Extended Quadratic Funding: Fair, decentralized, and inclusive funding for underrepresented open-source projects

[GENERAL] Name and surname of main applicant

Seira Yun

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

Entity (Incorporated)

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

12

[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)

Extended quadratic funding combines modest contributions from individuals who have done good deeds with larger matching sums. This approach promotes fair and inclusive funding for public goods.  

[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

Our project is proudly open source, licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0 (GPLv3). This license allows others to freely use, modify, and distribute our code, under the condition that any derivative work will also be open source under the GPLv3. This fosters collaboration and community-driven development, as it encourages other developers to contribute to our project, or to use our code as a starting point for their own projects, thus driving innovation in the sector.

By making our project open source, we aim to contribute to the global movement of shared knowledge and collaborative problem solving. This approach ensures transparency, promotes the sharing of knowledge, and encourages a collective approach to addressing the challenges associated with the impact job sector. Ultimately, we believe that open-sourcing our project will lead to a more robust, efficient, and impactful solution, thanks to the contributions of the global developer community.

[METADATA] Horizons

DAO

[SOLUTION] Please describe your proposed solution

Problem we are trying to solve

Existing crowdfunding platforms have been criticized for being biased towards wealthy individuals, leading to a lack of representation and diversity of projects. This disparity is understandable, as the amount of donations one can receive depends on their disposable income and the value of their currency in the global market. For instance, it's relatively easy for someone with friends in the US to receive a $100 donation due to higher average annual salaries there. In contrast, finding someone who can donate $100 in Bangladesh is considerably more challenging. This has made it difficult for small, underrepresented open-source projects to receive support.

Therefore, we propose a new approach called extended quadratic crowdfunding. This approach “extends” or improves upon quadratic funding schemes.

What is Quadratic Funding?

Quadratic funding enhances crowdfunding's inclusivity by incorporating a matching pool. While donors can still directly support their preferred projects, matching funds are distributed to projects with more supporters. This approach combines small individual contributions with larger matching sums, ensuring that projects with broader support receive more generous funding. For instance, the quadratic formula would allocate more matching funds to a project with 10 donations of $10 each than to a project with a single $100 donation, as it has more individual supporters. 

For more information about quadratic funding, visit https://arxiv.org/pdf/1809.06421.pdf.

Extended Quadratic Funding: An Enhancement of Existing Models

So, what is Extended Quadratic Funding? It's an improvement on Quadratic Funding that adds another layer: the "impact score" of individuals. Socious' Impact Score indicates how much an individual has contributed to social and environmental impact. You can find more information about Impact Score here: https://shinid.notion.site/Socious-Whitepaper-a34132b572d846708c9b5b7335130996?pvs=4

Extended Quadratic Funding takes into account the contributor's impact score, making the system more equitable. This means that people who have made contributions to improve the world can have more voting power than wealthy individuals. The goal is to create a more decentralized and fair system that promotes inclusive funding for public goods.* By allowing individuals who may not have large sums of money to participate in the funding process, we can increase diversity and enhance the representation of all voices. This, in turn, may lead to a more equitable distribution of funds and an increase in support for public goods.

The decision-making process on extended quadratic crowdfunding platforms is decentralized and transparent. This can help to build trust among users and ensure that decisions are made in the best interests of the community as a whole.

Extended Quadratic Funding complements Project Catalyst

Project Catalyst has played a crucial role in expanding the Cardano community worldwide. However, we've observed that many successful projects originate from regions with high ADA concentrations—North America, Europe, and wealthy Asian countries like Singapore, Hong Kong, and Japan. In contrast, projects from developing regions such as Africa, the Middle East, parts of Asia, and South America often struggle to secure funding. This disparity is understandable, given that voting power is determined by ADA holdings. Our project aims to address this imbalance and foster Cardano community growth in these underrepresented regions.

