dRep Research Bureau

[GENERAL] Name and surname of main applicant

Rodrigo Pacini

[GENERAL] Are you delivering this project as an individual or as an entity (whether formally incorporated or not)

Entity (Not Incorporated)

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

10

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

No

[GENERAL] Summarize your solution to the problem (200-character limit including spaces)

Through this project we'll create a framework to foster research, education & engagement about Voltaire, improving qualified participation of Portuguese speaking communities in the governance process.

[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] Please provide here more information on the open source status of your project outputs

This project is not related to software development, however all data related to research, content creation and reports will be public shared.

[METADATA] Horizons

Governance

[SOLUTION] Please describe your proposed solution

With the implementation of the governance layer stemming from the Chang hardfork, dReps are now an important pillar of Cardano's governance. In order to maintain an adequate level of decentralization in the governance layer, it is important that different Cardano communities are represented, this includes geographic and cultural representation.

For this reason we will locate the discussion of topics related to governance and Governance Actions for the Portuguese-speaking community. Our job is to be scouts of information and research. We will share the results of our research and analysis through articles in Portuguese and thereby facilitate the discussion of Governance in the Portuguese-speaking community.

Why we are doing this?

According to the work carried out in the Manifesto Cardano Brazil, over the last year, the Brazilian and Portuguese speaking Cardano communities wants to be represented by well-known people who have a history of education and engagement in the Cardano ecosystem. Although there are several representatives of high reputation in the Cardano ecosystem in the field of Governance, few speak Portuguese and have access to the local community, this is where our work comes in.

Our plan

In order to ensure the participation of the Brazilian community in Cardano's governance layer, we intend to act on different fronts:

1 AWARENESS

In order to disseminate content and research, we intend to create a brand that is aligned with the principles of the local community. We will create profiles on different social media to share our Research reports and general content in a user-friendly manner, in order to attract newcomers and increase the base of community members active in governance and distributed decision-making, which is essential to promote Cardano's decentralization.

In addition, we will create discussion groups where we will interact with the community on topics related to governance and answer participants' questions and perform time checks in order to understand community priorities for defining topics for research.

• Partnerships with content creators to promote the project
• Debates with the community for discussion (brainstorm) related to governance related topics.
• Questionnaires, time checks and a vicious circle of feedback between the Agora Cardano Brasil team and the community.
• Community discussion channel available on Discord.

2 GOVERNANCE RESEARCH

The work of dReps will be essential for Cardano's governance to be successful, so we will dedicate many hours to do research about Voltaire and Governance Actions. We'll share our research and analysis through articles, Op-eds and debates. Possible topics to be researched:

• Voltaire in general
• CIPs related to governance implementations
• Governance Actions
• Tools
• Cardano Constitution

3 INCENTIVES/REWARDS FOR BOOTSTRAPING COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

We will create an incentives/rewards model to encourage community participation in the governance process. We could reward participants participating in activities such as:

• Register to become dReps
• Delegate voting power to a dRep
• Participate by answering questionnaires

[IMPACT] Please define the positive impact your project will have on the wider Cardano community

• Social Media & Community Engagement

We will maintain a very active communication channel with the community in order to inform them about what is happening regarding Governance Actions, CIPs, Cardano Constitution and other related activities. Through our communication channels we will also offer support for community issues and obtain feedback from participants. Social metrics will be included in monthly reports.

• INDICATORS

1. Number of followers overall
2. Number of likes overall
3. Number of shares/retweets overall
4. Number of comments overall
5. Number of views/impressions overall
6. Number of debates held on Twitter(X)
7. Number of likes, impressions, comments and retweets on Twitter(X) Spaces
8. Number of questionnaires forms filled
9. Main job/work of each questionnaire participant on the Cardano community
10. Number of different participants in each questionnaire/debate
11. Number of different participants over all questionnaires
12. Number of members on Discord

• KPIs

1. +300 organic followers on Twitter at the end of the project
2. +800 "tuned in" across 6 Twitter(X) Spaces
3. +80,000 impressions on Twitter(X) at the end of the project
4. +1000 likes on Twitter(X) at the end of the project
5. +100 Retweets on Twitter(X) at the end of the project
6. 90 questionnaires submitted over the time of this proposal
7. 30 different respondents over all questionnaire forms
8. +75% of questionnaire participants defining our educational content as positive
9. +100 membros no servidor Discord

• Governance Research

The governance research will result in a feedback loop between the community and the Ágora team. Analysis of Cardano Constitution workshops, Cardano Contitution Convention, governance actions, voting ballots and other important events will be publicly discussed. Analysis and reports will be shared on our social media.

