Skills and contribution infrastructure on Cardano

[GENERAL] Name and surname of main applicant

Andamio Team

[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)

Andamio infrastructure enables skills acquisition and connecting to contribution opportunities to achieve the highest levels of community engagement and efficiency of work.

[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?

No

[GENERAL] Please provide here more information on the open source status of your project outputs

The AndamioJS library is already open-source and available here. However, the Andamio course and project management smart contracts will be open-sourced at a later date.

[METADATA] SDG rating

Andamio's objectives align with several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), particularly those related to education, innovation, sustainable communities, and partnerships. Below are relevant SDGs, their specific sub-goals, and potential Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that Andamio addresses:

SDG 4: Quality Education

•  Subgoal 4.4: By 2030, substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs, and entrepreneurship.
• Subgoal 4.7: By 2030, ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development.
• KPIs:
•   Number of participants in Andamio’s educational programs.
•   Increase in competency levels pre and post-training.
•   The number of educational institutions adopting Andamio frameworks.

SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

• Subgoal 8.3: Promote development-oriented policies that support productive activities, decent job creation, entrepreneurship, creativity, and innovation.
• KPIs:
• Job placement rates of participants post-Andamio training.
• Number of startups or projects initiated by participants.
• Increase in employment rates within communities using Andamio.

SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

• Subgoal 9.5: Enhance scientific research, and upgrade the technological capabilities of industrial sectors in all countries, particularly developing countries, increasing research and development.
• KPIs:
• The number of research initiatives facilitated by Andamio.
• Innovations developed and commercialized through Andamio’s platform.
• Investments in technology and infrastructure to support Andamio’s programs.

SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

• Subgoal 11.3: Enhance inclusive and sustainable urbanization and capacity for participatory, integrated, and sustainable human settlement planning and management.
• KPIs:
• The number of community-driven projects initiated via Andamio.
• Measures of community sustainability improvements.
• Participant engagement in urban development projects.

SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

• Subgoal 17.16: Enhance the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development, complemented by multi-stakeholder partnerships that mobilize and share knowledge, expertise, technology, and financial resources.
• Subgoal 17.17: Encourage and promote effective public, public-private, and civil society partnerships, building on the experience and resourcing strategies of partnerships.
• KPIs:
• Number and diversity of partnerships formed through Andamio.
• Resources mobilized from multi-stakeholder partnerships.
• Effectiveness of partnerships in advancing SDG targets.

[SOLUTION] Please describe your proposed solution

About Andamio

Andamio makes it easy for Cardano organizations to develop courses, onboard contributors, and reward their efforts. It generates on-chain credentials, showing the skills participants acquire so that organizations can offer them opportunities for contribution and rewards.

We built Andamio to clearly record what a potential contributor can or can’t do. It cuts out risks like fake credentials and messy hiring and training processes.

Andamio also improves communication using smart contracts to ensure everyone knows what to expect right from the start. This creates a more efficient learning and contributing environment.

By pointing out the tasks the organization needs help with and allowing them to provide the resources necessary to deliver those tasks, Andamio helps organizations carry out a focused onboarding process.

To deliver on this proposal, we will prioritize:

• Enhancing the user interface & user experience
• Enhancing role-based interaction with the platform
• Enhance the content management system

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

Andamio can help small organizations, grassroots initiatives, and projects bootstrapping their MVP to get critical work done without incurring expensive and lengthy recruitment and onboarding processes. Additionally, large Cardano organizations such as the Cardano Foundation, Emurgo, and IOG can use Andamio to provide engaging learning resources and link them with contribution opportunities to incentivize participation and student retention. 

Andamio can help Cardano communities implement decentralized governance by tracking the distribution of tasks, contributions, and rewards. It demonstrates real-world applications of Cardano blockchain technology beyond simple financial transactions, encouraging wider adoption and utilization of the technology. Andamio’s active use of Cardano’s features provides real-world feedback that can be instrumental in refining the blockchain’s capabilities and performance.

Andamio’s smart contracts deployed on Cardano contribute to the network’s growth, transactions, and sophistication, showcasing the potential of Cardano smart contracts in managing complex organizational and educational functions. Additionally, Andamio has the potential to introduce its own token or use existing tokens to incentivize participation and reward contributions increasing the demand and utility of ADA.

Andamio promotes a collaborative and decentralized approach to problem-solving, which fosters community spirit within the Cardano ecosystem and encourages more projects and startups to adopt similar operating models. Our emphasis on resource-sharing, transparent information and subject-matter mastery can lead to a more interconnected community where projects and developers support each other, leading to synergies that can accelerate innovation across the Cardano network. By focusing on large-scale problem-solving, Andamio aligns with Cardano’s mission to produce social and environmental benefits. This shared goal can strengthen the community’s commitment to use technology for social good. 

Andamio’s implementation of educational and organizational frameworks on the Cardano blockchain can open new uses of blockchain technology. By attracting organizations, educators, and learners, Andamio brings new users into the Cardano community, expanding the market for Cardano-based applications and services.