Detailed Design of the Product

Let us walk you through the key features of our project:

• Sign-up, Login, and OAuth

We enable users to log in via their Socious account using OAuth. This is crucial as it allows users to accumulate their reputation (impact score) across different platforms.

• KYB and KYC using an identity wallet - Hyperledger Identus (formerly known as Atala PRISM)

In Quadratic Funding schemes, it's crucial to prevent individuals from creating multiple accounts, as this could lead to system manipulation and disproportionate allocation of matching funds to projects with few genuine supporters. To address this issue, we'll implement a Self-Sovereign Identity Wallet using Hyperledger Identus (formerly known as Atala PRISM). This ensures that each person can have only one voting account, maintaining the integrity of the funding process.

• Create project flow

In this flow, project creators can outline the problem they aim to solve and present their innovative solutions. To receive funding, they'll need to link their Cardano Wallet in order to record the Cardano wallet address to which the funds will be sent to.

• Explore projects, vote, and donate flow

In this flow, voters can explore various projects and support them either through voting alone or by combining their vote with a donation. Donating enhances the voter's influence, as it increases their voting power and secures more matching funds for the project from the matching pool. To make a donation, voters must connect their Cardano wallet to the platform.

• Calculate impact and claim badges as verifiable credentials flow

By donating to projects, you can earn impact points. The more impact points you accumulate, the greater your voting power becomes. These impact points unlock badges at different tiers, which can be claimed as verifiable credentials on an identity wallet. Higher-tier badges come with certain benefits. We use verifiable credentials to prevent fraud and ensure the system's integrity.

Long-term vision

Our long-term vision is to create a self-sustaining circular economy that continuously generates public goods. In this system, funded projects produce verified impact—such as carbon credits—which trained impact accountants validate. This verified impact is then sold on carbon credit markets or impact trading platforms like OutcomesX, a marketplace for social outcomes. For example, UBS Optimus recently invested $2 million in verified outcomes related to improved education and mental health, benefiting 21 different organizations. The proceeds from these sales replenish the matching pool for the next round of crowdfunding. Moreover, since the efficiency of projects in producing social and environmental impact is verified, funding is optimally allocated in subsequent rounds to projects best suited to deliver impact. This system creates a virtuous cycle where the funding pool is constantly replenished and strategically allocated where it's most needed.

Funding Sources for the Matching Pool

The SOCIO Pool's staking rewards will replenish the matching pool. Individuals who delegate to the SOCIO pool will also earn impact points. Initially, we'll seek sponsors for the matching pool. As we progress, we aim to expand the pool using both SOCIO pool rewards and revenue from selling impact (such as carbon credits).

Extended Quadratic Funding complements Project Catalyst

Project Catalyst has played a crucial role in expanding the Cardano community worldwide. However, we've observed that many successful projects originate from regions with high ADA concentrations—North America, Europe, and wealthy Asian countries like Singapore, Hong Kong, and Japan. In contrast, projects from developing regions such as Africa, the Middle East, parts of Asia, and South America often struggle to secure funding. This disparity is understandable, given that voting power is determined by ADA holdings. Our project aims to address this imbalance and foster Cardano community growth in these underrepresented regions.

Partnerships

We've established partnerships and are in talks with synergistic projects. For detailed information about these partnerships, please visit https://shinid.notion.site/Partnerships-1213d106030b80f4945dc5c464c5796a?pvs=4.

Summary

This project builds upon the Proof of Concept project that was funded in Fund 11. The Proof of Concept can be found here. All the interviewees were supportive of this idea and validated the PoC. As a result, we've decided to progress to the next stage, where we will develop an actual product for this project.

In summary, the proposal of Extended Quadratic Funding seeks to remedy the biases and underrepresentation prevalent in existing crowdfunding platforms. This approach builds upon the concept of Quadratic Funding, which uses a combination of small individual contributions and larger matched sums. The extension lies in the integration of an "Impact Score", an assessment of an individual's contribution to social and environmental causes. This means individuals with significant social contributions have more voting power than merely wealthy patrons, creating a more equitable system. Furthermore, the decision-making process is decentralized and transparent, encouraging trust and community-centric decisions. We believe that this system attracts more people to build open-source projects in the Cardano ecosystem. 

