Cardano Community Growth: Enhanced Audits & Impact Metrics for Funded African Proposals

[GENERAL] Name and surname of main applicant

Afia Owusu

[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)

6

[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)

Implementing a structured audit program and defining key metrics to evaluate and enhance the impact of Cardano's African projects.

[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

Project’s main outputs will be audits and reports, which will be shared publicly and free to distribute under a CC BY-NC-ND license.

[SOLUTION] Please describe your proposed solution.

Our solution extends the scope of our ongoing audit work within the Cardano ecosystem, particularly focusing on projects in Africa. We've identified a need for a more structured, in-depth approach to understand the real impact of these initiatives and subsequent value created for the ecosystem. 

Project Brief:

The rapid expansion of the Cardano ecosystem presents a unique challenge: maintaining transparency and oversight as the number of funded initiatives grows, particularly in the African region. There's a critical need for a more nuanced understanding of community development, growth metrics, and the impact of these projects.

There exist challenges in demonstrating tangible impacts and tracking growth that require a structured approach to auditing and metric development.

To address this, we propose:

1. Developing a Standardized Impact Methodology (SIM): Collaborating with partners and other Catalyst projects, we aim to create and share a methodology that systematically studies the impact of projects. This approach will bring uniformity and clarity in assessing how these initiatives contribute to the broader goals of the Cardano community.
2. Defining Key Growth Metrics: A crucial part of our proposal is to begin identifying and defining key metrics that will help the Cardano community monitor the growth and development of African projects. These metrics will provide insights into how effectively these projects are maturing and contributing to the ecosystem's expansion.
3. Running 3-month audit program: To ensure immediate and actionable insights, we plan to run a 3-month audit program. This audit will apply our developed methodology and newly defined metrics to assess current African projects, providing a real-time evaluation of their impact and progress.

What sets our solution apart is its dual focus on enhancing current auditing processes and laying the groundwork for a long-term, sustainable approach to tracking and evaluating project successes in Africa. Our methodology will not only streamline the audit process but also offer a clear, standardized way to measure impact, which is currently lacking.

For the Cardano and Catalyst ecosystems, this is a crucial step in formalizing the audit and progress tracking methodologies at scale. As the ecosystem grows, understanding the exact nature of this growth, especially in key regions like Africa, is vital for measuring impact, allocating additional resources, and fostering a community that is both diverse and accountable.

Previous Partners:

• Edify: Provided training services to oracles for advanced auditing methods.
• QA-DAO: Provided qualitative audit standards, with an emphasis on impact measurement.
• Wada: Previous work through the Wada network, now operating as a separate entity, while collaborating with individuals who remain in that network.

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

1. The project delivers prompt and concrete results via the audit program, offering a detailed overview of current project progress and highlighting areas that need improvement.
2. It lays a foundation for sustainable growth by utilizing a methodology for future funding rounds, some that may become regionally specific as the ecosystem evolves.

Key Metrics:

• Number of Projects Audited: Measuring the scope of our audit program in terms of the quantity of projects reviewed. Our goal is 50+ projects audited under the new methodology, with more detail than previous reports completed. A key learning from previous programs was the challenge in reaching the proposal owners and so the lack of available information. The Oracles will sort through 200+ viable proposals in order to find those that have active and willing participants.
• Adoption Rate of Standardized Impact Methodology: Tracking how widely our developed methodology is adopted and utilized across various projects. 
• Community Feedback: Assessing qualitative feedback from the Cardano community on the utility and effectiveness of the metrics and methodologies we introduce. 

The results, insights, and methodologies from our project will be disseminated through Catalyst’s reporting channels, and other relevant social media channels pertaining to the Cardano Africa community.

[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?

As experienced members of the Cardano community with a deep understanding of the African market and a successful track record in previous Catalyst proposals, we are well-suited to deliver this project with the highest levels of trust and accountability. Our previous accomplishments include two successfully completed proposals, F6 Auditing Africa Pilot Program and F8 Auditing Africa Full Program, indicating our commitment and ability to execute projects effectively.

Funds will be managed in adherence to established procedures that encompass the utilization of stablecoins and other treasury de-risking strategies. The ability of the team to follow through to completion, on budget, for both of their previous projects demonstrates an ability to manage funds and execute on projects successfully.

The Oracle team will build its offering over time to serve the Cardano community in various capacities, from proposal auditing, regional reporting and in-depth research.

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

• Output: Publication of the Standardized Impact Methodology (SIM).

• Acceptance Criteria: Creation and distribution of the SIM document to key stakeholders and integration into existing reporting frameworks. Validation is evidenced by the publicly accessible SIM document.

• Output: Audit program launched.

• Acceptance Criteria: Commencement of audit activities with clearly defined objectives and selection of proposals for audit. Validation is demonstrated through team readiness, initial audit assignments, and commencement documentation.