• INDICATORS

1. Number of reports created
2. Number of analyses created
3. Number of Op-eds created
4. Community Feedback (likes and comments)

• KPIs

1. +75% of questionnaire participants defining our research content as positive
2. +10M ADA delegated to all dReps involved with this research framework
3. +50 unique wallets delegating to dReps involved in this research work
4. +10 dReps using our research to guide their voting decisions
5. +10 Portuguese speaking dReps subscribing to our research service

[CAPABILITY & FEASIBILITY] What is your capability to deliver your project with high levels of trust and accountability? How do you intend to validate if your approach is feasible?

Why are we qualified?

Our team has extensive experience on Project Catalyst, we have been involved in Project Catalyst since Fund2, 4 years ago. Since then we have participated in several roles within Catalyst.

As proposers, part of our team was responsible for submitting and approving 3 Challenge Settings before Fund 10 and for the approval of the proposal "DReps LATAM - Brazil - Exploration & Community Sensing", approved in Fund 10 of Project Catalyst and successfully concluded in September 2024.

We also have extensive experience as Community reviewers, Community Moderators and Milestone Reviewers on Project Catalyst, having participated in hundreds of proposal reviews (with several assessments/reviews qualified as excellent), thousands of Community moderations and dozens of Milestone reviews so far.

As mentors, we have provided free assistance to dozens of proposers, helping them to develop proposals in accordance with Project Catalyst guidelines, some of which have had proposals approved by Project Catalyst.

We have collaborated in the creation of guidelines for the review stages and quality assurance in Funds 3 and 4 of Project Catalyst.

Our team organized and participated in workshops related to Cardano governance, such as the CIP-1694 workshops.

Our team also has several years of experience with content creation for social media, marketing, project management, software development and AI related solutions.

Validation of our work

The proposal you are reading now is the second phase of a project that began over a year ago. In the first phase, part of our team carried out an exploratory community sensing stage in order to identify key areas of action in the Voltaire Era and Project Catalyst. Our team successfully completed the "DReps LATAM - Brazil - Exploration & Community Sensing" proposal, which was approved and funded by Project Catalyst 10 months ago.

https://cardano.ideascale.com/c/idea/106778

We achieved all the quantative metrics, qualitative metrics, KPIS and goals set out in the original proposal and created a community with hundreds of participants. The feedback given by the project participants indicates good quality of our work, validating our methods. All of this can be verified through the links provided, more precisely in the Project Close-Out Video and Project Close-Out Report.

Through this funded proposal, we founded the Manifesto Cardano Brazil and we recently delivered:

Education and support to dozens of community members on different aspects of the Voltaire Era, CIP-1694 and Project Catalyst.

Exploratory community sensing through debates on different aspects of Cardano governance, Project Catalyst, and how dReps or Catalyst dReps should act to represent their communities.

Surveys and reports documenting community feedback.

Guidelines documents for dReps and Catalyst dReps

https://manifestocardanobrasil.gitbook.io/manifesto

Our experience and success achieved in the past validate our ability to deliver our proposal. The metrics, KPIs and Statement of Milestones established in this same proposal indicate what we intend to achieve and how we will validate our future work.

[PROJECT MILESTONES] What are the key milestones you need to achieve in order to complete your project successfully?

FOUNDATION AND FRAMEWORKS - Month 2

• MILESTONE ITEMS

• Management
• Content Creation
• Establishment Frameworks

• MILESTONE OUTPUTS

• Management

• Proof of Life Interview
• Submission of the Statement of Milestones

• Content Creation

• Profile created on Twitter
• Profile created on YouTube
• Profile created on Gitbook and/or Medium

• Establishment of Frameworks

• Proof of concept document on the framework chosen for Governance research
• Proof of concept document on the framework chosen for Promotion
• Document establishing rewards programs

• ACCEPTANCE CRITERIA FOR EACH MILESTONE

• Management

• Proof of Life completed and approved by the Challenge Team
• Statement of Milestones reviewed and approved by 2 milestone reviewers

• Content Creation

• Social media profile accessible to the community, with bio description and profile photos
• Gitbook and/or Medium accessible to the community, with introductions available and profile photos.