*In economics, public goods are commodities or services that are provided to all members of a society, either by the government or by a private individual or organization. Examples of public goods include clean air, public parks, street lighting, and public infrastructure like roads and bridges. In the context of this proposal, public goods could also include open-source projects and other initiatives that generate social or environmental benefits.

References:

1. Mankiw, N. Gregory. Principles of Economics, 8th Edition. Cengage Learning, 2017.
2. Samuelson, Paul A. "The Pure Theory of Public Expenditure". Review of Economics and Statistics (The MIT Press) 36 (4): 387–389, 1954.

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

How the Project Brings Value to the Cardano Community:

• Fostering Equity in Funding: By prioritizing a fair and equitable funding model, the Extended Quadratic Funding scheme directly benefits the Cardano community. It ensures that smaller, underrepresented open source projects receive the support they need. This approach not only diversifies the types of projects on the platform but also encourages a broader range of developers to engage with Cardano.
• Increase in Cardano Wallets: By reaching new audiences previously untapped, we'll drive the creation of Cardano wallets. Users will need these wallets to interact with our platform, directly contributing to wallet growth in the Cardano ecosystem.
• Boost in Cardano Transactions: As users make donations through the Cardano blockchain, we'll naturally increase the volume of transactions on the network, enhancing overall blockchain activity.
• Enhancing Developer Engagement: The incentive structures integrated into the funding scheme are designed to attract developers from outside the Cardano community. This increases the number and diversity of developers and projects on the Cardano platform.
• Promoting Collaboration: The funding model encourages collaboration among community members. By design, it incentivizes collective support for projects, fostering a more interconnected and collaborative community.

Measuring the Impact:

When the project is deployed to production and we run projects, quantitative metrics will include:

• The number of projects funded through the scheme
• The increase in developers building on Cardano
• The diversity of projects and developers engaged
• The number of new Cardano wallets created
• The number of transactions on the Cardano network related to our platform

Sharing Outputs and Opportunities:

We will share the outputs and opportunities of our project through the following methods:

• During and after the completion of the project, we plan to spread its outputs. This will include providing milestone reports, as well as regular town hall meetings.
• We will share information about the project's outputs, impact, and opportunities with community members. The close-out report and video will be publicly available on YouTube. Additionally, we will share updates on our website and social media platforms. Work opportunities for Cardano developers will be listed on our Socious platform, which is a talent marketplace.
• Since Socious is an open-source project, our code is publicly available on GitHub. Cardano designers are encouraged to use it for other projects.
• We will also engage with the community through community forums and social media platforms, providing regular updates and insights.

[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?

Answer:

Our team is aptly suited and equipped to successfully deliver this project. We possess the requisite capabilities that uniquely position us to execute this project to high standards of trust and accountability.

Socious is a fast-growing impact startup that provides a talent marketplace, making impact work accessible and transparent. We connect purpose-driven professionals with impact organizations through AI matching. We use blockchain to trace impact work and reward contributions.

Socious is supported by 500Global, Microsoft, and Milkomeda Foundation. Our platform lists over 80k jobs, 24k organizations, and has 8k registered users. Our team consists of experts in impact measurement, finance, data science, and blockchain development.