• Output: Finalization of the audit process and submission of audited proposals.

• Acceptance Criteria: Complete audit reports for all selected proposals, with a detailed record of audited projects and findings. Validation is confirmed through a spreadsheet detailing completions and links to audit reports.

• Output: Compilation of survey feedback and creation of a summary report.

• Acceptance Criteria: Completion of surveys and development of a summary report, reflecting the findings and insights gained. Validation is provided by making the summary report and related documents publicly available.

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

Afia Owusu - Oracle lead 

An active Cardano and Catalyst Community Member since Fund 6, Coordinator of Catalyst Africa Town Hall (CATH) and Catalyst Africa School. Afia has been a CA since F7 and a vCA in F8. Afia holds an MSc in Management Information Systems from the University of Lancaster, UK, and a BSC. (Hons) in Natural Resources Management, University of Science and Technology (UST), Kumasi, Ghana. Afia is a Ghanaian, currently exploring new areas of sustainable development including blockchain education. Her interest is to educate and create awareness in communities to improve livelihood options among local people. https://www.linkedin.com/in/afia-asamoa-04911816/

Ezekiel Donkor - Software Developer

Has a Bachelor of Science in Animal Biology and Conservation Science from the University of Ghana. Currently works as a software developer, Loves to challenge himself to work on new emerging technologies and tools, including blockchain and web3. Currently exploring the Cardano blockchain and all the possible applications in order to build tools and products to contribute to the community at large. https://github.com/yaw595

Richmond Oppong - Marketing & Design 

A long-time member of the Cardano community and previous Community Advisor and Proposal Assessor in previous funds. He is in charge of marketing and design elements of the program. Richmond is available through telegram and can be found on the Catalyst channels.

Oracle Team

Awura Owusu

Since Fund 6, Awura Adwoa has been a part of the Cardano community, having worked as a Community Assessor (CA). She was also a dependable PA for Fund 9, a lv 0 reviewer for Fund 10, and a CA for Funds 7 and 8. She has been a veteran CA in Fund 7. She participated in the Grow Africa, Grow Cardano initiative as a member of the Fund 8 challenge team. She has consistently taken an active part in Town Hall sessions. She represents a Cardano hub in Ghana as a student ambassador. Contact: awuraadwoaowusu@gmail.com, telegram @AwuraOwusu, twitter @awura_asamoa and LinkedIn @Awura Adwoa Owusu

Enoch Odoe Awo-Teye

Auditor, a Teaching assistant at the department of chemistry, UG community assessor for Fund 8 and 10. Telegram @Odoe_e IG @odoe_ FB @Enoch Miracle Email enochmiracle

Richmond Sabah

Accountant. Active member of Cardano Ecosystem; CA for Fund 7, 8; PA for Fund 9; lv 0 reviewer for Fund 10 and challenge team member. Hence has knowledge in catalyst proposal planning and executions. Contact: richmondsabah09@gmail.com, telegram @@K0fi0_0; twitter @sabah_kofi

Selorm Bless Sabah

Auditor, Biochemist, Quality Control Officer at Interplast Ghana Limited. Audit team for Showcase: second phase. Community Assessor for Fund 8, 9 and 10. Email: mensahh90@gmail.com, Twitter/X :gh_sey

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

Market Research and Documentation: 6000₳ 

Technical Support: 10000₳ 

Platform Costs and Third-party Services: 5000₳ 

Program Management and Coordination: 15000₳ 

Recruitment and Training of Auditors: 10000₳ 

Audit Initiation and Completion: 40000₳ 

Administration and Operational Costs: 10000₳ 

Reporting and Documentation: 5000₳

Marketing and Community Engagement: 8000₳ 

Contingency: 5000₳

Total: 114000₳

Milestone 1 (1-2 months):

Market Research and Documentation: 6000₳ 

Program Management and Coordination: 5000₳ 

Platform Costs and Third-party Services: 3000₳ 

Marketing and Community Engagement: 8000₳ 

Milestone 2 (3 months):

Recruitment and Training of Auditors: 10000₳ 

Program Management and Coordination: 5000₳ 

Audit Initiation and Completion: 20000₳ 

Contingency: 5000₳

Milestone 3 (1 month):

Audit Initiation and Completion: 20000₳ 

Program Management and Coordination: 5000₳ 

Administration and Operational Costs: 10000₳ 

Final Milestone:

Platform Costs and Third-party Services: 2000₳

Reporting and Documentation: 5000₳

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

The cost of our project offers great value to the Cardano ecosystem, focusing on essential tools for growth and transparency. The ada goes towards a comprehensive audit process and establishing new methodologies, enhancing how we evaluate and guide projects in Africa. This investment is not just for immediate results; it’s a foundation for ongoing improvement and strategic development towards a more robust audit process across all regions and project types.

[IMPORTANT NOTE] The Applicant agrees to Fund 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