Leadership Academy Book Club (Season 3)

[GENERAL] Name and surname of main applicant

Nori Nishigaya

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

Individual

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

5

[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)

Host a book club to discuss a book per month with peers to help understand and digest the book and accelerate learning and improve skills.

[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

For the book club materials and recordings, we will use the Creative Commons license - Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International.

We are committed to open-source principles. This license grants users the freedom to use, modify and distribute the project freely, provided that the modified works use the same license.

To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

[METADATA] SDG rating

SDG Goals

4 - Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all

SDG Subgoals

4.7 - By 2030, ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development

[SOLUTION] Please describe your proposed solution.

Perception + Approach

We all have good intentions to read more books and improve our knowledge and sharpen our saws. Let's take action on those good intentions and form an intentional community to read a book a month to improve our entrepreneurial skill set and meet to discuss and learn from each other how we can apply the lessons of the book in the Catalyst ecosystem and how to improve our skills in communicating ideas, gain confidence in presenting strategy and objectives, and create better outcomes.

The high-level proposal is to create a curated list of 4 books to read over the course of four months with community input. Funding is requested to support the work to prepare, host and facilitate bi-weekly book club meetings and perform administrative duties for 6 months.

The book club meetings themselves will be 60-90 minute sessions over Zoom to discuss the book, and ideas that are relevant for the Catalyst community, and dive deeper into how we can improve our skill sets together, collaboratively, looking at the material through the lens of seeking to improve skills to communicate great ideas to voters and stakeholders and be better able to execute when funded. Each session will be recorded and written notes will also be provided for the community to use.

Who Will Your Project Engage:

There is a strong learning culture in Catalyst and this proposal will engage those who are committed to learning but might require some social accountability to follow through with those good intentions. So in some sense, this will function as an accountability group for reading book for those that want that.

Others might not know which books to read, and the book club will provide selections that are pre-vetted and are of high relevance and great content.

We will also engage with those who do not have the time or interest to read a book, yet still would like a high-level understanding of the content and discussions about the topic with others.

What is Unique & Why is this Important?

Continuous learning is important and often overlooked in our busy lives. The Leadership Academy Book Club format is unique in that we have been serially funded in the past for Catalyst book clubs and have a track record for creating learning opportunities and facilitating these events.

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

This book club will get more people reading and learning about relevant topics to increase collaboration and reinforce a strong learning culture in Catalyst. We will measure this impact through engagement metrics and we will share all book club recordings and Miro notes with the community as done in previous book club iterations. This initiative, seemingly humble in its scope, carries the potential to ignite a renaissance of collaborative intelligence within the community. Each discussion, each shared insight, has the power to ripple through the Cardano ecosystem, fostering a culture of deep, thoughtful collaboration.

[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?

The Leadership Academy Book Club format has been serially funded in the past for Catalyst book clubs and has a track record for creating learning opportunities and facilitating these events.

Fund 6: Leadership Academy Book Club: https://miro.com/app/board/uXjVOFmDVoY=/ 

Fund 9: Leadership Academy dRep Book Club: https://miro.com/app/board/uXjVPsWEoC8=/

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

This first milestone will be to identify which books to read, set up the Miro boards, and start marketing the book club. This milestone will also reboot the Leadership Academy community and set up social spaces for async conversations and announcements.

Milestone output(s)

• Setting up the parameters of the book club and selecting the books and marketing.

Acceptance criteria 

• Select the books to read
• Set up the online community space
• Set up the Miro board

Info provided to verify the milestone achievement 

• Book club syllabus
• Invite link to the community Discord
• Link to the Miro board

Prep for and hold the book club for book 1.

Milestone output(s)

• Holding a book club
• Recording and notes

Acceptance criteria 

• Book Club is recorded and video uploaded to YouTube
• Miro board is used to take notes and share links

Info provided to verify the milestone achievement 

• Link to YouTube video
• Link to Miro board

Prep for and hold the book club for book 2.

Milestone output(s)

• Holding a book club
• Recording and notes

Acceptance criteria 

• Book Club is recorded and video uploaded to YouTube
• Miro board is used to take notes and share links

Info provided to verify the milestone achievement 

• Link to YouTube video
• Link to Miro board

Prep for and hold the book club for book 3.

Milestone output(s)

• Holding a book club
• Recording and notes

Acceptance criteria 

• Book Club is recorded and video uploaded to YouTube
• Miro board is used to take notes and share links

Info provided to verify the milestone achievement 

• Link to YouTube video
• Link to Miro board

Prep for and hold the book club for book 4.

Milestone output(s)

• Holding a book club
• Recording and notes

Acceptance criteria 

• Book Club is recorded and video uploaded to YouTube
• Miro board is used to take notes and share links

Info provided to verify the milestone achievement 

• Link to YouTube video
• Link to Miro board

Milestone output(s)

• Written close out report
• Video close out report

Acceptance criteria 

• Close out report includes:
• Iinks to all recordings and resources
• Insights, lessons learned 
• Improvements and plans for further seasons.
• Close out video includes:
•  a full walkthrough of the Miro board

Info provided to verify the milestone achievement 

• Close out report submission.
• Close out video submission.

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

Nori Nishigaya

Nori has successfully run two other seasons of the Leadership Academy Book Club. Nori is the Founder of the Salmon Nation Decentralised Alliance (SANADA), co-founder of Bridge Builders, and a founding member of Andamio. He organizes meetups and events as a Cardano Ambassador and is a serially funded proposer. Nori brings over 30 years of experience in software development, agile methodologies, leadership in managing teams, and founding and running technology startups. His passion is discovering and sharing governance and organizational best practices for radically decentralized and self-managed communities through experimentation and hands-on practice.

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nishigaya/ 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Xeeban

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

Total per session = 5500 ADA x 4 sessions = 22,000 ADA

Book prep: 10 hours x 250 ADA = 2500 ADA 

Book club facilitation and admin: 4 hours x 250 ADA = 1000 ADA

Project management and marketing: 4 hours x 250 ADA = 1000 ADA

Technology costs for Miro and Zoom, etc, = 1000 ADA

Contingency: 1000 ADA 

TOTAL = 24,000 ADA

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

Embarking on a journey through the pages of collaborative wisdom, our project is not just a book club; it's a crucible for forging the future of decentralized collaboration. The modest investment required to fuel this endeavour pales in comparison to the immense value it brings to the Cardano ecosystem. By reading about, dissecting and discussing the most innovative collaboration methods and ideas, we're essentially planting seeds of wisdom across a fertile community. These seeds, once sprouted, have the potential to revolutionize how projects in the Cardano space are conceived, developed, and executed. Each ADA spent is not just a transaction, but an investment in cultivating a more informed, skilled, and synergized community. In a world where collaboration is the lifeblood of progress, especially in decentralized ecosystems, this book club is akin to nurturing the very roots of this thriving digital forest. The return on investment? A more robust, efficient, and harmonious ecosystem, equipped to face the challenges of tomorrow, all while demonstrating Catalyst’s commitment to fostering a culture of continuous learning and cooperative growth.

[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