We have 10 full-time members and 20+ part-time contributors. Our team members include:

• Seira Yun

Title: Founder and CEO

Role: Product Ownership, Project Management, Research

Linkedin:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/seirayun/

Bio:

Seira Yun is a Cardano Ambassador and an ICC member. He is a serial impact entrepreneur and an impact angel investor with years of experience in the impact sector, leading teams within the ICRC, UNHCR, and social ventures. As a full-stack developer with a Master's degree in Social Innovation from the University of Cambridge, Seira enjoys blending technology with purpose. Upon exiting his first social venture in 2021, he founded Socious, a decentralized talent marketplace that uses blockchain for verified certificates and AI for matching individuals to meaningful jobs, eliminating background checks and fostering social and environmental change. He is also a board member at TELL, a suicide prevention non-profit. When not working, you can find Seira shooting hoops, running, reading, and spending quality time with his kids.

• Elaine Cardenas

Title: Head of Product

Role: Blockchain Development, Product Management.

Bio:

Elaine has been coding in Haskell and other functional programming languages for the past 7 years and building on the Cardano blockchain for the past 3 years. Prior to joining Socious, she worked for Sundae Labs, contributing to the SundaeSwap V3 implementation and Hydra development. She also worked at Obsidian, an IT consulting company, where she helped Starbucks with its loyalty points system. Elaine is an active Cardano community member and serves as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention in Argentina.

• Chrisanne Yee

Title: Founder’s Associate

Role: Project Management Assistant, Admin and Finance.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisanneyee/

Bio:

Chrisanne is trilingual in English, Chinese and Japanese. She has experience with marketing and business development. Chrisanne is an active Cardano community member and serves as an alternate to the Constitutional Convention in Argentina.

• Taichi Yokoyama

Role: Communication and Marketing

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mryokoyama/

Bio:

Taichi is an entrepreneur and a Cardano Stake Pool Operator (AIRX). Taichi is an active Cardano community member and serves as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention in Argentina.

• Minh Douangprachanh

Title: Lead Designer

Role: Design

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/michel-douang/

Bio: With more than a decade of experience specializing in product design, Minh is a multidisciplinary artist who has always believed art has a language of its own. As a neurodiverse individual, Minh is passionate about helping people and creating sustainable and inclusive solutions. Minh is a Cardano community member for the past 3 years.

• Ehsan Mahmoudi

Title: Lead Developer

Role: Backend/Blockchain/AI Engineering

LinkedIn:

https://linkedin.com/in/ehsan-mahmoudi-611123b8/

Bio: More than 8 years of experience in Python and Machine Learning as well as extensive experience in blockchain development. Ehsan has worked for global startups including Rechat, AEC, and Navaak. Ehsan is a Cardano community member for the past 3 years.

• Sanaz Mahmoudi

Title: Senior Frontend Developer

Role: Frontend Development

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sanaz-mahmoudi/

Bio: An experienced frontend developer with 7+ years of experience. Sanaz is a Cardano community member for the past 2 years.

• Marjan Arami

Title: Senior Frontend Developer

Role: Frontend Development

Bio: An experienced frontend developer with 10+ years of experience. Marjan is a Cardano community member for the past 2 years.

• Azin Zare

Title: QA Engineer

Role: Quality Assurance

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/azin-zare-355a27179/

Bio: An experienced QA engineer with 9+ years of experience. Azin is a Cardano community member for the past 3 years.

• Mohammad Balkhani

Title: Software Engineer

Role: Backend and DevOps Engineering

Commitment: Full-time

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mohammad-hosein-balkhani/

Bio: An experienced software engineer with 7+ years of experience. Mohammad is a Cardano community member for the past year.

• Raphael Hode

Title: Design Advisor

Role Design Direction

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/raphaelhode/

Bio: Raphael is a Strategic Designer with a passion for social innovation and sustainability. After a few years in advertising agencies in Paris, Raphael moved to Tokyo in 2015 and joined Designit, a global strategic design firm. At Designit Raphael worked on growing a team and helping some of Japan’s most ambitious companies make innovation happen, leading him to endorse a variety of roles across UX design, service design, business design, and strategy.