Overall, Andamio not only utilizes Cardano’s technological framework, it contributes to its growth, diversity and impact, aligning technological innovation with educational and organizational advancements to benefit the wider community. 

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.

1. 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?

Our team, Andamio, includes experts in fields such as pedagogy, smart contracts, software development, and business development. In a short time, we have successfully onboarded key organizations within Cardano, such as Gimbalabs, Mesh, SIDAN Lab, Governance Guild, and even outside of Cardano, supporting SingularityNET’s Deep Funding Academy. These organizations are currently exploring using our platform as an onboarding tool for their own organizations.

We secured funding from a Fund 10 proposal in 2023 and completed the project on time and within the budget. Our detailed and transparent reports are available at https://bit.ly/andamio-reporting.

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

Sprint 1: Initial planning and design framework

Objective: Establish the foundational design and technical framework for the platform.

Milestone output(s):

• Develop basic guidelines for Andamio, including style guides.
• Create a comprehensive design with color schemes, typography, iconography, and component libraries (UI).
• Develop high-level wireframes for key pages and functionalities.

Acceptance Criteria:

• Style guides and design frameworks are approved by the project team
• The design system is complete and consistent across all mock-ups
• High-level wireframes accurately reflect key functionalities such as user login, dashboard, and navigation and are approved by technical leads

Timeline: 1 month

Sprint 2: Core feature design and development

Objective: Detailed design and development of MVP core functionalities.

Milestone Output(s):

• Design and prototype project collaboration tools and workspaces.
• Develop interfaces for learning modules and peer assessments.
• Implement a dashboard with Web3 integration.
• Design progress tracking and treasury management systems.
• Create feedback and review interfaces.

Acceptance Criteria:

• Project collaboration tools support real-time editing and file sharing and have passed functional testing
• Learning module interfaces are interactive and support multimedia content integration
• Dashboard design incorporates secure and efficient Web3 wallet interactions, with usability testing confirming their effectiveness
• Progress tracking and treasury management interfaces align with project management and financial oversight needs
• Feedback systems are user-friendly and facilitate quick and anonymous feedback

Timeline - 2 months

Sprint 3: Core feature demonstration

Objective: Demonstrate and review core features of the platform

Milestone Output(s):

• Integrate and test core features
• Prepare and conduct a demo for stakeholders

Acceptance Criteria:

• Demonstrated features perform as expected under typical scenarios without critical bugs or issues
• Stakeholder feedback from the demonstration is positive, with no major changes required
• Integration points between different platform features (e.g., dashboard to learning modules) function seamlessly

Timeline - 1 month

Sprint 4: Refinement, testing and adjustments

Objective: Refine the platform based on testing and feedback

Milestone Output(s):

• Conduct extensive usability testing with current Andamio users
• Make iterative design adjustments based on user feedback
• Prepare scenarios and conduct User Acceptance Testing (UAT).

Acceptance Criteria:

• Usability testing results indicate high satisfaction (70% positive response)
• All major bugs identified during testing have been resolved
• User Acceptance Testing (UAT) completed with all critical scenarios passing

Timeline: 1 month

Sprint 5: Final preparation and launch readiness

Objective: Finalize the platform for launch and ensure it meets all design and usability standards.

Milestone Output(s):

• Conduct final design reviews and compliance checks
• Finalize all user interfaces and fix any outstanding UX issues
• Set up systems for post-launch monitoring

Acceptance Criteria:

• Final design review confirms adherence to all established design standards
• The platform operates smoothly with full load and stress testing, showing no performance degradation
• All user interfaces are polished and free from usability issues, as confirmed by the final round of usability testing

Timeline: 2 months

Sprint 6: Launch and Close-out

Objective: Launch the platform and compile a comprehensive close-out report

Milestone Output(s):

• Monitor user interactions and address any remaining issues
• Collect data and feedback for continuous improvement
• Draft and submit the close-out report detailing project results, challenges, and future recommendations

Acceptance Criteria:

• The platform successfully launches without critical incidents
• Post-launch monitoring systems are operational and collecting data effectively
• The close-out report is comprehensive, detailing outcomes and lessons learned and providing clear recommendations for future phases or projects.

