Adapting On-Chain Reputation to Catalyst Voices

[GENERAL] Name and surname of main applicant

Andamio (powered by Gimbalabs)

[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)

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)

Contribute to the progress of Catalyst Voices by implementing on-chain, role-based reputation-building capabilities.

[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

All the educational material and the proposal’s building process would be on (an) open source Github repo(s) with Apache-2.0 license. However, the Andamio platform won’t be open source.

[METADATA] SDG rating

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

8 - Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work 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

8.2 - Achieve higher levels of economic productivity through diversification, technological upgrading and innovation, including through a focus on high-value added and labour-intensive sectors

[SOLUTION] Please describe your proposed solution

Context:

• The Catalyst team and Community members are creating new tooling to make Catalyst more robust in the face of long-term challenges. However, the project has reached a scale where tools are needed to onboard and develop competent members of the Cardano community to pursue Catalyst roles and which help them to demonstrate their credentials in a way that is efficient and able to integrate into Catalyst operations.

Current Scenario:

• Catalyst Voices is an ambitious endeavor, modular in its essence, to allow the integration of those pieces that the Catalyst team cannot address as quickly as they would like. One of those pieces is on-chain reputation building.

• This is an exciting opportunity to build Catalyst alongside the community for the benefit of growing our collective capabilities into more than the sum of our constituent parts.

Ideal Scenario:

• To allow for ecosystem participants to build & showcase their reputation that in turn can highlight their career path and development within program such as Catalyst.

• Allow all the hard workers to rise to the top and unlock new opportunities to build equity & agency within the system.

Technical Plan:

• To streamline the roles defined by the Role Based Access Control (RBAC) developed for Catalyst Voices with the learning and contribution management system developed by the Andamio platform (powered by Gimbalabs).

• Learning-management system - prototype: https://www.andamio.io/course/ppbl2024

Demo:

https://youtu.be/iQVD_N6qY4g

• Contribution-management system - prototype: https://gimbalabs-prototype.andamio.io/ (mainnet prototype)

Demo:

https://youtu.be/wWcg93j6Kgk

• At https://voices.projectcatalyst.io/, in addition to the usual navigation (general project information, opportunities for participation in Catalyst, etc.), access to an instance of the Andamio platform can be provided in a non-custodial fashion. Once on the Andamio instance, the potential Catalyst contributors can start their project-based, hands-on learning experience based on the role they are interested in, acquiring at the end of the process the skills that make them suitable to execute the role selected. Throughout the learning journey (Modules - Student Learning Targets - Lessons - Assignments), a Contributor token will record and update the metadata of their progress. Successful completion of the learning process, based on the metadata available on-chain, will assign the role defined by the Role Based Access Control (RBAC).

• Once assigned the role, contribution opportunities defined through the contribution-management platform of the Andamio instance become available to the trained Catalyst member: Proposer, Reviewer, Voter.

Prototype background:

-Andamio is a new kind of platform for learning and contribution management, inspired by the work we've done thorough the 4 previous versions of Gimbalabs Plutus PBL. Andamio is built to enable people to onboard and contribute to collaborative projects so that they can make a meaningful impact. We envision a future where work is defined and delivered in ways that achieve the highest levels of human collaboration.

Andamio consists of a learning-management platform and a contribution-management platform that work together to create unique pathways for organizations and contributors to align on meaningful work. It uses the Cardano blockchain to provide non-custodial ways for people to build a record of learning and contribution, and it allows organizations to collaborate in solving important problems.

After prototyping and testing Andamio in 2023, we are now building Andamio for production deployment.

-Andamio whitepaper:

https://www.andamio.io/about

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

• To allow for ecosystem participants to build & showcase their reputation that in turn can highlight their career path and development within program such as Catalyst.

• To allow all the hard workers to rise to the top and unlock new opportunities to build equity & agency within the system.

Contributing to a complex project like Catalyst Voices will allow us to demonstrate:

• How Andamio's technology can be at the service of different use cases in the ecosystem (Governance; performance support to MBOs like Intersect, Pragma; and others).

