Cardano Ecosystem:

• In the long run, implementing this system will revolutionize the freelancer market. Incorporating NFT and payment via Cardano wallets will introduce a layer of transparency and security previously unseen in this sector.
• Utilizing an NFT badge system will authenticate the freelancers' skills, achievements, and experience, creating a more trustworthy and efficient marketplace. This approach not only benefits the freelancers by providing them a verifiable credentials but also assists employers in making informed hiring decisions. Thus, integrating Cardano wallet payments will significantly enhance trust and transparency within the freelancing ecosystem.

[IMPACT] Please describe your plans to share the outputs and results of your project?

◆Plan to disseminate project outputs 

We will report monthly progress on the official Catalyst channels. The community can track progress through monthly reports published on Catalyst's public channels.

Additionally, Catalyst and the community can check progress through the below link https://proskills39.com/

◆How to share output/results when project completion

We share project output and results by creating marketing campaigns promoting this new feature.

In addition, we will conduct a survey to collect the opinions and experiences of freelancers and badged talents.

◆Directions for using the results obtained from the project for further research and development activities

We will have improvement and development plans in the following stages based on the survey results.

[CAPABILITY/ FEASIBILITY] What is your capability to deliver your project with high levels of trust and accountability?

◆Ability and experience suitable to implement the project

Our team possesses the necessary skills and expertise to implement this project effectively. We have amassed considerable experience in the following areas:

1. Business administration, including the setup, management, and operation of platforms.
2. Proficiency in programming technology products, platforms, and banking payment systems.
3. Financial management and cash flow management expertise.
4. In-depth knowledge in the field of Blockchain, with a particular focus on Cardano.

◆Financial management process

Our team consists of a seasoned Financial Advisor with 20 years of experience in finance and banking and an Accountant with over ten years of expertise in revenue, expenditure management, financial reporting, and business operations.

Workflow:

1. The Financial Advisor is responsible for budget planning, allocation, and management.
2. The Accountant handles revenue and expenditure operations and maintains payment vouchers.
3. Every month, the Financial Advisor and Accountant present the budget management sheet, receipts, and expenditures to the Project Manager.

[CAPABILITY/ FEASIBILITY] What are the main goals for the project and how will you validate if your approach is feasible?

◆Main goal of the project (KPI)

①Number of freelancers and developers who mint NFT badge: Over 100 people

②Quantityfreelancer with project badge: Over 100 people

③Number of completed projects with the participation of freelancers with NFT badge: 10 projects.

◆How to verify the goal has been achieved

• Catalyst and the community can check the progress and activities of the project directly at the website dashboard: https://proskills39.com/
• Moreover, we will also publish the list of NFT for Freelancers on Pool.pm/nfts collection for actual demonstration.

[CAPABILITY/ FEASIBILITY] Please provide a detailed breakdown of your project’s milestones and each of the main tasks or activities to reach the milestone plus the expected timeline for the delivery.

We prepared the SOM in advance for three milestones in 6 months.

(*) The progress of this proposal will go together with another project on Web 3 Work Marketplace which we also submitted in this fund.

Milestone 1: Freelancers level ranking and NFT design

Timeline: 2.5 months

Objective: Create a visually appealing and distinct achievement badge that dynamically adapts to unique elements for each freelancer level.

Estimate cost: 30% total budget

Milestone 2: Minting page development

Timeline: 2 months

Objective: Develop and soft launch the NFT minting page using NMKR API, including both front-end User Interface and back-end development.

Estimate cost: 30% total budget

Milestone 3: Testing and deployment

Timeline: 1.5 month

Objective: Conduct thorough testing, address any remaining bugs, and finalize the project for a successful go-live.

Estimate cost: 30% total budget

*Close out the project: 10% of the total budget

[CAPABILITY/ FEASIBILITY] Please describe the deliverables, outputs and intended outcomes of each milestone.

Statement of Milestones (SOM) built in advance: With the assistance of Cardano Ambassador, Mr. Yuta, we present the SOM in advance:

• to align with Catalyst Fund 10's guidelines for plan transparency and clarity,
• to facilitate easy reviewing for Community Reviewers (CR),
• to illustrate that our completion percentage consistently surpasses the budget percentage required for each milestone

SOM Link: https://docs.projectcatalyst.io/catalyst-basics/how-to-submit-a-proposal/fund10-milestone-based-funding-guidelines

◆Handover products

The 1st milestone (month 0-2.5)

• Freelancer scoring system rule
• Design templates for 5 NFT badge collections (for each level)
• Design badge for business that used Freelancers on Cardano

The 2nd milestone (month 2.5-4.5)

• Mint interface NFT
• Release note developing NFT mint feature

The 3rd milestone: (month 4.5-6)

• Test records
• Notify go-live new feature

◆How to track project progress and measure progress

• Catalyst and the community can check the progress and activities of the project directly at the website: https://proskills39.com/
• Moreover, we will also publish the list of NFT for Freelancers on Pool.pm/nfts collection for actual demonstration.

[RESOURCES & VALUE FOR MONEY] Please provide a detailed budget breakdown of the proposed work and resources.

Attached is the detailed budget breakdown of our proposal:

Design the NFT Collection

5 collections x 20 art x 50USD/art = 5000 USD

Mint NFT interface design

40 hours x 21 USD/hour = 840 USD

Connect API, create NFT mint feature

100 hours x 21 USD/hour = 2100 USD

Project management

240 hours x 21 USD/hour x 1 person = 25200 USD

• Total Budget: 11060 USD = 43889 ADA (*)
• 80% of the total budget for the NFT design and API connection with NMKR

(*) We take the exchange rate: 0.2520, 23/6/2023, which is within the Proposal Writing period form 21st June to 17th July.

This already considers the risk of price fluctuation of ADA for the duration of project delivery.

[RESOURCES & VALUE FOR MONEY] How does the cost of the project represent value for money for the Cardano ecosystem?

VALUE FOR MONEY- SALARY BENCHMARKING

The cost of the project is also considered low compared to the cost of the seniority of the engineers in the team. 

1. Salary benchmarking in the local country: We keep 40%-50% savings on personnel cost for the team member's hourly rate: Salary Benchmarking
2. Our budget Allocation mainly focused on Product development (80%), and the remained 20% is for personnel resources.
3. Consider the team allocation at different levels of the project org chart
4. Cardano Ecosystem is an emerging industry, and we need to have the proper induction and training for the new members.

VALUE FOR THE CARDANO ECOSYSTEM:

The cost of the ProSkills39 project represents value for money for the Cardano ecosystem through several factors:

1.  Alignment with Strategic Goals: The project's objectives and deliverables align with the strategic goals of the Cardano ecosystem and challenge setting
2. Impactful Deliverables: The project aims to deliver tangible outcomes that benefit the Cardano ecosystem, including solving the unemployment of freelancers and connecting talents for Catalyst-funded proposers.
3.  Measurement of Progress and Success: The project team has established transparent success criteria and performance indicators for each milestone. These metrics will be used to track progress, evaluate the project's success, and update the Catalyst Community. We walk the talk with the Catalyst Core Values.

[IMPORTANT NOTE] The Applicant agreed to Fund10 rules and also that data in the Submission Form and other data provided by the project team during the course of the project will be publicly available.

I Accept