• Establishment of Frameworks

• Proof of concept document on the framework chosen for Governance research available.
• Proof of concept document on the framework chosen for Content creation available.
• Proof of concept document on the framework chosen for Promotion available.
• Document establishing rewards programs available

PROMOTION, AWARENESS AND COMMUNITY EXPANSION - Month 4

• MILESTONE ITEMS

• Management
• Start of Research and content creation

• MILESTONE OUTPUTS

• Management

• 2° Proof of Achievement (PoA) submitted

• Start of content creation

• 1 Twitter (X) Space
• 1 Questionnaire
• 1 Questionnaire Report/Digest

• Research

• 4 Analysis / Articles / Op-eds

• ACCEPTANCE CRITERIA FOR EACH MILESTONE

• Management

• 2° Proof of Achievement (PoA) submitted and approved by milestone reviewers
• 
  
• Start of content creation

• 1 Twitter (X) Space recorded and available on our platforms/social medias
• 1 Questionnaire created
• 1 Questionnaire Report/Digest available on our platforms/social medias

• Research

• 4 Analysis / Articles / Op-eds available on our platforms/social medias

GOVERNANCE DEEP DIVE AND COMMUNITY MATURATION - Month 7

• MILESTONE ITEMS

• Management
• Content deepening
• Research

• MILESTONE OUTPUTS

• Management

• 3° Proof of Achievement (PoA) submitted

• Content deepening

• 3 Twitter (X) Spaces
• 3 Questionnaire
• 3 Questionnaire Report/Digests

• Research

• 7 Analysis / Articles / Op-eds

• ACCEPTANCE CRITERIA FOR EACH MILESTONE

• Management

• 3° Proof of Achievement (PoA) submitted and approved by milestone reviewers

• Content deepening

• 3 Twitter (X) Spaces recorded and available on our platforms/social medias
• 3 Questionnaire created
• 3 Questionnaire Report/Digests available on our platforms/social medias

• Research

• 7 Analysis / Articles / Op-eds available on our platforms/social medias

GOVERNANCE CONTENT CONCLUSION AND COMMUNITY ESTABLISHMENT - Month 8

• MILESTONE ITEMS

• Management
• Content conclusion
• Research

• MILESTONE OUTPUTS

• Management

• 4° Proof of Achievement (PoA) submitted

• Content conclusion

• 6 Twitter (X) Spaces
• 6 Questionnaire
• 6 Questionnaire Report/Digests

• Research

• 6 Analysis / Articles / Op-eds

• ACCEPTANCE CRITERIA FOR EACH MILESTONE

• Management

• 3° Proof of Achievement (PoA) submitted and approved by milestone reviewers

• Content conclusion

• 6 Twitter (X) Spaces recorded and available on our platforms/social medias
• 6 Questionnaire created
• 6 Questionnaire Report/Digests available on our platforms/social medias

• Research

• 6 Analysis / Articles / Op-eds available on our platforms/social medias

CONCLUSION - Month 10

• MILESTONE ITEMS

• Management

• MILESTONE OUTPUTS

• Management

• 5° Proof of Achievement (PoA)
• Project Close out Report (PCR)
• Project Close out Video (PCV)

• ACCEPTANCE CRITERIA FOR EACH MILESTONE

• Management

• 5° Proof of Achievement (PoA) submitted and approved by milestone reviewers
• Project Close out Report (PCR) submitted and approved
• Project Close out Video (PCV) submitted and approved

[RESOURCES] Who is in the project team and what are their roles?

• Rodrigo Pacini - Research on Governance and Catalyst, Project Management

Has participated as Veteran Community Advisor/Veteran Proposal Assessor/Reviewer Level2 and Moderator on Project Catalyst since Fund2. Funded proposer on Fund 10, Twitter(X) Space host of the Manifesto Cardano Brasil project and project manager of DReps LATAM - Brasil - Exploration & Community Sensing. Mentorship of proposers in Catalyst. Participation in the development of guidelines and processes for quality assurance processes in the review stage of Catalyst. Former Cardano Ambassador Moderator. Economics, blockchain and DeFi research since 2018. Btech degree in Naval Construction. LinkedIn,Twitter.

• TELEMIDIA - Social Media Management, Content Creation and Copywritting

Company with experience in Automated Content Creation, Marketing, Social Media Analysis, Landing Page Optimization, Traffic management, Lead Management and AI-powered solutions. Telemidia has been involved in Project Catalyst for a year, helping with AI content creation, social media management, tutorials and marketing for the Cardano ecosystem. Work that can be verified through the Manifesto Cardano Brazil project.

https://itelemidia.com.br/

Our team already has the necessary skills to deliver the proposal, but we will hire freelancers to help with research and social media activities. We already have people with the necessary skills in line to assist in development. All of them are already active participants in the Cardano ecosystem and have experience in the necessary areas.