• How Andamio's technology, powered by the Cardano technology, can be at the service of diverse use cases outside the ecosystem, where the interest of organizations is to cultivate community as a competitive advantage.

Description of Impact Measurement

1.Quantitative Impact Metrics

• User engagement: We will track the number of active users, frequency of use, and participation in learning modules and projects in order to highlight the direct engagement of community members.
• Educational outcomes: We will monitor completion rates of educational modules and the application of skills acquired through contribution opportunities. Surveys and assessments will provide data on knowledge gains and skill application.
• Project initiation and completion: We will track the number of projects (contributions) initiated and successfully completed indicating the platform’s effectiveness in facilitating project-based learning and problem-solving.
• Smart contract usage: We will quantify the number of transactions executed through our validator contracts, reflecting Andamio’s use of Cardano blockchain technology.

2.Qualitative Impact Metrics

• Community feedback: We will collect and analyze feedback from users through interviews, focus groups, and forums, providing insights into user satisfaction, perceived value of the platform, and areas of improvement. The amount and frequency of these are specified as deliverables in the milestone section.

Sharing Outputs and Opportunities

Communication Channels:

1.Milestone reports: Our milestone reports detailing project progress and impact metrics will be publicly available on the Andamio website. All of this information will also be available in written form via the Catalyst portal.

2.Community forums: We will host AMA-style sessions on Gimbalabs Playground, a weekly open space for discussion, to share updates, gather feedback, and discuss new opportunities. These events are open to all community members and will facilitate direct interaction with the Andamio team.

[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?

Andamio emerged as a product of the work that Gimbalabs has been doing since the beginning of Catalyst in the areas of education and infrastructure. The Andamio team is integrated by members of the Gimbalabs team, plus recognized and respected names in the community with years of experience in the technology industry and business. As a result, we have a solid team ready to contribute significantly to the progress of the Cardano ecosystem.    

At Gimbalabs, we have built one of the best technical learning technologies in the Cardano ecosystem, with the ability to extract the fundamentals of complex topics (protocols, tooling, infrastructure, design patterns, etc) and package them into skills. That is our know-how.

Trust and accountability:

• Talented developers, today founders of renowned Cardano startups (JPG store, MeshJS, Cardano Name Service (CNS), Gods of Blocks, Loxe inc, Ekival, others), trusted us to take their first steps in the ecosystem: to know everything they needed to know, without restrictions, and from there, build their own path. We did not let them down.

• Gimbalabs is an infrastructure builder: Dandelion, Andamio.

• Gimbalabs is consulting: Joey's Hot Sauce, challenge "Spend ADA in your local community!", OneUpOneDown, Oxford University, Handshake, Blink Labs, CNS, MeshJS, SingularityNET, and others.

Approach validation:

• Gimbalabs started with this successful Fund2 Proposal: https://gimbalabs.com/fund2.pdf (and scored the leading vote tally in Fund1 - before there was real funding)

• Has delivered 4 iterations of Plutus PBL Course, with 5th iteration, Plutus PBL 2024, launching now, in May 2024

• Host of weekly Playground sessions for 3+ years

• Host of twice-weekly (and now more!) Live Coding sessions for 2+ years

• Gimbalabs YouTube is a helpful archive.

References:

• Messari's "State of Cardano" report (discussed each quarter by C. Hoskinson) highlighted the role of Gimbalabs every quarter of 2023 as community-run project for education and developer tools, in the section "Community".

• Gimbalabs is part of the CBIA alliance (Cardano Blockchain Infrastructure Alliance) along with recognized names in the ecosystem: Maestro, TxPipe, Koios, Blink Labs, among others.

• Gimbalabs is part of the Certification working group coordinated by Intersect. An example of Gimbalabs' contribution is the document "CTI-2023-ADA-11-04: Multiple Satisfaction" authored by Professor M. Ali Modiri, Gimbalabs instructor and recognized ecosystem developer.

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

Title: Preparation and Organization Setup (1 Month)

Objective: Establish a solid foundation for the proposal by setting up the necessary infrastructure, assembling the team, and defining project management practices.

