Decentralised Voting and Authentication System

[Proposal setup] Proposal title

Please provide your proposal title

Decentralised Voting and Authentication System

[Proposal Summary] Budget Information

Enter the amount of funding you are requesting in ADA

100000

[Proposal Summary] Time

Please specify how many months you expect your project to last

6

[Proposal Summary] Translation Information

Please indicate if your proposal has been auto-translated

No

Original Language

en

[Proposal Summary] Problem Statement

What is the problem you want to solve?

Governance today is fragmented—apps rebuild identity, mandates are siloed, and trust is weak. Communities need portable, verifiable group identity.

[Proposal Summary] Project Dependencies

Does your project have any dependencies on other organizations, technical or otherwise?

Yes

Describe any dependencies or write 'No dependencies'

Yes, our project has several essential dependencies: 1. Mātou Collective: Will be leading the project and provide a decentralised identifier (DID) system for communities, enabling self-sovereign identity management. The secure voting and authentication system will be built into the Āhau (FOSS) Platform 2. Identus Tools: We rely on the Identus ecosystem for compatibility with Verifiable Credentials and secure voting mechanisms, enabling both online and offline functionality. We are also working with the developers who maintain: Hyperledger Identus who supply the underlying identity infrastructure supporting secure issuance and verification of DIDs and VCs, ensuring compatibility with global standards (e.g., W3C). 3. Standards Organisations: Collaboration with organisations developing standards like OpenID4VC is crucial for maintaining compliance and interoperability, supporting user trust and system integrity. 4. **Whangaroa Papa Hapū (Papa Hapū):** A key community partner of Mātou since the Fund 9 TribalDIDs Project and this Fund14 proposal, are moving to the next phase of mandate development with their members which requires secure voting mechanisms to enable their reparations process with the Crown Office in Aotearoa, New Zealand. 5. Community Partnerships: Engaging with community organisations and tribal leaders is vital for gathering insights and ensuring the solution meets the needs of Māori communities, particularly in areas with limited internet access.

[Proposal Summary] Project Open Source

Will your project's outputs be fully open source?

Yes

License and Additional Information

All of our work to date and future use AGPLv3. Our project is fundamentally about building free and open commons infrastructure.

[Theme Selection] Theme

Please choose the most relevant theme and tag related to the outcomes of your proposal.

Governance

[Campaign Category] Category Questions

Describe what makes your idea innovative compared to what has been previously funded (whether by you or others).

Most funded projects rebuild identity and voting inside each app, creating silos and fragmented trust. Our solution anchors portable, verifiable group identity in Verifiable Credentials (VCs), letting communities define themselves once and use that identity anywhere. Aligned with open standards like OpenID4VC, it supports offline, privacy-preserving governance starting with Māori partners. This portable layer is reusable across Cardano, cutting costs, boosting trust, and enabling sovereign, cross-platform participation.

Describe what your prototype or MVP will demonstrate, and where it can be accessed.

To demonstrate the potential, we will prototype a demo application where tribal members can post proposals, and verified participants (using VCs issued by tribal administrators) can securely access proposals and vote.

It can be accessed via github repository.

Describe realistic measures of success, ideally with on-chain metrics.

• Number of VCs issued to community members (on-chain proof of credential issuance).

• Active verified members participating in governance processes (measured through voting events and credential usage).

• # of Proposals created in the demo app or integrated platforms (on-chain logs of proposal submissions).Auditability metrics – number of votes verifiable on-chain via cryptographic proofs, showing tamper-resistance.

[Your Project and Solution] Solution

Please describe your proposed solution and how it addresses the problem

This project will prototype digital governance solutions that place Verifiable Credentials (VCs) at the centre of community collective identity and decision-making. Instead of platforms owning the concept of a group, communities will define themselves independently and approach platforms as pre-existing entities.

Our solution addresses critical challenges by:

1. Eliminating Logins – Removing the need for separate credentials across platforms by enabling identity portability.

2. Streamlining Management – Simplifying onboarding and group maintenance through a single, trusted source of group definitions.

3. Enabling Self-Governance – Providing groups, including Indigenous and community partners with secure, self-hosted tools for mandate development, decision-making, and voting.

