DII-Smart Contracts interactions

How my proposal impacts the objectives of the challenges?:

It is not a minor statement that advancing the understanding of the Decentralized Identity Infraestructure (DII) - Smart Contracts interactions has the potential to reduce many unfair practices in the developing world and pave the way to a local economy that demands productive, creative and innovative work from its citizens (and fewer complaints about the government or their particular social situation). A vibrant economy that fairly rewards effort, which consequently increases in those fairly rewarded their awareness of community and respect for their environment.

As a central Governance Authority in many of the most vital social processes in the lives of the people (healtcare, education, laws, feeding, employment, environment), the Governments in the developing world have almost absolute control over the Governance Framework. Of course that is not different in many of the countries in the world, but the evident ausence of some mechanism of regulation over that Governance Framework control has the most disastrous consequences for the people (and its environment) in those places.

Descentralized Identity and Smart Contracts in conjunction have the potential of provide that mechanism and to level the playing field for all the participants.

The first questions about the interactions of these two areas are being asked. I am convinced that their answers can begin to shed light on the lives of people in these parts of the world.

From the Trust Diamond perspective, the Atala Prism Pionners program teached me about the huge influence that can have the Governance Authority over the human activities when the Governance Authority has almost absolute control over the design of the Governance Framework, but alternatively, with the right tools and metodologies, that same Governance Framework can be forge with the participation of the all the stakeholders, preventing that some stakeholder in particular takes excesive control over the Framework itself.

My participation in the program has been the beginning of my journey and now I have to continue my work, in one of the most promising social labs in the world: my own country, Colombia. It's the most fertil land to observe and test the effects of the relation Descentralized Identity – Smart Contracts: unfair practices in the areas of commerce, healthcare, education, laws, employment, feeding, environment, are a constant.

For example, imagine a developing world where an Smart Contract can clean the land ownership verification process (carried out currently by the tampered and corrupt Legal System), ownership represented by an incorruptible and not tampered digital VC anchored to a blockchain equally not tampered and incorruptible.

Next phase: study of Smart Contracts

Final phase: study of the Descentralized Identity Infrastructure – Smart Contracts interactions.

Final result for the Cardano community and public in general: research paper about the use cases in which the application of both technologies in conjunction can result in a significant contribution to the solution of important social problems.

Will the research be peer reviewed?

Of course. The final result will be pubished openly for the Cardano community and the public in general.

Who is the target demographic for the research? Will it be written for mainstream consumption, or for smart contract developers?

My goal is contribute to the integration of those areas of knowledge and technology in the engine of the real world and its real problems. Therefore, my proposal seeks to have the widest possible impact, both in the work of the developers and in the understanding of the general public.

Milestones:

First milestone: Plutus study phase.  For a low fee, the European Business University has offered me an scholarship for the course Plutus/Haskell 1. The course begins in January 17th 2022 and ends in May 8th 2022.  At the same time, IOG has made available to students and interested parties the material of its Plutus courses and research on this language. Therefore, I have enough tools at disposal.

Second milestone: formal elaboration of research paper phase.  Creation of the research paper about the use cases in which the application of both technologies in conjunction can result in a significant contribution to the solution of important social problems.

Definition of sucess after 6 and 9 months:

5 months: end of the Plutus/Haskell 1 course

2 month: publication of the research paper

Budget:

Grant for scholarship (Full Time): ($500/month x 5 months [duration of the course]) = $2500

Grant for develop the paper research (Full Time): ($500 x 2 month) = $1000

KPI's (facts that can be easily measurable):

End of the Plutus course: May 8, 2022

Publication of the research paper: Aug 01, 2022

Expected public launch date: Ago 01, 2022

Information about the proposer:

Name of proposer: Sebastian Pabon

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ing-sebastian-pabon/

Github: https://github.com/sebpab