Milestone Outputs:

• Confirm core team members.

• Establish project management tools.

• Catalyst roles Course outline formulation: Modules, Student Learning Targets (SLTs), Lessons, and assignments.

• Allocation and setup of the Andamio instance to project Catalyst.

Acceptance Criteria:

• Project management tools and systems set up.

• Course outline in JSON format, structured in Modules, SLTs, Lessons, and assignments.

• Lessons assigned to team members, with their respective role assignment for content creation

• Andamio instance ready to start creating and uploading content.

Evidence of milestone completion:

• Outline in JSON format

• Miro board with assignment of lessons and roles.

• Images and/or videos of the Andamio instance allocated to project Catalyst.

Title: Content Creation, topic “Role: Reviewer” (2 Month).

Objective: Create the content of the module Role: Reviewer. Note: In general, each module is released to the community as its creation is completed.

Milestone Outputs:

Deliver Role: Reviewer module content, including:

• Write up lessons to guide students through all SLTs involved for this module

• Video explanation covering all SLTs

• Assignment for consolidating learning outcomes for students

Acceptance Criteria:

• The Role: Reviewer module is complete, following the structure stipulated in the outline elaborated in milestone 1.

Title: Content Creation, topic “Role: Reviewer” (2 Month).

Objective: Create the content of the module Role: Proposer. Note: In general, each module is released to the community as its creation is completed.

Milestone Outputs:

Deliver Role: Proposer module content, including:

• Write up lessons to guide students through all SLTs involved for this module

• Video explanation covering all SLTs

• Assignment for consolidating learning outcomes for students

Acceptance Criteria:

• The Role: Proposer module is complete, following the structure stipulated in the outline elaborated in milestone 1.

Title: Content Creation, topic “Role: Voter” (1 Month).

Objective: Create the content of the module Role: Voter. Note: In general, each module is released to the community as its creation is completed.

Milestone Outputs:

Deliver Role: Voter module content, including:

• Write up lessons to guide students through all SLTs involved for this module

• Video explanation covering all SLTs

• Assignment for consolidating learning outcomes for students

Acceptance Criteria:

• The Role: Voter module is complete, following the structure stipulated in the outline elaborated in milestone 1.

Title: Configuration of the first batch of contribution opportunities through Andamio's contribution-management platform. (1 Month).

Objective: Set up the first batch of contribution opportunities that will allow the skilled student to begin building his / her reputation as a contributor to Catalyst.

Milestone Outputs:

• Set up the first batch of contribution opportunities

• Test and optimize the contribution-management platform so that it responds smoothly to user requests.

Acceptance Criteria:

• A first batch of contribution opportunities posted on Andamio's contribution management platform.
• Contribution management platform offering smooth interactions between contribution opportunities and the platform.
• Reports of possible bugs receiving the proper handling.

Evidence of milestone completion:

• Access to the Andamio instance allocated to project Catalyst to verify the allocation of the first batch of contribution opportunities.

-Report of possible bugs and the handling received.

Title: Project Close-out Report and Video (1 month)

Objective: Prepare the Close-out Report and Video.

Milestone outputs:

• Deliver a complete Catalyst course, hosted in a functional Andamio instance, accessible to the community and public in general.

• Prepare and share the final report.

-Prepare and share the video report.

Acceptance criteria:

• Access to the Andamio instance assigned to project Catalyst, for verification of course content.

• Final report providing a comprehensive overview of project achievements and insights.

• Video summarizing the entire project, highlighting key achievements and milestones, and offering a visual recap of the project's journey.

Evidence of milestone completion:

• Access to the Andamio instance assigned to project Catalyst, for verification of course content.