In parallel, he has been passionately engaging in activities related to sustainability and social innovation: giving talks and workshops, mentoring early-stage social founders, and eventually co-founding a social venture. Today, he spends most of his time working with incredible social entrepreneurs to help them define, design, and launch visionary products that contribute to creating a more sustainable society.

To supplement our core team, we maintain a reserve of skilled freelancers, ready to contribute at short notice. Our talent marketplace, Socious, is a hub for over 8,000 individuals, many of whom could potentially assist in this project, if required.

The trustworthiness in our fund management processes is grounded in our serious adherence to legal and financial compliance. Each transaction conducted is meticulously documented with tangible evidence and audited internally for accuracy. To bolster our commitment to financial transparency, we have established collaborations with external accounting firms that assure compliance. Our Japanese entity works with Tatsumi Accounting Firm, while our Singaporean entity partners with BBCIncorp.

Additionally, we liaise with an external law firm, Enlighten Law Group, to ensure full legal compliance. This meticulous, multilayered approach to fund management reflects our dedication to maintaining high levels of trust and accountability.

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

Milestone 1: Project Setup, Sign up and Login

Outputs

Milestone 1 has the following outputs (deliverables):

1. Open-source code on GitHub
2. A video walk through of the feature

Acceptance criteria

The deliverables are considered "accepted" when they meet the following criteria:

1. The code is publicly available on GitHub with open-source license information.
2. The video walkthrough includes the following user stories:

• As a project owner, I can sign up on the platform.
• As a project owner, I can log into the platform using a Socious account.
• As a voter, I can sign up on the platform.
• As a voter, I can log into the platform using a Socious account.

Evidence of Milestone completion

As evidence of milestone completion, we will submit the following:

1. A publicly accessible URL to the open-source code on GitHub.
2. A video walkthrough uploaded to YouTube, available via a public link.

Expected timeline for the delivery

Month 2

Cost

80,205 ADA

% Completion

16%

References: https://www.figma.com/design/b4HCoJfpj5NcZH120gH0lM/Socious-Innovation-Fund-3.1?node-id=6164-15098&m=devhttps://www.figma.com/design/b4HCoJfpj5NcZH120gH0lM/Socious-Innovation-Fund-3.1?node-id=6173-99568&m=devhttps://www.figma.com/design/b4HCoJfpj5NcZH120gH0lM/Socious-Innovation-Fund-3.1?node-id=6067-134962&m=devhttps://www.figma.com/design/b4HCoJfpj5NcZH120gH0lM/Socious-Innovation-Fund-3.1?node-id=6067-121955&m=dev

Milestone 2: KYB and KYC using identity wallet

Outputs

Milestone 2 has the following outputs (deliverables):

1. Open-source code on GitHub
2. A video walk through of the feature

Acceptance criteria

The deliverables are considered "accepted" when they meet the following criteria:

1. The code is publicly available on GitHub with open-source license information.
2. The video walkthrough includes the following user stories:

• As a project owner, I can complete the Know Your Business (KYB) process.
• As a voter, I can complete the Know Your Customer (KYC) process.
• As a voter, I can receive a KYC verifiable credential on an identity wallet powered by Hyperledger Identus (Atala PRISM).

Evidence of Milestone completion

As evidence of milestone completion, we will submit the following:

1. A publicly accessible URL to the open-source code on GitHub.
2. A video walkthrough uploaded to YouTube, available via a public link.

Expected timeline for the delivery

Month 4

Cost

88,410 ADA

% Completion

34%

Milestone 3: Create Project Flow

Outputs

Milestone 3 has the following outputs (deliverables):

1. Open-source code on GitHub
2. A video walk through of the feature

Acceptance criteria

The deliverables are considered "accepted" when they meet the following criteria:

1. The code is publicly available on GitHub with open-source license information.
2. The video walkthrough includes the following user stories:

• As a project owner, I can only create a project after going through a KYB process.
• As a project owner, I can publish my project.
• As a project owner, I can connect my crypto wallet to record a receiving address for the funds.

