Last updated 11 months ago
Cardano lacks user-friendly DAO platforms with automated on-chain execution. Existing solutions like Summon shut down or use off-chain voting without true governance automation.
We build the first complete DAO platform for Cardano with automated on-chain execution. Votes directly trigger treasury spending and DeFi operations on-chain.
This is the total amount allocated to Paideia DAO Management: the path to MVP on mainnet.
Please provide your proposal title
Paideia DAO Management: the path to MVP on mainnet
Enter the amount of funding you are requesting in ADA
100000
Please specify how many months you expect your project to last
8
Please indicate if your proposal has been auto-translated
No
Original Language
en
What is the problem you want to solve?
Cardano lacks user-friendly DAO platforms with automated on-chain execution. Existing solutions like Summon shut down or use off-chain voting without true governance automation.
Supporting links
Does your project have any dependencies on other organizations, technical or otherwise?
Yes
Describe any dependencies or write 'No dependencies'
Maestro for blockchain data, but Blockfrost could also be used.
Will your project's outputs be fully open source?
Yes
License and Additional Information
GPL
Please choose the most relevant theme and tag related to the outcomes of your proposal.
DAO
Describe what makes your idea innovative compared to what has been previously funded (whether by you or others).
No Catalyst project has delivered comprehensive DAO management for Cardano. Summon Platform shut down. Agora uses off-chain voting without treasury integration. Previous funding went to individual DAO projects or governance research, not complete platforms. Paideia provides the missing infrastructure: user-friendly DAO creation, on-chain voting with treasury integration, DeFi protocol connections, and automated proposal execution once triggered. Open source, and anyone can run the infrastructure locally, even if the project shuts down.
Describe what your prototype or MVP will demonstrate, and where it can be accessed.
The MVP will demonstrate complete DAO lifecycle at cardano.paideia.im: deploy tokens with CIP-68, create DAOs, register to vote, submit proposals, vote on-chain, and execute treasury spending automatically. Building on our Fund 12 "Building Blocks for DAO management" delivery (basic treasury operations), we'll add comprehensive vote cleanup for multiple concurrent proposals, DeFi protocol integrations, and enhanced user experience. Users can test creating DAOs, managing treasuries, and executing complex proposals. All functionality accessible through web interface with mobile support.
Describe realistic measures of success, ideally with on-chain metrics.
Success measured by fully functional MVP deployed on Cardano mainnet without critical bugs. On-chain metrics: 25+ test DAOs created, 100+ proposals processed with automated execution, 500+ governance transactions, ₳50,000+ in test treasury funds managed. User adoption: 200+ registered voters across DAOs, 50+ completed proposal cycles, zero fund losses. Technical milestones: comprehensive vote cleanup working for concurrent proposals, DeFi integrations functional, mobile interface responsive. Platform stability demonstrated through 3+ months continuous operation on mainnet.
Please describe your proposed solution and how it addresses the problem
We will complete Paideia - the first DAO management platform for Cardano that enables comprehensive on-chain governance with streamlined execution workflows.
Complete Web Application: User-friendly interface at cardano.paideia.im where anyone can create, manage, and participate in DAOs without technical knowledge. No command-line tools or developer experience required - accessible to the entire Cardano community.
MVP-Ready Platform: Our Fund 12 delivery brought us 80-90% to a production-ready MVP, but critical gaps remain for mainnet deployment. We need to solve key technical issues and add essential features that make the platform truly user-friendly and sustainable.
Treasury Management Interface: DAOs can manage multi-asset treasuries (ADA, native tokens, NFTs) with proposal-driven spending and integration with Cardano DeFi protocols for yield optimization.
Mobile-Responsive Platform: Full functionality accessible from any device, enabling broad participation across mobile and desktop users globally.
Fills Critical Infrastructure Gap: Summon Platform's closure left Cardano without comprehensive DAO tooling. Existing solutions like Agora provide basic voting but lack treasury integration and user-friendly interfaces. Even major projects like SundaeSwap struggle with current governance options.
Completes The MVP: Our strong foundation needs these final pieces:
Frontend: React/Next.js application with TypeScript, mobile-first responsive design, real-time blockchain synchronization, and multi-wallet support.
Smart Contracts: Enhanced Aiken-based validators building on our Fund 12 foundation, with improved user experience, automated execution, and treasury staking integration.
Backend: NodeJS APIs for blockchain interaction, caching for performance, and automated transaction services.
The MVP will demonstrate complete, production-ready DAO lifecycle management with sustainable economics, proving Cardano can host sophisticated governance applications.
Please define the positive impact your project will have on the wider Cardano community
Paideia addresses a documented infrastructure gap in Cardano's governance ecosystem. With Summon Platform's closure, the ecosystem lost its primary DAO tooling, and current alternatives like Agora provide only basic voting without treasury integration or user-friendly interfaces.
