Powering a Community Cooperative using Cardano by selfdriven

[Proposal setup] Proposal title

Please provide your proposal title

Powering a Community Cooperative using Cardano by selfdriven

[Proposal Summary] Budget Information

Enter the amount of funding you are requesting in ADA

200000

[Proposal Summary] Time

Please specify how many months you expect your project to last

10

[Proposal Summary] Problem Statement

What is the problem you want to solve?

It is difficult for non-technical cooperatives to engage with the Cardano network in a meaningful way.

[Proposal Summary] Supporting Documentation

Supporting links

• https://energy.selfdriven.foundation/cardano-catalyst/proposal/community-cooperative/
,
• https://selfdriven.network
,
• https://github.com/selfdriven-tech/interface-onchain
,
• https://energy.selfdriven.foundation/cardano-catalyst/proposal/checklist/
,
• https://www.beyonderscollective.com/

[Proposal Summary] Project Dependencies

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

Yes

Describe any dependencies or write 'No dependencies'

Cardano network & selfdriven.network

[Proposal Summary] Project Open Source

Will your project's outputs be fully open source?

Yes

Please provide details on the intellectual property (IP) status of your project outputs, including whether they will be released as open source or retained under another licence.

MIT/Apache‑2.0/CCO

[Theme Selection] Theme

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

Business Services

[Campaign Category] Category Questions

Describe what makes your idea innovative compared to what has been previously launched in the market (whether by you or others).

We have not identified any existing product or Catalyst proposal capable of taking a cooperative from the stage of defining intent through to a fully provisioned decentralised cooperative system, including governance setup, identity issuance, treasury operations, member onboarding, and live decision-making. This gap shows the need for an end-to-end solution that can translate cooperative intent into a functioning, self-managed organisation on decentralised infrastructure.

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

It will demonstrate the current generic capabilities of the selfdriven network across the On-Chain (Cardano) Interface and Human Interface, customised for the health cooperative use case. This includes the ability to self-actuate through intent definitions (templates) that trigger auto-provisioning of governance, credentialing, and cooperative functions. The pilot will be accessed at "app.selfdriven.coop" built from the existing https://org.selfdriven.app platform.

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

Per community:

• Script/Plutus Addresses for managing shared community cooperative assets - 100
• Sales transactions - ADA/USDM - 10 per day after 6 months and then increasing
• DeFi transactions - 100 per day after 6 months and then increasing
• Proofs of identity, credentials & connections - 10 per day.
• Community member individual-use ie create own wallet - DeFi usage. Using selfdriven guides like https://www.selfdriven.support/guides/getting-on-chain/

In total per community:

• “20 cooperative members onboarded within pilot.”
• “100 script addresses within pilot.”
• “9000 transactions (sales + DeFi) processed within first 3 months of going life.”

Number of communities:

• Year 1: 4
• Year 2: 10

[Your Project and Solution] Solution

Please describe your proposed solution and how it addresses the problem

Build and pilot a complete on-chain operating model for a cooperative, proving it end-to-end in a real health-sector deployment. Once validated, release the entire stack as a reusable open-source “Community Cardano Kit” so any organisation can start their own cooperative without needing deep technical expertise.

The process flows as: define the cooperative’s intent → model its structure, roles and rules → deploy the Cardano smart contract kit → onboard members with wallets and credentials → activate governance and treasury → go live as a functioning decentralised cooperative.

This project turns cooperative formation from a long, specialist, manual task into a repeatable, click-to-provision system powered by Cardano and selfsovereign identity.

Membership NFT / credential

Manages cooperative membership + voting rights

Wallet + USDM / ADA payment flow

Sales + monthly contributions + shared pool payouts

Treasury smart contract

Self-managed community fund with controlled withdrawals

Governance module

Proposals, voting, quorum, configurable rules

SSI

Verifiable identity for roles

Reporting dashboard

Sales, payouts, contributions, member onboarding

Autopay & distributions

Member earnings + recurring contributions

Human-forward Approach

No blockchain knowledge required. Members interact via:

• Web dashboard
• Wallet connect + QR payments
• “Role-based actions” rather than blockchain jargon

Pilot Deployment

The Beyonders Collective becomes the first production user.

They will:

1. onboard 10 members

2. accept payments in ADA/USDM for artisan goods

3. split earnings through the cooperative treasury

4. govern decisions collectively

All templates, documents, and modules created for the pilot are published openly.

[Your Project and Solution] Impact

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

This project accelerates real-world adoption of Cardano by enabling everyday cooperatives — not just crypto-natives — to operate on-chain without technical knowledge.