• Final report

• Closing video

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

Sebastian Pabon, Educator, Facilitator. Project Manager, Educator and Facilitator at Gimbalabs. Co-founder at Andamio. Consultant at Emurgo Academy, European Business University of Luxembourg.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seb-pabon/ 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SebastianPabonB

James Dunseith, is a Teacher, Coach, Smart Contract Developer and Facilitator with extensive experience in creating engaging learning experiences and facilitating problem-solving. James has successfully implemented project-based learning and mastery-based grading methodologies. Additionally, he has contributed to developing gimbalabs.com, creating resilient and reusable components. James leveraged his expertise in learning design and community engagement for this project.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-dunseith-0135651/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/jamesdunseith

Nori Nishigaya, is a Senior Advisor and Software Development Expert Nori is is a co-founder the Andamio and ODIN (Open Decentralized Innovation Network). He is also the founder of the Salmon Nation Decentralised Alliance (SANADA) and co-founder of Bridge Builders. 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 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/ 

Yoram Ben Zvi, is a Senior Advisor and Business Models Lead with over 20 years of experience in strategy, partnerships, and investor relations within the technology industry. He has a strong focus on combining impact and business and has worked with an NGO focused on sustainable business models across agriculture supply chains. Yoram has been very active on Cardano and Catalyst for over three years supporting the ecosystem growth and onboarding web 2 companies to Cardano. He plays a crucial role in coordinating ecosystem and business model development.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yoram-ben-zvi-446836/

Andamio technical team

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

Milestone 1: Preparation and Organization Setup (1 Month)

Activities Budget:

• ADA 12,000 - Establish project management tools.
• ADA 12,000 - Course outline formulation: Modules, Student Learning Targets (SLTs), Lessons, and assignments.
• ADA 26,000 - Allocation and setup of the Andamio instance to project Catalyst.

Total Budget: ADA 50,000

Milestone 2: Content Creation, topic “Role: Reviewer” (2 Month).

Activities Budget:

Deliver Role: Reviewer module content, including:

• ADA 16,666 - Write up lessons to guide students through all SLTs involved for this module
• ADA 16,666 - Video explanation covering all SLTs
• ADA 16,666 - Assignment for consolidating learning outcomes for students

Total Budget: ADA 50,000

Milestone 3: Content Creation, topic “Role: Proposer” (2 Month).

Activities Budget:

Deliver Role: Proposer module content, including:

• ADA 16,666 - Write up lessons to guide students through all SLTs involved for this module
• ADA 16,666 - Video explanation covering all SLTs
• ADA 16,666 - Assignment for consolidating learning outcomes for students

Total Budget: ADA 50,000

Milestone 4: Content Creation, topic “Role: Voter” (1 Month).

Activities Budget:

Deliver Role: Voter module content, including:

• ADA 16,666 - Write up lessons to guide students through all SLTs involved for this module
• ADA 16,666 - Video explanation covering all SLTs
• ADA 16,666 - Assignment for consolidating learning outcomes for students

Total Budget: ADA 50,000

Milestone 5: Configuration of the first batch of contribution opportunities through Andamio's contribution-management platform. (1 Month).

Activities Budget:

Deliver Role: Voter module content, including:

• ADA 25,000 - Set up the first batch of contribution opportunities
• ADA 25,000 - Test and optimize the contribution-management platform so that it responds smoothly to user requests.

Total Budget: ADA 50,000

Final milestone: Project Close-out Report and Video (1 month)

Activities Budget:

• ADA 16,666 - Verify the Andamio instance: functional, accessible to the community and public in general.
• ADA 16,666 - Prepare and share the final report.
• ADA 16,666 - Prepare and share the video report.

Total Budget: ADA 50,000

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

ADA reference: 0.4 USD

1.Andamio instance license: 26000 ADA ---> 10400 USD

Price of the license are aligned with the price of software of that kind in the market but, without the blockchain capabilities of Andamio. The Andamio blockchain capabilities increase the value of the license. So it's at a discount price.

2.This proposal will be executed over a 8-month period. Consequently, the budget for each month of work is

300,000 - 26000 = 274000 ADA

274000 ADA / 8 months = 34250 ADA ---> 13700 USD / month

13700 USD will cover: highly efficient specialized content creation (including code development); enhance and expand the features and capabilities of the Andamio platform to serve the needs of Andamio Voices. In general, we consider that valuation fair.