Infrastructure Impact: Creates the missing DAO management layer that projects currently lack for sophisticated governance. Provides open-source GPL-licensed foundation that prevents single-point-of-failure infrastructure loss that occurred with Summon's shutdown.
Technical Ecosystem Benefits: Delivers production-ready smart contracts and reference implementation for DAO functionality on Cardano. The open-source nature enables other developers to build on our foundation or self-host, ensuring long-term availability regardless of project status.
User Experience Advancement: First comprehensive DAO platform with mobile-responsive interface accessible to non-technical users. Eliminates command-line requirements and manual execution bottlenecks that currently limit governance participation.
Sustainable Economic Model: Treasury staking integration creates sustainable revenue stream while providing DAOs additional yield on idle funds. This economic model addresses the sustainability challenges that contributed to previous platform failures.
Measurable Outcomes: Success will be demonstrated through functional MVP on mainnet with automated proposal execution, treasury management, and vote cleanup mechanisms that allow for true parallel voting. Platform stability and feature completeness are verifiable on-chain metrics.
Long-term Value: Establishes Cardano as viable platform for sophisticated governance applications. Creates foundation for future governance innovation and demonstrates blockchain capability beyond simple token transfers.
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?
Proven Technical Delivery:
We successfully delivered the Fund 12 "Building Blocks for DAO Management" project, implementing the core smart contract foundation in Aiken. The contracts are production-ready and handle the fundamental DAO operations: treasury management, on-chain voting, proposal creation, and execution.
Team Expertise:
Luivatra - MSc Computer Science, currently works at Sundae Labs (major Cardano DeFi protocol), delivered the Fund 12 smart contracts using Aiken. Has direct experience with Cardano's UTXO model, Plutus validation, and production smart contract deployment.
Marty - 3+ years Cardano development experience. Many more years of project management, and full-stack development experience. Responsible for the offchain code, web application architecture, and user experience implementation.
Current Progress:
We're not starting from scratch - we have approximately 80-90% of the core functionality completed from Fund 12 delivery. The smart contracts handle basic DAO operations, and we have a working web interface that anyone can also deploy locally. You can see the current state of development in our codebase with functioning components for DAO creation, treasury funding, proposal management, and voting mechanisms.
Technical Architecture Proven:
Fund Management Approach:
Based on Fund 12 delivery track record, we propose milestone-based funding with clear deliverables:
Risk Mitigation:
The core functionality already exists and works. This funding focuses on production readiness rather than fundamental research, significantly reducing technical risk. Our GPL licensing ensures the codebase remains available even if the project team changes.
Demonstrable Capability:
The platform is functional enough that we can deploy the current iteration to testnet shortly. The remaining work is productionizing existing functionality rather than building from zero.
Milestone Title
Core Production Readiness & User Experience
Milestone Outputs
Fixed vote receipt cleanup functionality enabling users to properly unregister and withdraw governance tokens regardless of voting history. Implemented automated proposal evaluation and execution system eliminating manual intervention requirements (user needs to submit "audit" transactions to finalize votes and execute actions at the moment). Enhanced mobile interface with responsive design ensuring full functionality across devices. Improved error handling with clear user feedback for transaction failures and validation errors. Deployed stable testnet version with comprehensive testing of core DAO lifecycle operations.
Acceptance Criteria
Users can withdraw governance tokens after voting without vote receipt cleanup issues. Proposals automatically evaluate and execute when voting period ends and conditions are met. Mobile interface fully functional on major browsers and screen sizes. Error messages provide clear guidance when transactions fail with actionable next steps. Platform demonstrates stable operation on testnet with zero critical bugs in core user flows.
Evidence of Completion
Transaction hashes showing successful governance token withdrawal after voting participation. Video demonstration of automated proposal execution from start to finish. Mobile responsiveness testing results across devices and browsers. Live platform accessible at cardano.paideia.im. Community testing feedback confirming improved user experience.
Delivery Month
2
Cost
25000
Progress
30 %
Milestone Title
DAO Self-Governance & Contract Management
Milestone Outputs
Implemented DAO configuration modification capabilities allowing governance votes to change voting thresholds, quorum requirements, and proposal duration limits. Built contract whitelist management system enabling DAOs to authorize new proposal and action types through governance votes. Developed smart contract integration framework for adding custom governance functionality. Created governance proposal templates for common configuration changes and contract additions.
Acceptance Criteria
DAOs successfully modify their own governance parameters including threshold percentages, quorum requirements, and time limits through voting processes. DAOs can add new contract types to their whitelisted proposals and actions via governance votes. Contract whitelist changes take effect immediately after successful governance approval. Configuration modifications are validated to prevent invalid settings that could break DAO functionality.