Evidence of Milestone completion

As evidence of milestone completion, we will submit the following:

1. A publicly accessible URL to the open-source code on GitHub.
2. A video walkthrough uploaded to YouTube, available via a public link.

Expected timeline for the delivery

Month 6

Cost

88,308 ADA

% Completion

51%

Milestone 4: Explore projects and vote and donate flow

Outputs

Milestone 4 has the following outputs (deliverables):

1. Open-source code on GitHub
2. A video walk through of the feature

Acceptance criteria

The deliverables are considered "accepted" when they meet the following criteria:

1. The code is publicly available on GitHub with open-source license information.
2. The video walkthrough includes the following user stories:

• As a voter, I can browse different projects and understand the details.
• As a voter, I can vote without donation.
• As a voter, I can vote with a donation through a crypto wallet

Evidence of Milestone completion

As evidence of milestone completion, we will submit the following:

1. A publicly accessible URL to the open-source code on GitHub.
2. A video walkthrough uploaded to YouTube, available via a public link.

Expected timeline for the delivery

Month 8

Cost

88,410 ADA

% Completion

69%

Milestone 5: Calculate impact and claim badges as verifiable credentials

Outputs

Milestone 5 has the following outputs (deliverables):

1. Open-source code on GitHub
2. A video walk through of the feature

Acceptance criteria

The deliverables are considered "accepted" when they meet the following criteria:

1. The code is publicly available on GitHub with open-source license information.
2. The video walkthrough includes the following user stories:

• As a voter, I can receive impact points based on how much money I donated
• As a voter, I can see an estimated match amount when I donate
• As a voter, I can receive achievement badges as verifiable credentials on an identity wallet powered by Hyperledger Identus (Atala PRISM).

Evidence of Milestone completion

As evidence of milestone completion, we will submit the following:

1. A publicly accessible URL to the open-source code on GitHub.
2. A video walkthrough uploaded to YouTube, available via a public link.

Expected timeline for the delivery

Month 10

Cost

90,051 ADA ($21,280)

% Completion

87%

Title: Marketing and Close-out report / video

Outputs

Milestone 6 (Final) includes the following key outputs / deliverables:

1. The Extended Quadratic Funding platform is deployed to production.
2. Project close-out report
3. Project close-out video

Acceptance criteria

The deliverables are considered “accepted” when they meet the following criteria.

1. Community members can use the use the Extended Quadratic Funding platform.
2. Project close-out report includes all the obligatory fields of the close out report and is publicly available.
3. Project close-out video walks through all the key points of the close-out report and is publicly available.

Evidence of Milestone completion

• The Extended Quadratic Funding platform’s publicly available URL.
• Project close-out report on Notion with a publicly available link.
• Project close-out video on Youtube with a publicly available link.

Expected timeline for the delivery

Month 12

Cost

64,615 ADA

% Completion

100%

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

Answer:

Our team is aptly suited and equipped to successfully deliver this project. We possess the requisite capabilities that uniquely position us to execute this project to high standards of trust and accountability.

Socious is a fast-growing impact startup that provides a talent marketplace, making impact work accessible and transparent. We connect purpose-driven professionals with impact organizations through AI matching. We use blockchain to trace impact work and reward contributions.

Socious is supported by 500Global, Microsoft, and Milkomeda Foundation. Our platform lists over 80k jobs, 24k organizations, and has 8k registered users. Our team consists of experts in impact measurement, finance, data science, and blockchain development.