Craft and maker cooperatives represent a large, global, and economically underserved category of community-based organisations. They generate value but are constrained by outdated administrative systems, manual accounting, and trust-heavy cashflow management. By giving them a plug-and-play operating system powered by ADA / USDM, this project turns Cardano into a practical economic engine for grassroots enterprises.

The impact is both direct (for the pilot cooperative) and multiplying (for the broader ecosystem):

Direct Impact

• 25+ members transition to on-chain payments and income distribution

• Transparent treasury and governance reduce disputes and administrative overhead

• New income streams for artisans selling goods through the cooperative using ADA/USDM

• Financial agency shifts from a central coordinator to the collective itself

Systemic Impact

• The pilot becomes a case study and onboarding blueprint for other cooperatives

• The open-source “Community Cardano Kit” offers a repeatable pattern of real-world usage

• Demonstrates clear economic utility of ADA and USDM in daily transactions

• Strengthens Cardano’s positioning as a platform for inclusive economic participation, not speculation

Network Effects

Each cooperative that launches using the kit creates:

• additional wallet holders

• ongoing transaction activity

• funds retained within Cardano

• community education ripple effects as members introduce peers

This means one successful project becomes a catalyst for many more, without requiring repeated Catalyst funding.

Why this matters for the Cardano mission

Cardano aims to support prosperity and participation for all.

Cooperatives — especially craft, cultural, and local-enterprise groups — are a perfect match:

• communally owned

• democratically governed

• value created at the edge rather than the centre

By giving these communities digital sovereignty through Cardano, this project directly advances:

• financial inclusion

• participatory governance

• real economic utility for ADA

Impact beyond the pilot

Because the kit is open-source and designed for non-technical adoption, the model can scale into:

• agricultural and food cooperatives

• community wellness collectives

• childcare and education co-ops

• First Nations / Indigenous community enterprises

• creative and cultural associations

• shared-resource collectives (makerspaces, tool libraries, fab labs)

Each new deployment reinforces Cardano as the blockchain of real-world community economics.

This proposal delivers high ecosystem value because:

• it creates daily, repeatable, grassroots Cardano usage

• it empowers non-technical people to participate economically

• it establishes a pathway for global replication without additional funding

• it strengthens Cardano’s reputation as the blockchain for social, economic and cooperative empowerment

This is not “blockchain for cooperatives” — it is cooperatives powered by Cardano.

[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?

The selfdriven Foundation was founded in 2019 and the team is highly engaged within the Cardano community. It has a robust organisational structure.

Mark Byers (selfdriven Co-founder) is a qualified Engineer and has 30+ years experience delivering internet based high-grade solutions to market, including the vision to co-found the https://entityOS.cloud service in 2000.

Mark has been involved in the Cardano ecosystem since 2019 and has a strong technical understanding and involvement in community projects and a co-initiator and contributor to the Eastern Cardano Council.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/marknbyers

Bence Lukács (selfdriven Co-founder) is a former sports trainer and school teacher with 10+ years of experience in Digital Education, Higher Education Organisational Development and building open learning and collaboration (infra-)structure.

Bence also researches Blockchain through the lens of social sciences, focusing especially on Openness, Open Science and DeSci.

At the selfdriven Foundation he is the Organisational Lead, managing projects and organisational operations as well as supporting the development of the educational frameworks. He is engaged in the DACH (Germany, Austria and Switzerland) Cardano Community and an IntersectMBO member, participating in the Decentralised Education, the Decentralised Trust & Identity SIG and (co-hosting & attending various) Constitutional Workshops.

https://linkedin.com/in/bencelukacs

Damian Noonan (selfdriven Co-Founder) has over 20 years experience delivering technology projects as part of strategic transformation initiatives, with expertise particularly Salesforce, MuleSoft and its emerging technologies. As co-founder of recently acquired Tquila ANZ, Damian has experience in building teams and delivering enterprise solutions.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/damian-noonan-9942891

Dirk Van Onsem (Business + Purpose)

Executive leadership corporate experience as VP at Nike Inc. leading large teams across 12 countries in EMEA, growing $3B+ annual net revenue, partnerships, and strategy. IEMBA from Vlerick Business School, Certified Coach & Facilitator. Recent facilitation work with Voltage Control team for Cardano/IOG Constitution workshops, including General Assembly in Buenos Aires (Sep-Dec 2024) and more recently the Midnight City Simulation workshop in Buenos Aires (Aug 2025).