Evidence of Completion
Transaction hashes showing successful DAO parameter modifications through governance votes. Demonstration of DAO adding new contract types to whitelist through voting process.Smart contract validation preventing invalid configuration changes.
Delivery Month
4
Cost
35000
Progress
60 %
Milestone Title
Treasury Staking & Sustainable Revenue Model
Milestone Outputs
Implemented treasury staking system allowing DAOs to earn yield on idle ADA with configurable delegation options. Built Paideia fee structure taking small percentage of staking rewards to fund platform infrastructure and development. Created treasury management interface for DAOs to monitor staking performance and rewards. Developed automated reward distribution system ensuring transparent fee collection and DAO yield payments.
Acceptance Criteria
DAOs can stake treasury ADA and receive staking rewards with transparent fee deduction for Paideia operations. Platform fee structure clearly communicated and automatically applied to staking rewards. Treasury staking interface shows real-time staking status, rewards earned, and fee breakdowns. Automated reward distribution functions correctly without manual intervention. Revenue model demonstrates platform sustainability with projected infrastructure costs covered.
Evidence of Completion
Live treasury staking functionality with measurable ADA rewards generated for test DAOs. Transaction records showing automated fee collection and reward distribution. Treasury management dashboard displaying staking performance metrics.
Delivery Month
6
Cost
25000
Progress
90 %
Milestone Title
Production Launch & Project Close-out
Milestone Outputs
Completed comprehensive testing and bug fixes based on community feedback.Prepared deployment guides for community self-hosting options. Created project close-out report detailing achievements, metrics, and lessons learned. Produced demonstration video showcasing complete platform capabilities.
Acceptance Criteria
Platform operates stably on mainnet without critical issues. All core functionality tested and verified. UX enables new users to successfully create and manage DAOs without support. Self-hosting deployment guides allow technical users to run their own instances.
Evidence of Completion
Continuous mainnet operation metrics showing stability and uptime. Community testing results and feedback integration documentation. Video demonstration of end-to-end DAO lifecycle including all major features. Public repository with deployment instructions and GPL licensing confirmed.
Delivery Month
8
Cost
15000
Progress
100 %
Please provide a cost breakdown of the proposed work and resources
All the costs cover Luivatra and Marty's developer salaries. Each milestone breakdown effectively assumes the hourly rate for development will be covered close to the typical fee charged at our day jobs. We will work on this project part time.
How does the cost of the project represent value for the Cardano ecosystem?
What We're Delivering for ₳100,000:
Already Built (80-90% complete from Fund 12):
What ₳100k Actually Buys:
Summary:
Comparable Value:
Honest Assessment:
₳100k is reasonable for finishing and productionizing what's already 80-90% built. If we were starting from zero, this scope would need ₳400k+. But given our head start and proven team, it's fair value for delivering Cardano's first comprehensive DAO management platform.
The real value is filling a critical ecosystem gap that's been empty since Summon's closure.
Terms and Conditions:
Yes
Based on the project knowledge, here's the team summary:
Luivatra - Lead Smart Contract Developer
MSc Computer Science with specialization in blockchain systems
Currently employed at Sundae Labs, one of Cardano's leading DeFi protocols, providing deep ecosystem knowledge and production smart contract experience
Successfully delivered Fund 12 "Building Blocks for DAO Management" smart contracts using Aiken
Expert in Cardano's UTXO model, Plutus validation, and production-grade smart contract development
Responsible for all on-chain development including DAO validators, treasury management, and governance mechanisms
Marty - Full-Stack Developer & Project Lead
3+ years dedicated Cardano development experience spanning smart contracts, frontend, and infrastructure
Project management and technical coordination experience
Full-stack development expertise with Next.js/React, TypeScript, and Node.js
Responsible for web application development, user experience, and project delivery coordination
Technical Expertise Demonstrated:
Proven Delivery: Successfully completed Fund 12 smart contract foundation, providing 80-90% of core functionality already implemented
Production Experience: Luivatra's work at Sundae Labs demonstrates ability to build and maintain production Cardano applications handling significant value
Full-Stack Capability: Team covers complete development pipeline from smart contracts to user-facing applications
Cardano Specialization: Deep knowledge of Cardano-specific technologies including Aiken, UTXO model, and wallet integrations
Development Stack:
Smart Contracts: Aiken (Fund 12 proven delivery)
Frontend: Next.js, React, TypeScript with mobile-responsive design
Backend: Node.js with Blaze SDK for blockchain interaction
Infrastructure: Maestro API integration with comprehensive caching layers
The team's combination of academic credentials, production ecosystem experience, and demonstrated Catalyst delivery creates a strong foundation for completing this ambitious DAO platform within the proposed timeline and budget.