Timeline: 1 month

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

UI/UX

• Hugo Samayoa
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hlsdesign/

Software Engineering

• Nelson Kshetrimayum - Software Engineer
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nelsonksh/

Smart Contract Design

• M.Ali Modiri - Smart Contract Developer
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/m-a-modiri/

Product Development

• Roberto Mayen-Hess - Business and Innovation Manager
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/roberto-mayen-hess/

Project Management

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

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

• Personnel costs
• Project manager

1. Full-time management of the project

• 40,000 ADA
• Development team

1. Backend development

• 40,000 ADA

1. Frontend development

• 30,000 ADA
• Blockchain development

1. Smart contract development and integration

• 35,000 ADA
• UI/UX design

1. Part-time UI/UX designer

• 35,000 ADA
• Product development

1. Oversees product development from conception to launch

• 30,000 ADA
• Quality assurance

1. Testing and refinement

• 15,000 ADA
• Technology costs
• Server and infrastructure
• Hosting, databases, backend services
• 12,000 ADA
• Software licenses
• Design and development tools
• 3,000 ADA
• Blockchain operation costs
• Smart contract deployment, transaction fees
• 5,000 ADA
• Marketing costs
• Marketing materials
• Design of promotional content
• 8,000 ADA
• Community Workshops/Webinars
• Hosting events to engage the community
• 10,000 ADA
• Public relations
• Media and PR engagement
• 7,000 ADA
• Miscellaneous expenses
• Legal and Compliance
• Compliance with laws and regulations
• 15,000 ADA
• Contingency fund
• Reserved for unforeseen costs or overruns
• 15,000 ADA

Total Project Cost: 300,000 ADA

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

The budget allocation has been meticulously planned to ensure it provides significant value for money to the Cardano ecosystem. The investment directly correlates with both tangible and intangible benefits that will foster innovation, community engagement, and scalability within the ecosystem. Here is a detailed justification of the project costs:

Justification of Costs:

1. Personnel Costs ($193,000)

• Project Management, Development, and Design Team: The salaries for these roles are set at competitive rates that are in line with industry standards in the technology sector. For example, the average salary for a project manager in the tech industry ranges from $50,000 to $100,000 annually, depending on experience and location. Similarly, software and blockchain developers' compensation aligns with the prevailing market rates, which reflect the specialized skills required for blockchain development and UI/UX design.
• Quality Assurance and Educational Content Creators: These costs are essential to ensure the platform is bug-free and provides high-quality, engaging educational content. The allocated budget is based on typical freelance rates or part-time salaries for professionals in these fields.

2. Technology Costs ($20,000)

• Infrastructure and Licenses: Server hosting, security, and database management are critical to ensuring the platform's reliability and speed. The costs associated with these services are benchmarked against standard industry providers and offer the scalability and security necessary for handling sensitive data and blockchain operations.
• Blockchain Operations: The deployment of smart contracts and other blockchain operations incur costs in terms of transaction fees and development tools. These are priced based on current Cardano network fees and the need for high-security measures in smart contract deployment.

3. Marketing Costs ($22,000):

The allocation for marketing and community engagement ensures that the project reaches a broad audience within the Cardano community and beyond. This involves creating high-quality promotional materials and organizing community workshops and webinars. The budget for these activities is based on average costs for similar services in the tech industry, providing good visibility for the project at a reasonable cost.

4. Miscellaneous Expenses ($20,000):

• Legal and Compliance: It is crucial to ensure that the platform complies with international data protection regulations and blockchain compliance standards. The budget is based on average rates for legal consulting in the tech industry.
• Contingency Fund: A contingency fund of 6% of the total budget is reserved to manage unforeseen circumstances efficiently without compromising the project's progress.

Value for Money for the Cardano Ecosystem:

• Innovation and Adoption: By funding a project that enhances the utility of the Cardano blockchain through educational and organizational tools, the ecosystem stands to gain in terms of increased adoption and the demonstration of blockchain's potential beyond traditional financial applications.
• Community Building: The project focuses on community engagement and education, which are vital for fostering a knowledgeable and active user base that can contribute to and advocate for the Cardano ecosystem.
• Scalability and Impact: The tools developed will support the scalability of operations for various organizations within the ecosystem, enhancing overall efficiency and effectiveness.

Supporting Evidence:

The cost projections are based on market research and quotes from service providers, ensuring that all expenses are competitive and justified. 

Historical data from similar projects within the tech and blockchain industries have been considered to ensure that the budget aligns with standard practices and delivers optimal results for the invested funds.

Overall, this project is designed to offer substantial value for money by directly contributing to the growth and development of the Cardano ecosystem through strategic investments in technology, personnel, and community engagement.

• Project management salaries: https://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/remote-project-management-salary-SRCH_IL.0,6_IS11047_KO7,25.htm
• Frontend development salaries:

https://www.ziprecruiter.com/Salaries/Frontend-Developer-Salary-in-Cheyenne,WY

• Backend development salaries:

https://www.ziprecruiter.com/Salaries/Backend-Developer-Salary-in-Cheyenne,WY

• Blockchain developer:

https://www.ziprecruiter.com/Salaries/Blockchain-Developer-Salary-in-Farmington,CT

• UI/UX:

https://www.ziprecruiter.com/Salaries/User-Experience-User-Interface-Designer-Salary-in-Cheyenne,WY

• Quality Assurance Tester:

https://www.ziprecruiter.com/Salaries/Quality-Assurance-Tester-Salary-in-Cheyenne,WY

• Educational Content Creator:

https://www.ziprecruiter.com/Salaries/Educational-Consultant-Salary-in-Cheyenne,WY