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dirkvanonsem/

Cassia Elizabeth Jayani Patel (Science + Community)

Conservation, sustainability strategy, and multi-stakeholder engagement with international agencies, governments, private sector, and grassroots communities in executive leadership roles at nonprofit Oceanic Global, tech startup Anthropogenic, convener Earth One, and mobility startup Global Passport. Environmental Engineering degree from Columbia University.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/cassia-elizabeth-jayani/

Jamie Anley (Innovation + Storytelling)

Built and sold high-profile London-based creative design agency JAM Design after 30 years of mission-aligned design projects, cause marketing and leadership purpose quests. Co-Founder of Moving Beyond intersectional climate convener building community and bridging polarized siloes. Facilitator and inner work expert.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamieanley/

[Milestones] Project Milestones

Milestone Title

Project Management Plan & Foundation

Milestone Outputs

A comprehensive project plan document that outlines scope, stakeholder mapping, work-breakdown structure, risk register, QA approach, communications strategy, and a detailed project delivery calendar, ensuring every participant has clarity on responsibilities, sequencing, milestones, decision points, and success measures throughout the execution of the community cooperative pilot.

Acceptance Criteria

A single PDF project plan stored in the repository that includes the scope, stakeholder map, work-breakdown structure, risk register, QA plan, communications plan, and delivery calendar, providing one authoritative reference that documents responsibilities, timelines, dependencies, and decision gates so all contributors work from the same coordinated roadmap during the community cooperative rollout.

Evidence of Completion

A public link to the GitHub repository showing the project plan as a versioned PDF/Markdown file, tagged with release v0.1 and backed by a visible commit history, so reviewers can verify when the plan was created, how it has evolved over time, who contributed to each change, and that the selfdriven Health cooperative rollout is being managed from a single, transparent source of truth.

Delivery Month

1

Cost

20000

Progress

10 %

Milestone Title

Design & Build

Milestone Outputs

Membership contract, treasury module, payment flows, governance module, onboarding dashboard

Design:

• Cooperative operating model converted into technical + governance blueprint

• Process maps for payments, revenue distribution, onboarding, and decision-making

• UX wireframes for dashboard, onboarding flow, and treasury controls

• Technical architecture for smart contracts + SSI + ADA/USDM payments

Build:

• Membership contract (NFT/credential logic)

• Treasury contract with distribution rules

• Governance module (proposals + voting + quorum)

• Payment flow using ADA + optional USDM

• Dashboard with role-based UX and wallet connect

• Backend indexing + reporting APIs

Acceptance Criteria

Design:

• Design artefacts reviewed and approved by the Beyonders Collective pilot group

• User requirements mapped to system flows and incorporated into UX

• Design validated with both technical and non-technical participants

• Finalised scope and backlog approved for build phase

Build:

• Membership contract (NFT/credential logic)

• Treasury contract with distribution rules

• Governance module (proposals + voting + quorum)

• Payment flow using ADA + optional USDM

• Dashboard with role-based UX and wallet connect

• Backend indexing + reporting APIs

Evidence of Completion

Design:

• Public design documentation in GitHub

• UX wireframes / Figma link

• Meeting record / sign-off document from the cooperative

• Architecture and implementation backlog published

Build:

• GitHub repos with contract code + dashboard code

• Testnet deployment addresses

• API documentation and demo video

• Security review summary document

Delivery Month

5

Cost

80000

Progress

50 %

Milestone Title

Use & Reflect - Live Deployment with The Beyonders Collective + Workshops

Milestone Outputs

Member onboarding, payments go-live, training resources, video walk-throughs, case study docs

• Cooperative members onboarded to the platform

• Live payments in ADA/USDM for crafters goods

• Governance and voting active for real proposals

• Distributions executed using cooperative treasury

• Training resources: video walkthroughs, onboarding docs, facilitator notes

Acceptance Criteria

Milestone success is demonstrated by onboarding at least ten pilot participants, processing a minimum of fifty real cooperative transactions, creating and voting on at least five governance proposals, and completing at least one income distribution cycle, proving that membership, decision-making, treasury flows, and real economic activity are all functioning in a live cooperative environment.