We have 10 full-time members and 20+ part-time contributors. Our team members include:

• Seira Yun

Title: Founder and CEO

Role: Product Ownership, Project Management, Research

Linkedin:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/seirayun/

Bio:

Seira Yun is a Cardano Ambassador and an ICC member. He is a serial impact entrepreneur and an impact angel investor with years of experience in the impact sector, leading teams within the ICRC, UNHCR, and social ventures. As a full-stack developer with a Master's degree in Social Innovation from the University of Cambridge, Seira enjoys blending technology with purpose. Upon exiting his first social venture in 2021, he founded Socious, a decentralized talent marketplace that uses blockchain for verified certificates and AI for matching individuals to meaningful jobs, eliminating background checks and fostering social and environmental change. He is also a board member at TELL, a suicide prevention non-profit. When not working, you can find Seira shooting hoops, running, reading, and spending quality time with his kids.

• Elaine Cardenas

Title: Head of Product

Role: Blockchain Development, Product Management.

Bio:

Elaine has been coding in Haskell and other functional programming languages for the past 7 years and building on the Cardano blockchain for the past 3 years. Prior to joining Socious, she worked for Sundae Labs, contributing to the SundaeSwap V3 implementation and Hydra development. She also worked at Obsidian, an IT consulting company, where she helped Starbucks with its loyalty points system. Elaine is an active Cardano community member and serves as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention in Argentina.

• Chrisanne Yee

Title: Founder’s Associate

Role: Project Management Assistant, Admin and Finance.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisanneyee/

Bio:

Chrisanne is trilingual in English, Chinese and Japanese. She has experience with marketing and business development. Chrisanne is an active Cardano community member and serves as an alternate to the Constitutional Convention in Argentina.

• Taichi Yokoyama

Role: Communication and Marketing

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mryokoyama/

Bio:

Taichi is an entrepreneur and a Cardano Stake Pool Operator (AIRX). Taichi is an active Cardano community member and serves as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention in Argentina.

• Minh Douangprachanh

Title: Lead Designer

Role: Design

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/michel-douang/

Bio: With more than a decade of experience specializing in product design, Minh is a multidisciplinary artist who has always believed art has a language of its own. As a neurodiverse individual, Minh is passionate about helping people and creating sustainable and inclusive solutions. Minh is a Cardano community member for the past 3 years.

• Ehsan Mahmoudi

Title: Lead Developer

Role: Backend/Blockchain/AI Engineering

LinkedIn:

https://linkedin.com/in/ehsan-mahmoudi-611123b8/

Bio: More than 8 years of experience in Python and Machine Learning as well as extensive experience in blockchain development. Ehsan has worked for global startups including Rechat, AEC, and Navaak. Ehsan is a Cardano community member for the past 3 years.

• Sanaz Mahmoudi

Title: Senior Frontend Developer

Role: Frontend Development

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sanaz-mahmoudi/

Bio: An experienced frontend developer with 7+ years of experience. Sanaz is a Cardano community member for the past 2 years.

• Marjan Arami

Title: Senior Frontend Developer

Role: Frontend Development

Bio: An experienced frontend developer with 10+ years of experience. Marjan is a Cardano community member for the past 2 years.

• Azin Zare

Title: QA Engineer

Role: Quality Assurance

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/azin-zare-355a27179/

Bio: An experienced QA engineer with 9+ years of experience. Azin is a Cardano community member for the past 3 years.

• Mohammad Balkhani

Title: Software Engineer

Role: Backend and DevOps Engineering

Commitment: Full-time

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mohammad-hosein-balkhani/

Bio: An experienced software engineer with 7+ years of experience. Mohammad is a Cardano community member for the past year.

• Raphael Hode

Title: Design Advisor

Role Design Direction

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/raphaelhode/

Bio: Raphael is a Strategic Designer with a passion for social innovation and sustainability. After a few years in advertising agencies in Paris, Raphael moved to Tokyo in 2015 and joined Designit, a global strategic design firm. At Designit Raphael worked on growing a team and helping some of Japan’s most ambitious companies make innovation happen, leading him to endorse a variety of roles across UX design, service design, business design, and strategy.

In parallel, he has been passionately engaging in activities related to sustainability and social innovation: giving talks and workshops, mentoring early-stage social founders, and eventually co-founding a social venture. Today, he spends most of his time working with incredible social entrepreneurs to help them define, design, and launch visionary products that contribute to creating a more sustainable society.

