Project Catalyst dRep Analysis Framework

[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)

8

[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 intend to increase community participation on voting stages and the delegation of voting power in order to increase the voting power involved in each Project Catalyst proposal.

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

Yes

[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.”

In order for us to achieve the vision of this project, we depend on the implementation of Catalyst Voices by the Catalyst Team.

This project aims to encourage community participation in the governance layer and for this to happen we need to educate the community about how to delegate to a Catalyst dRep. If the implementation of voting delegation is delayed, part of this project may be delayed or modified.

[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

The output of this work will not involve code, but all the research and resulting documentation will be shared publicly.

[METADATA] Horizons

Governance

[SOLUTION] Please describe your proposed solution

In order to increase the participation of the Cardano community across the world in Project Catalyst, we intend to divide our efforts into two different proposals. The content of the proposals was designed in a modular way, one complementing the other, but they can also exist individually, if only one of them could be funded.

The first is designed for informative and educational content through tutorials about Project Catalyst and how to participate on Project Catalyst in different ways. The proposal can be found in the link below:

https://cardano.ideascale.com/c/idea/128996

The second proposal (THE PROPOSAL YOU ARE READING NOW) is designed to establish a framework to assist Catalyst dReps work in order to increase the decision-making power of different communities.

Catalyst Analysis Framework

In order to increase community participation in Project Catalyst voting stages, we will establish a framework to filter and analyze proposals on key categories and themes that are aligned with the interests and values of the Cardano community.

This framework has 2 goals:

1. To teach voters how to filter proposals, analyze proposals, create a final list for voting, and cast their vote;
2. To show how Catalyst dReps should filter proposals, analyze proposals, and create a final list thinking about how to best represent their community of delegator.

With this, we intend to create a fair and ethical process that promotes decentralization and more distributed decision-making than currently exists in Project Catalyst.

It is important to keep in mind that Cardano is currently an ecosystem with thousands of participants and we must get used to the idea that this ecosystem will have millions of people interacting with each other.

Such a community will naturally be represented by a plurality of heterogeneous interests of micro communities due to socio-cultural, political, economic factors and specific personal interests of each individual that differentiate funding priorities for each micro community.

You can understand micro communities as different subgroups that exist within the Cardano ecosystem.

For this reason, before giving voice to the "Cardano community" we need to think about the individual and how individuals come together around common interests, in this way we can establish a framework that encompasses the Cardano community as a whole and not just in a frivolous way.

There are numerous interest groups within the Cardano ecosystem, which can be grouped into:

Geographic communities - Where the interests of the community will be considered from the socio-cultural and political point of view of a given region. In this case, there may be an approach of meetups and conversations aligned with the geographic reality of the community. In this case, the interests tend to be more diffuse and the approach, naturally, broader.

Common Interest Hub - Where the community will come together around common interests, such as DeFi, governance, NFTs, scalability. In this case, there will be a global group, where the language barrier will need to be considered and people will have specific interests. In this case, people will come together around a specific interest and this can facilitate a more forceful approach, more technical analyses.

This approach was created to bring representation to individuals who decide to exercise their voting powers in a qualified manner.

For the reasons mentioned above, part of our team carried out community sensing and exploration work, in which we taught the local community about Voltaire and Project Catalyst, and discussed how dReps and Catalyst dReps should act to better represent the local community. Through the findings of this work, we understood areas of interest, values, and services that the local community prioritizes, which gave us support to guide decisions and guidelines to conduct the work as Catalyst dReps. This work was funded by Project Catalyst and the result can be seen in the links below:

https://manifestocardanobrasil.gitbook.io/manifesto

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXiLxEEoy-Q&feature=youtu.be

This proposal is a pilot program, we will focus on the Portuguese-speaking community because we already have data related to the interests of this community, obtained from the Manifesto Cardano Brazil (https://manifestocardanobrasil.gitbook.io/manifesto). Although our pilot is focusing on the Portuguese-speaking community, our social media activities, all reports an the documentation related to the Framework will be available in English and Portuguese, in order to facilitate collaborative and open source work. We want the framework to be considered and used by Catalyst dReps and voters worldwide.

Our team already has contact with contributors in the Cardano ecosystem around the world, we intend to promote partnerships to expand the framework to Japanese and Spanish in the next stage and we are open to expand to even more communities and languages.

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

SOCIAL MEDIA ENGAGEMENT

Social metrics will be monitored and included on PoA reports.