We will research and apply open standards such as OpenID4VC and Verifiable Presentation Requests, ensuring interoperability with existing identity infrastructures like Identus to which we have contributed extensively over the last 3 years. Starting with a local community Whangaroa Papa Hapū, who require secure voting mechanisms for their Crown reparations process, we will co-design and test solutions directly in real-world governance contexts.

To demonstrate the potential, we will prototype a demo application where tribal members can post proposals, and verified participants (using VCs issued by tribal administrators) can securely access and vote. We will also explore collaborations with Loomio and the Catalyst community to extend these capabilities into broader democratic governance infrastructure.

This phased, standards-driven approach ensures communities — as groups — can retain control of their collective identity, build resilient governance systems, and scale solutions that uphold sovereignty in both local and global contexts.

[Your Project and Solution] Impact

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

This project will demonstrate the utility of Cardano to enhance collective action, identity and democratic processes, fostering greater adoption of the technology by showcasing its effectiveness in secure and decentralised voting and authentication.

Measuring Impact

To evaluate our project's success, we will measure impact through:

1. Qualitative feedback from Whangaroa Papa Hapū, their members and other community partners.

2. Metrics about usage of the demo application and VC’s issued to vote

3. Measure success through follow-up discussions within the Cardano community about collective's using VCs for voting, indicating broader interest and adoption.

Sharing Outputs

We will share our outcomes through:

1. Publishing real-world Case Studies and Blog Posts: Regular updates detailing our findings and experiences throughout the project.

2. Open-Source Repositories: All documentation, designs, and source code will be publicly available, enabling the Cardano community to explore, replicate, or build upon our work.

[Your Project and Solution] Capabilities & 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?

We have a proven track record of delivering Verifiable Credential (VC) solutions, particularly in supporting Indigenous tribes in New Zealand to implement sovereign infrastructure. Our team has successfully deployed working prototypes for VC issuance and presentation within the Āhau (FOSS) Platform. Key strengths include:

1. Experienced Team: Proven contributions to open-source and decentralised tools, including decentralised voting (built on Scuttlebutt).

2. Community Engagement: We have years of experience building tools with and for Indigenous partners to ensure solutions that are empowering and fit for purpose.

3. Transparency: Open communication and regular updates on progress.

Validating Feasibility

To validate our approach, we will:

1. Pilot Testing: Gather feedback from community partners, Whangaroa Papa Hapū and its members to refine our solution.

2. Expert Collaboration: Consult with experts in decentralised identity for best practices.

3. Iterative Development: Adapt our design based on user feedback.

4. Stakeholder Input: Leverage our ongoing work with Whangaroa Papa Hapū to ensure alignment with their needs. Apply lessons learned from our experience with this project in Indigenous communities to this new context to scale the diversity and quantity of transactions on Cardano.

[Milestones] Project Milestones

Milestone Title

Research and Community Engagement

Milestone Outputs

1. Conduct research to gather requirements from relevant stakeholders, including community partners, Whangaroa Papa Hapū and its members, regarding their needs for decentralised governance tools, including both VC voting and authentication solutions.

2. Research OpenID4VC and Verifiable Presentation Request standards to ensure compatibility and interoperability with existing technologies.

3. Analyse and evaluate current tools available for VC voting and authentication, assessing their strengths, weaknesses, and applicability to our project.

4. Document findings in a comprehensive report that highlights community needs, potential solutions, and insights into existing tools.

Acceptance Criteria

1. Structured interviews with community partners, Whangaroa Papa Hapū and its members completed

2. Thorough analysis of OpenID4VC and Verifiable Presentation Request standards, summarising key insights and implications for the project.

3. Evaluation ofexisting VC voting tools and authentication tools, providing a comparative analysis of each.

4. A report capturing the needs of the community with actionable insights, along with findings from the standards and tools research.