Evidence of Completion

• Transaction explorer links (payment + distribution + governance)

• Pilot case study report published

• Workshop attendance + learning summary

• Feedback analysis from members (survey + interviews)

Delivery Month

8

Cost

60000

Progress

80 %

Milestone Title

Document & Socialise - Public Release of the “Community Cardano Kit” for Repeat Deployment

Milestone Outputs

• Public GitHub + docs + templates + deployment guide + governing playbook

• Full GitHub repository with smart contracts, deploy scripts, UX, docs

• Step-by-step deployment guide for cooperatives

• Governance playbook + treasury operating guide

• “Non-technical onboarding kit” for members

• Public communications assets (summaries, explainer graphics, video demo)

Acceptance Criteria

• Repository meets reproducibility standard: “any cooperative can deploy”

• Documentation tested by at least one new external evaluator

• No proprietary dependencies or blockers for self-hosting

• Community announcement and onboarding call completed

Evidence of Completion

• GitHub repository link

• Documentation site / Wiki link

• Public announcement post + community call recording

• Third-party confirmation that the kit successfully deploys

Delivery Month

10

Cost

40000

Progress

100 %

[Final Pitch] Budget & Costs

Please provide a cost breakdown of the proposed work and resources

M1 – Project Management Plan – 20,000 ADA

Project Management: Scope definition, stakeholder mapping, work-breakdown structure, risk register, QA plan, comms plan, delivery calendar – 18,000 ADA

Tools & Admin: Project repository setup, version control, reporting templates, meeting facilitation tools – 2,000 ADA

M2 – Design & Build – 80,000 ADA

Solution Architecture & Design: BioChar use-case design, process mapping (inputs/outputs), data schema definition, public/private data categorisation – 16,000 ADA

Community Cardano Kit Development: Core build of Community Cardano Kit components, integration with Selfdriven.network On-Chain, SSI & AI interfaces – 50,000 ADA

Cardano Network Integration: Mapping to Cardano assets, AVS/partner-chains setup, integration of AVS features including Midnight compatibility – 30,000 ADA

Interface Enhancements: Updating On-Chain interface reference and implementing UI/UX improvements for community onboarding – 14,000 ADA

Testing & Quality Assurance: Internal QA, functionality verification, interface validation, regression testing – 10,000 ADA

Infrastructure & Tools: Dev environment setup, hosting costs, Cardano testnet/mainnet interactions, required software licenses – 10,000 ADA

Contingency (5%): Buffer for unexpected technical challenges or integration dependencies – 10,000 ADA

M3 – Use / Test – Pilot – 60,000 ADA

Deployment & Setup: Deploy Community Cardano Kit in BioHub pilot environment, configure network and infrastructure – 12,000 ADA

User Onboarding & Training: Create onboarding pathways, run training workshops, support initial users – 10,000 ADA

Field Testing & Feedback: Run live tests, gather feedback, analyse performance data, make adjustments – 12,000 ADA

Reporting & Review: Document test results, lessons learned, and recommendations for scaling – 6,000 ADA

Pilot Contingency / Support Capacity – 20,000 ADA

(Pilot contingency allows extra dev & support hours if uptake is high — aligns with Catalyst expectation that funds follow real usage.)

M4 – Document / Socialise / Publish – 40,000 ADA

Documentation: Compile final public docs, onboarding materials, reports and technical integration notes – 30,000 ADA

Community Engagement: Presentations, social media promotion, partnership announcements, case studies – 5,000 ADA

Production & Publishing: Video walkthroughs, assets, website updates, graphical comms – 5,000 ADA

[Final Pitch] Value for Money

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

High leverage:

A reusable Kit + a real pilot. Delivers open standards, working code, and a public case study that others can clone. Strengthens Cardano’s positioning for verifiable community processes using partner‑chains and AVS, while keeping costs modest and outcomes concrete.

[Self-Assessment] Self-Assessment Checklist

I confirm that evidence of prior research, whitepaper, design, or proof-of-concept is provided.

Yes

I confirm that the proposal includes ecosystem research and uses the findings to either (a) justify its uniqueness over existing solutions or (b) demonstrate the value of its novel approach.

Yes

I confirm that the proposal demonstrates technical capability via verifiable in-house talent or a confirmed development partner (GitHub, LinkedIn, portfolio, etc.)

Yes

I confirm that the proposer and all team members are in good standing with prior Catalyst projects.

Yes

I confirm that the proposal clearly defines the problem and the value of the on-chain utility.

Yes

I confirm that the primary goal of the proposal is a working prototype deployed on at least a Cardano testnet.

Yes

I confirm that the proposal outlines a credible and clear technical plan and architecture.

Yes

I confirm that the budget and timeline (≤ 12 months) are realistic for the proposed work.

Yes

I confirm that the proposal includes a community engagement and feedback plan to amplify prototype adoption with the Cardano ecosystem.

Yes

I confirm that the budget is for future development only; excludes retroactive funding, incentives, giveaways, re-granting, or sub-treasuries.

Yes

[Required Acknowledgements] Consent & Confirmation

I Agree

Yes