• INDICATORS

1. Number of followers
2. Number of likes
3. Number of shares/retweets
4. Number of comments
5. Number of views/impressions
6. Number of speakers

• KPIs

1. +500 followers on Twitter at the end of the project
2. +500 "tuned in" across 3 Twitter(X) Spaces
3. 300 live listeners across 3 Twitter(X) Spaces
4. +50,000 impressions on Twitter(X) at the end of the project
5. +500 likes on Twitter(X) at the end of the project

CATALYST PROPOSALS ANALYSIS FRAMEWORK RESEARCH

The Catalyst research will result in a feedback loop between the community and the Agora team. The framework designed for Catalyst proposals filtering, analysing and voting will be discussed on workshops and shared through documentation and reports. We intend to monitor metrics to tangibly understand the performance of this research and the framework. The following metrics and KPIs will be monitored to indicate the performance of the project:

• INDICATORS

1. Number of reports created
2. Number of analyses created
3. Number of questionnaire forms filled
4. Number of different participants in each questionnaire/debate
5. Number of different participants over all questionnaires
6. Community Feedback (likes and comments)
7. Number of Catalyst dReps using this framework 12 months after the Framework completion
8. Number of voters using this framework 12 months after the Framework completion
9. Number of unique wallets delegating to Catalyst dReps using the framework
10. Voting power of Catalyst dReps using the framework

• KPIs

1. +75% of questionnaire participants defining our research content as positive
2. 45 questionnaires submitted over the time of this proposal
3. 15 different respondents over all questionnaire forms;
4. 100 unique wallet addresses delegating to Catalyst dReps who are using the framework after 6 months of the framework being delivered.
5. 10M ADA of voting power delegating to Catalyst dReps who are using the framework after 6 months of the framework being delivered.

[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 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?

Proposals Filtering Framework(PFF) - Month 3

• Milestone Outputs

• Team Meetings;
• PFF Research;
• PFF Online Workshop;
• PFF Online Workshop Report;
• PFF Questionnaire;
• PFF Questionnaire Report;
• PFF Document.

• Acceptance Criteria

• Team Meetings reports containing date, names of participants, topics discussed and insights obtained;
• PFF Research report indicating methodologies for filtering proposals
• PFF Online Workshop held in X Spaces, will be recorded & uploaded to YouTube;
• PFF Online Workshop Report containing information on topics discussed, ideas, insights and suggestions;
• PFF Questionnaire form containing all questions;
• PFF Questionnaire Report containing data and insights from the questionnaires;
• PFF Document containing guidelines for Catalyst dReps.

• Evidence of Milestone Completion

• Team Meetings reports documented on Gitbook;
• PFF Research report documented on Gitbook;
• PFF Online Workshop held in X Spaces, will be recorded and uploaded to YouTube and will be documented on Gitbook;
• PFF Online Workshop Report will be documented on Gitbook;
• PFF Questionnaire form documented on Gitbook;
• PFF Questionnaire Report documented on Gitbook;
• PFF Document publised on Gitbook.

Proposals Analysis Framework(PAF) - Month 5

• Milestone Outputs

• Team Meetings;
• PAF Research;
• PAF Online Workshop;
• PAF Online Workshop Report;
• PAF Questionnaire;
• PAF Questionnaire Report;
• PAF Document.

• Acceptance Criteria

• Team Meetings reports containing date, names of participants, topics discussed and insights obtained;
• PAF Research report indicating methodologies for analysis of proposals
• PAF Online Workshop held in X Spaces, will be recorded & uploaded to YouTube;
• PAF Online Workshop Report containing information on topics discussed, ideas, insights and suggestions;
• PAF Questionnaire form containing all questions;
• PAF Questionnaire Report containing data and insights from the questionnaires;
• PAF Document containing guidelines for Catalyst dReps.

• Evidence of Milestone Completion

• Team Meetings reports documented on Gitbook;
• PAF Research report documented on Gitbook;
• PAF Online Workshop held in X Spaces, will be recorded and uploaded to YouTube and will be documented on Gitbook;
• PAF Online Workshop Report will be documented on Gitbook;
• PAF Questionnaire form documented on Gitbook;
• PAF Questionnaire Report documented on Gitbook;
• PAF Document publised on Gitbook.

Analysis Dissemination Framework(ADF) - Month 7

• Milestone Outputs

• Team Meetings;
• ADF Research;
• ADF Online Workshop;
• ADF Online Workshop Report;
• ADF Questionnaire;
• ADF Questionnaire Report;
• ADF Document.

• Acceptance Criteria

• Team Meetings reports containing date, names of participants, topics discussed and insights obtained;
• ADF Research report indicating methods and domains for dissemination of proposal analysis;
• ADF Online Workshop held in X Spaces, will be recorded & uploaded to YouTube;
• ADF Online Workshop Report containing information on topics discussed, ideas, insights and suggestions;
• ADF Questionnaire form containing all questions;
• ADF Questionnaire Report containing data and insights from the questionnaires;
• ADF Document containing guidelines for Catalyst dReps.