Evidence of Completion

1. Interview transcripts or meeting notes from engagements with community partners, Whangaroa Papa Hapū and its members.

2. Research documentation detailing the analysis of OpenID4VC and Verifiable Presentation Request standards.

3. Comparative analysis report of current VC voting and authentication tools, including strengths and weaknesses.

4. Completed report summarising research findings, community needs, and insights from standards and tools analysis.

Delivery Month

1

Cost

33000

Progress

20 %

Milestone Title

Prototype Development

Milestone Outputs

1. Develop a prototype of the Verifiable Credential-based authentication system for secure, decentralised voting.

2. Create a user interface for the prototype that facilitates easy interaction for community members.

3. Document the design and development process, including user stories and technical specifications.

Acceptance Criteria

1. Complete initial version of the prototype with core functionalities.

2. Documented usability tests with community members to gather feedback on the user interface.

3. Project documentation that clearly outlines the development process and user interactions.

Evidence of Completion

1. Screenshots or recordings of the prototype in action.

2. Usability testing feedback reports from community members.

3. Design documentation and technical specifications.

Delivery Month

3

Cost

33000

Progress

70 %

Milestone Title

Pilot Implementation

Milestone Outputs

1. Implement the prototype in a real-world pilot scenario within selected Indigenous communities (Confirmed: Whangaroa Papa Hapū).

2. Monitor and evaluate the performance of the prototype during the pilot phase, collecting data on user engagement and technical functionality.

3. Compile a report on pilot outcomes, including successes and areas for improvement.

Acceptance Criteria

1. Prototype successfully deployed for community use in the pilot scenario.

2.User feedback collected and performance metrics throughout the pilot phase captured.

1. A comprehensive report analysing the pilot implementation and providing recommendations for future development.

Evidence of Completion

1. Pilot implementation reports detailing user engagement and feedback.

2. Performance metrics and analytics data collected during the pilot.

3. Final report summarising pilot outcomes and recommendations.

Delivery Month

5

Cost

20000

Progress

80 %

Milestone Title

Final Documentation and Community Training

Milestone Outputs

1. Finalise comprehensive documentation for the developed system, including user manuals, technical specifications, and maintenance guidelines.

2. Develop and deliver training sessions for community members to ensure effective use of the system.

Acceptance Criteria

1. All documentation complete with clear instructions and resources for users and developers.

2. Run a minimum of 3 Training sessions with community members complete, receiving feedback on their effectiveness.

Evidence of Completion

1. Copies of finalised documentation materials.

2. Training session materials and attendance records.

3. Feedback from community members on the training effectiveness.

Delivery Month

6

Cost

14000

Progress

100 %

[Final Pitch] Budget & Costs

Please provide a cost breakdown of the proposed work and resources

Development Team (60% - ₳60,000):

1. Salaries and compensation for developers, and technical team members.

2. Software development tools and licences.

Feature design (10% - ₳10,000):

1. Compensation for solution architecture services, development team and stakeholder input costs

Project management (7% - ₳7,000):

1. Compensation for project management resource responsible for reporting and communications

Documentation (5% - ₳5,000)

1. Technical writers for creating comprehensive documentation.

Community engagement (15% - ₳15,000)

1. Facilitation for stakeholder feedback, user testing and onboarding event

Contingency (3% - ₳3,000):

1. A reserve fund for unexpected expenses or scope changes.

The budget will be regularly revisited throughout the duration of the project with shared responsibility between the project leads to ensure that funds are allocated optimally and to accommodate any emerging needs or changes in scope. Additionally, maintaining a detailed and transparent record of expenditures will aid in effective budget management throughout the project lifecycle.

[Final Pitch] Value for Money

How does the cost of the project represent value for the Cardano ecosystem?

This project is additive to the Tribal DIDs work we completed in Fund 9 and will demonstrate the utility of Cardano to enhance democratic processes, fostering greater adoption of the technology by showcasing its effectiveness in secure and decentralised voting and authentication. It will surface critical learnings, identify limitations, and uncover adaptations needed for wider implementation by collectives.

Further, by developing open-source tools, we aim to replicate this solution across multiple communities in New Zealand and internationally, making it a scalable model. The costs reflect the level of expertise required to build this foundational phase, ensuring value for money as it lays the groundwork for broader adoption of VCs by groups and collectives in real-world applications.

[Required Acknowledgements] Consent & Confirmation

Terms and Conditions:

Yes