Some of the members contacted are:

Atico Mismana, stake pool operator and Cardano content creator; and

Eduardo Silka, Blockchain researcher.

[BUDGET & COSTS] Please provide a cost breakdown of the proposed work and resources

Content Creation and Community Support - $8,238 USD

Graphic Designer: 26 weeks x 2 hours/week x $25/hour = $1,300 USD

Creation and Setup (Gitbook, Medium, Discord, X): 24 hours x $25/hour = $600 USD

Social Media Management: 1 hour/week x 26 weeks x $22/hour = $572 USD

Discord Server Management: 3 hours/week x 26 weeks x $22/hour = $1,716 USD

Gitbook/Medium Maintenance: 1 hour/week x 26 weeks x $25/hour = $650 USD

Tools and Subscriptions (X, Canva, Google Meet, ChatGPT): $100/month x 6 months = $600 USD

Partnerships with Content Creators for Outreach: $1,000 USD

Twitter Spaces Debates: 2 hours/debate x 2 (host and co-host) x $30/hour x 6 debates = $720 USD

Twitter Spaces Preparation: 3 hours/debate x 2 (host and co-host) x $30/hour x 6 debates = $1,080 USD

---

Research - $18,865 USD

Creation of Research Framework Document: 20 hours x $45/hour = $900 USD

Governance Research: 12 hours/week x 26 weeks x $45/hour = $14,040 USD

Analysis, Articles, and Op-Eds: 5 hours/week x 13 weeks x $45/hour = $2,925 USD

Consultancy with Subject Matter Experts: $1,000 USD

---

Project Management - $5,675 USD

Creation of Milestone Statement (SoM) Document: $600 USD

Proof of Life Attendance: $50 USD

Document on Content Creation Framework: 10 hours x $40/hour = $400 USD

Document on Rewards Program Framework: 10 hours x $40/hour = $400 USD

Treasury Management: 1 hour/week x 25 weeks x $25/hour = $625 USD

Proof of Achievement (PoA): 4 x 10 hours/PoA x $40/hour = $1,600 USD

Project Close-out Report (PCR): 1 x 30 hours x $40/hour = $1,200 USD

Project Close-out Video (PCV): 1 x 20 hours x $40/hour = $800 USD

---

Incentives to Boost Community Participation - $1,000 USD

---

Total Aggregate Cost: $33,778 USD

Contingency Costs (3% of total cost): $1,014 USD

(To cover a potential drop in ADA price and/or unforeseen tasks/events)

---

Final Total Cost: $34,792 USD

Requested Budget: 99,406 ADAs

(With ADA priced at $0.35 USD on October 15, 2024)

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

The purpose of this project is to bootstrap and leverage the governance layer in the Brazilian community.

With the implementation of CIP-1694 it is essential that the governance process becomes decentralized and this proposal seeks to increase the decentralization of decision-making in relation to decisions about voting processes, Cardano Constitution, Governance Actions and serve as a model for future DReps who intend to participate in the community.

Much of the work involved in this proposal is to create content for the Portuguese-speaking community. When we think about the governance context, little content is available in languages other than English, we will only be able to achieve mass adoption and decentralization of the Cardano protocol if non-English speaking communities have access and understanding of what is being created.

Due to the fact that our industry is global and the workers in the ecosystem live in different countries, we are using rates practiced in the international market. In order to ensure good cost-benefit and use of resources for the Cardano treasury, we have set our labor costs approximately 10% below the international market standards practiced by the industries corresponding to the positions held. The following websites were consulted and used as a reference for setting hourly rates for the contributors of this proposal.

https://www.salary.com/

https://www.upwork.com/

https://www.payscale.com/

https://www.ziprecruiter.com/

https://www.bls.gov/

The budget was set in dollars to facilitate the review, for transparency, allowing easy verification of hourly rates, activities and costs in general. The final budget is set in ADA, according to Project Catalyst guidelines.

If there is a considerable appreciation in the price of ADA during the development of this proposal, we will expand our work, we may write a Change Request to update our Statement of Milestone and extend the project duration by creating more content, or putting the proposal review service into practice in a subsequent Catalyst Fund, this will improve the cost-benefit ratio of the project to the ecosystem.