• Evidence of Milestone Completion

• Team Meetings reports documented on Gitbook;
• ADF Research report documented on Gitbook;
• ADF Online Workshop held in X Spaces, will be recorded and uploaded to YouTube and will be documented on Gitbook;
• ADF Online Workshop Report will be documented on Gitbook;
• ADF Questionnaire form documented on Gitbook;
• ADF Questionnaire Report documented on Gitbook;
• ADF Document published on Gitbook.

Project Close-Out - Month 8

• Milestone Outputs

• PCR and PCV.

• Acceptance Criteria

• PCR and PCV submitted on Moderation Module.

• Evidence of Milestone Completion

• PCR and PCV available on Moderation Module.

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

Rodrigo Pacini - Research and 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. https://www.linkedin.com/in/rodrigopacini/

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 esearch 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 Social Media Management: $3,780 USD

This budget covers the costs associated with content creation and social media management. The breakdown below shows the hours allocated to each task for easier assessment:

1. Gitbook Creation

Cost: 10 hours x $30/hour = $300

1. Gitbook Maintenance

Cost: 1 hour/week x 36 weeks x $30/hour = $1,080

1. YouTube Content Creation + SEO

Cost: 4 hours x $30/hour = $120

1. YouTube Channel Maintenance

Cost: 4 hours/video x 3 videos x $30/hour = $360

1. Hardware Equipment for Filming

Cost: $500

1. Social Media Management (Twitter/X and Telegram updates, announcements and feed content)

Cost: 2 hours/month x 7 months x $30/hour = $420

1. Partnerships with Content Creators for Outreach(This will cover costs for recording videos, podcasts and content in partnership with content creators in the Cardano ecosystem)

Cost: $1,000

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Total: $3,780 USD

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Catalyst dRep Framework: $21,720 USD

This budget covers the costs associated with research, workshops, questionnaires, coordination meetings, and reports. The breakdown below illustrates the hours assigned to each task for clarity:

1. Hosting Twitter Spaces Workshops

Cost: 2 hours/workshop x 2 (host and co-host) x $40/hour x 3 workshops = $480

1. Preparation for Twitter Spaces Workshops

Cost: 2 hours/workshop x 2 (host and co-host) x $40/hour x 3 workshops = $480

1. Workshop Reports

Cost: 3 reports x 4 hours/report x $40/hour = $480

1. Research about Proposal Filtering/Reviewing/Voting Framework

Cost: 180 hours x $50/hour = $9,000

1. Research Reports

Cost: 8 hours x 3 reports x $40/hour = $960

1. Team Meetings

Cost: 24 hours x $50/hour = $1,200

1. Team Meeting Reports

Cost: 2 hours x 3 reports x $40/hour = $240

1. Questionnaire Incentives

Cost: $1,000

1. Creation of Forms/Questionnaires

Cost: $320 x 3 = $960

1. Questionnaire Reports

Cost: 3 reports x $320/report = $960

1. Framework Development for Catalyst dReps

Cost: 120 hours x $50/hour = $6,000

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Total: $21,720 USD

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Project Management: $5,790 USD

This budget covers the costs of project management and proposal reports (auditability). The breakdown below details the hours allocated to each task for easier evaluation:

1. Creation of Statement of Milestones (SoM) Document

Cost: $600

1. Participation in Proof of Life Events

Cost: $50

1. Treasury Management

Cost: 2 hours/month x 8 months x $40/hour = $640

1. Proof of Achievement (PoA)

Cost: 4 PoAs x 10 hours/PoA x $50/hour = $2,000

1. Project Close-out Report (PCR)

Cost: 1 report x 30 hours x $50/hour = $1,500

1. Project Close-out Video (PCV)

Cost: 1 video x 20 hours x $50/hour = $1,000

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Total: $5,790 USD

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Overall Aggregate Total: $31,290 USD

CONTINGENCY COSTS (10%) = $31,290 x 0,1 = $3,129

It could be used to cover a possible price drop of ADA and/or to perform unforeseen tasks/events.

TOTAL COST $34,419 USD

REQUESTED BUDGET 98,340 ADAs

(ADA 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?

If we look at the data related to the voting results in Project Catalyst, mainly in the last 4 or 5 Funds, we can see a stagnation in community participation. The number of votes cast on each proposal has stagnated. The vast majority of voters vote on a small number of proposals because they do not see sufficient incentives to dedicate more time to this activity.

Considering the large amount of time needed to read, choose and vote on proposals, it is understandable that participation is low. This voter fatigue became more noticeable when the number of proposals in Catalyst increased to hundreds of proposals per Fund, which makes it almost impossible to understand what is being voted on in a broad way.

Because of this, we understand that vote delegation is the most appropriate way to bring more decentralization and mitigate one of the biggest complaints about Project Catalyst today, which is the great influence of whales in defining who will receive funding, cult of celebrities, destructive lobbying and collusion to approve proposals.

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.