Micropayments for Catalyst

Create a 3-month pilot program with a group of prospective Catalyst members that offer micro-incentives for valuable contributions

Through WADA, we already have a pool of prospective proposers and community advisors that are well-placed to test micro-incentive efficacy

Main Deliverable:

A 60-day pilot program for a group of 15 Catalyst members, proposers, and community advisors, testing whether micro-incentives led to an increase in meaningful participation and higher quality of output. A report will then be distributed to the Catalyst community where we can review the findings and if successful, propose a larger trial.

--------IMPACT--------

How does this proposal fit into this challenge?

Recognising the value of new Catalyst members by providing micro-incentives for activities that contribute to the community.

How will this campaign add value to our ecosystem?

By providing these incentives, members are encouraged to participate more frequently and in greater ways.

Outlook and future challenges?

A controlled pilot phase is a must for this type of proposal. A small group of 15, from a mix of members, community advisors and proposers will be selected.

The nominal incentives rate applied here will be more effective when applied to members of LCOL regions, hence, a micro-incentive averaging less than (0.x) ADA per valuable contribution is a good place to start. Values to be identified as part of the project implementation.

A key objective for this proposal will be measuring daily activity.

We will do this by tracking the following:

• Comments
• Daily Logins
• Kudos
• Upvotes
• Proposals Submitted
• CA specific metrics
• Referrals

At any point it becomes apparent that there is an exploit in the rewards scheme, we will pause the program until it is identified and fixed.

After the pilot has concluded, a review will take place and a larger program may be proposed based on the results.

------FEASIBILITY-------

Reference (Past Successes):

WADA has access to a growing Catalyst member base, as well as developing their own membership platform. Through utilizing its own trusted network, reviewing applicants and using the membership platform to track activities, the pilot program has a high likelihood of successful implementation.

A control group will be created to track unincentivized activities. The group is not strictly a control group as they will know they are observed and may change their behavior, but this will at least provide a comparison.

Roadmap:

After funding is successfully secured:

• First 30 days - Program is finalized and rates are set for each activity type
• Applications are opened and participants are identified (15 days)
• Expected public launch, Jan 15th
• 60-day duration - Rewards program begins, in conjunction with a new funding cycle, if possible.

Post-program:

(7-day duration) Data is collated, feedback is received from all participants and a report is created for the Catalyst community to review the results and decide whether or not to extend the program to a second, larger trial.

Core Team & Roles:

Josh F - Project Coordinator and Finance Lead @ Wada

Mercy - Community Moderator and Coordination Lead @ Wada

Sidney - Developer Liaison and Diaspora Lead @ Wada

+ WADA Team

Budget breakdown:

Incentives $5000

Admin fees $3000

Developer and platform fees $1000

Marketing $500

--------AUDITABILITY----------

What success looks like:

The right balance of micro-incentives and increased participation will mean that the program can be extended to a larger group.

• 3 months: Program finalized and launched, rates set, and platform developed 
• 6 months: Program completed, incentives distributed and feedback gathered
• 12 months: Second iteration of the program launched, with a larger user base and higher utilization of software tools for both tracking and disbursements

Key Metrics:

• Average daily rewards gained (mean and mode)  

• Average activity metrics (mean and mode) 

• % difference in average activity metrics, test group vs control group (proxy for increased participation rate) 

• % Daily contributors

• Approval rating from participants  

• No. Likely to participate again 

• No. self-identified as ' fairly rewarded'

Risk Management:

Access to Activity Data: Accessing the ideascale API and understanding what data can be utilized will be needed to avoid self-reporting. In the case of missing data points, we have budgeted our developers to build a solution for activity tracking.

Rewards Exploits: We are constantly on the lookout for exploits and will have a moderator overseeing the program.

Scalability: How this program would scale for hundreds and then thousands of members would depend on a series of trials, growing incrementally as our process is improved and the technology becomes available to manage such a program. In the future, we may be able to employ AI to handle much of the moderation and auditing work.

Automation: Getting a smart contract to make daily rewards disbursements would be ideal, but it depends on both scalability and security concerns.

ROI: Measuring the value of contributions remains unquantifiable, however, measuring increased participation rates should account for some of this value.

Affiliated Proposals:

Donation & Reward Tracking:

https://cardano.ideascale.com/a/dtd/Donation-Reward-Tracking/366771-48088

TheCatalystSchool - Focusing Africa:

https://cardano.ideascale.com/a/dtd/TheCatalystSchool-Focusing-Africa/368891-48088

Auditing African Proposals, by WADA:

https://cardano.ideascale.com/a/dtd/Auditing-African-Proposals-by-WADA/366865-48088

Reimagining Decentralized Voting:

https://cardano.ideascale.com/a/dtd/Reimagining-Decentralized-Voting/368933-48088

Project brief:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/13aqa8TAAU5BNJovmIFRE2nQOZTqm30XHfZCf7ZKLD9E/edit?usp=sharing

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Interested in contributing or partnering? Get in touch by sending a private message

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