To supplement our core team, we maintain a reserve of skilled freelancers, ready to contribute at short notice. Our talent marketplace, Socious, is a hub for over 8,000 individuals, many of whom could potentially assist in this project, if required.

The trustworthiness in our fund management processes is grounded in our serious adherence to legal and financial compliance. Each transaction conducted is meticulously documented with tangible evidence and audited internally for accuracy. To bolster our commitment to financial transparency, we have established collaborations with external accounting firms that assure compliance. Our Japanese entity works with Tatsumi Accounting Firm, while our Singaporean entity partners with BBCIncorp.

Additionally, we liaise with an external law firm, Enlighten Law Group, to ensure full legal compliance. This meticulous, multilayered approach to fund management reflects our dedication to maintaining high levels of trust and accountability.

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

Please find below a detailed breakdown of our budget, including the number of people and hours allocated to each task. We have calculated the cost at $40 per person per hour. The base conversion rate for USD-ADA is 0.39.

Executive Summary

Total Cost: $ 191,840 (496,000 ADA)

Milestone 1: $ 31,280 (80,205 ADA)

Milestone 2: $ 34,480 (88,410 ADA)

Milestone 3: $ 32,880 (84,308 ADA)

Milestone 4: $ 32,880 (88,410 ADA)

Milestone 5: $ 35,120 (90,051 ADA)

Final Milestone: $ 25,200 (64,615 ADA)

Please find the details of the breakdown here:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/111xwvMAqeizPPEIyiXKJI2KhpjNEpd8cFVibskkjI6Q/edit?usp=sharing

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

To address how the cost of our project represents value for money for the Cardano ecosystem, it's essential to consider several key aspects:

1. Alignment with Cardano's Mission and Community Impact: Our project's focus on fostering equity in funding aligns well with the ethos of the Cardano community. By supporting a diverse range of open-source projects and attracting a wider developer base, our project contributes to the growth and diversification of the Cardano ecosystem. This represents not just monetary value but also strategic value in strengthening the ecosystem's foundation and reach.
2. Cost Efficiency and Budget Justification: We have provided a clear justification for our budget, notably by setting the salaries below the average rates for product designers, developers, and product managers. This approach demonstrates our commitment to cost efficiency while ensuring that our team is fairly compensated. Leveraging our previous experience in project budgeting enhances the credibility of our financial planning.
3. Long-Term Benefits and Measurable Outcomes: Our project promises long-term benefits, such as increasing the number of developers and the diversity of projects within the Cardano community. These are measurable outcomes that can be quantified in the future, offering clear indicators of our project's impact and success. Our approach to sharing outputs and opportunities, including publicly available reports and engagement on social media and community forums, adds transparency and accountability to our project.
4. Reduced Hourly Rates and Budget Transparency: Our decision to budget salaries at $40 per hour, despite the higher average salaries, is a significant factor in demonstrating value for money. The average salaries of product designers ($72 per hour), developers ($68 per hour), and product managers ($65 per hour) are quite high. (See here for more details.)This shows our conscious effort to manage costs effectively while still delivering quality results. The transparency in our budget breakdown, based on previous project experiences, further supports the notion of cost-effectiveness.
5. Potential for Further Ecosystem Growth: The potential of our project to onboard more individuals to the Cardano ecosystem, as evidenced by Socious's past success in onboarding 8,000 individuals, indicates a strong potential for return on investment in terms of ecosystem growth and engagement.

In summary, our project represents value for money for the Cardano ecosystem by aligning with its mission, demonstrating cost-efficiency, providing measurable long-term benefits, maintaining budget transparency, and showing potential for further ecosystem growth. Our approach of setting lower-than-average salaries, relying on past experience for budgeting, and focusing on impactful community engagement further supports this.