[SOLUTION] Please describe your proposed solution.

Our project aims to have a significant positive impact on the broader Cardano community, and we plan to achieve this by providing comprehensive education and training materials, hosting community meetups, and conducting in-person workshops. Importantly, these meetups and workshops will be strategically held at blockchain events that are not only important to the Cardano network but also contribute to the growth of the blockchain ecosystem as a whole.

Here's how our project will benefit the Cardano community and how we intend to measure and share the impact:

1. Empowering Community Members: Through education and hands-on training, our initiative will empower Cardano community members with the knowledge and skills required to establish and manage effective Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs). This empowerment will instill a sense of ownership, active participation, and responsibility within the community.
2. Fostering Community-Driven Governance: Cardano's goal of transitioning to genuinely community-driven governance relies on an educated and skilled community. Our project will play a pivotal role in facilitating this transition, as trained community members will be better equipped to participate in and contribute to DAOs, ensuring that governance decisions truly reflect the collective will of the Cardano community.
3. Boosting Innovation and Participation: A well-informed and skilled community is more likely to innovate and actively engage within the Cardano ecosystem. This increased innovation can lead to the creation of new DAOs, decentralized applications (DApps), and projects that enhance Cardano's utility and attractiveness to users and investors.
4. Enhancing Resilience and Sustainability: A community proficient in DAO formation and management can significantly contribute to the ecosystem's resilience and long-term sustainability. Effective DAOs can oversee and fund critical initiatives, research, and development, ensuring Cardano's continuous growth and improvement.

[IMPACT] Please define the positive impact your project will have on the wider Cardano community.

To measure the impact of our project, we will utilize a combination of quantitative and qualitative metrics:

• Attendance and Participation: We will track the number of participants in community meetups and in-person workshops. Increased attendance over time will indicate growing interest and engagement within the community.
• Feedback and Surveys: Gathering feedback from attendees, both during and after events, will provide insights into the effectiveness and relevance of the training materials and events. Positive feedback and constructive suggestions for improvement will indicate the quality of the education provided.
• Formation of New DAOs: One of the tangible outcomes we aim to measure is the formation and successful operation of new DAOs within the Cardano ecosystem. The creation of such DAOs will demonstrate the practical impact of our project.
• Community Involvement in Governance: We will monitor and measure the level of community involvement in Cardano's governance and decision-making processes. Increased participation in voting and proposal submissions within Cardano's governance mechanisms will be indicative of our project's success in fostering community-driven governance.

Sharing Outputs and Opportunities:

We are committed to sharing the outputs and opportunities resulting from our project with the wider Cardano community:

• Public Reporting: We will regularly publish reports detailing our project's progress, including the number of attendees at community meetups and workshops, feedback received, and the formation of new DAOs. These reports will be made available on our website and shared through Cardano community forums and social media channels.

• Community Engagement: We plan to attend popular blockchain events where we share our findings, gather feedback, and discuss opportunities for improvement and expansion. These sessions will be open to all Cardano community members, allowing for active participation and discussion.

• Collaborative Growth: By openly sharing our insights and learnings, we aim to encourage collaboration with other projects and entities within the ecosystem. This collaborative approach fosters a culture of shared growth and mutual support, benefiting the entire Cardano community.

  [CAPABILITY & 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 Summon Team possesses a strong track record of organizing events, participating in educational initiatives, and actively contributing to the Cardano community. These capabilities make us well-suited to deliver the Blockchain Education Center project with trust and accountability. Here's how our existing capabilities and experiences demonstrate our suitability for this project:

• Educational Workshops: Riley Kilgore, the Summon Platform Head of Development, has conducted workshops at Rare Bloom 2022 and Rare Evo 2023, teaching attendees how to develop smart contracts on the Cardano Network. This demonstrates our ability to provide high-quality educational content.

• Community Engagement: Adam Rusch, the Summon Association President, is an active member of the Intersect MBO Cardano Civics Committee. His involvement in organizing workshops, such as the CIP-1694 Chicago Workshop and the CIP-1694 ADAO / Summon Online Workshop, showcases our commitment to community engagement and education.

• Event Organization: The Summon Team has a history of successfully assisting the organizers of high-profile Cardano events. At Rare Bloom 2022 and Rare Evo 2023 the team helped facilitate the Rare Networks booth so that the organizers could focus on the overall conference. At NFTxLV the team ran the Featured Artist People's Choice Award which determined the top artist displaying in The Gallery.

• Volunteer and Education Efforts: The Summon Team's participation as Cardano community volunteers and educators at the Bitcoin Miami 2023 side event, Web3 Continuum, underscores our dedication to advancing blockchain awareness and education.

  [Project Milestones] What are the key milestones you need to achieve in order to complete your project successfully?

Educational Resource Creation and Dissemination

• Objective: Develop comprehensive educational materials to guide users on decentralized governance and effective utilization of the polling platform.
• Output: A series of educational resources, including user manuals, video tutorials, and live webinars.
• Acceptance Criteria: Educational materials must be reviewed and approved by a panel of experts in decentralized governance for accuracy and ease of understanding. At least 80% of surveyed users should report a significant increase in their understanding after using these resources.

>Create Action Plan for Blockchain and Cardano events where Workshops and Meetups will be held.

• Objective: Develop action plan that describes schedule and timing of Workshops and Meetups, content of Workshops, and facilitation of events.
• Output: An Events Planbook that can be used for scheduling out everything.
• Acceptance Criteria: Events Planbook will be shared with event organizers and community stakeholders to ensure it addresses real need and is feasible to implement.

>Hold a Workshop and Meetup at Consensus 2024 in Austin, TX or a similar event.

• Objective: Gather the Cardano Community at Consensus to engage with DAO topics
• Output: Hold a DAO Meetup and Workshop at the Consensus 2024 event
• Acceptance Criteria: Prepare summary report after the event with information about the Workshop and Meetup and how the community received them

>Hold a Workshop or Meetup at RareEvo 2024 in Las Vegas, NV or a similar event.

• Objective: Gather the Cardano Community at Rare Evo to engage with DAO topics
• Output: Hold a DAO Meetup and Workshop at the Rare Evo 2024 event
• Acceptance Criteria: Prepare summary report after the event with information about the Workshop and Meetup and how the community received them

>Hold a Workshop or Meetup at NFTxLV 2024 in Las Vegas, NV or a similar event.

• Objective: Gather the Cardano Community at NFTxLV to engage with DAO topics
• Output: Hold a DAO Meetup and Workshop at the NFTxLV 2024 event
• Acceptance Criteria: Prepare summary report after the event with information about the Workshop and Meetup and how the community received them

>Hold a Workshop or Meetup at the Cardano Summit 2024 or a similar event.

• Objective: Gather the Cardano Community at the Summit to engage with DAO topics

• Output: Hold a DAO Meetup and Workshop at the Cardano Summit 2024 event. At this event do a year-in-review retrospective analyzing the previous events and how they benefitted the community and in what ways they could be improved.

• Acceptance Criteria: Prepare Closeout Report as required under Project Catalyst rules with project completion information and video.

  [RESOURCES] Who is in the project team and what are their roles?

Adam Rusch, President, Summon Association

<https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamruschtech/>

• Responsible for performance of Summon Association
• Oversee education and outreach efforts
• Holds PhD in Education Policy and member of the School of Information Sciences faculty at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
• Member of Cardano Civics Committee and Parameters Committee at Intersect MBO
• Founding core contributor of ADAO

Riley Kilgore, Head of Development, Summon Platform Operations Company

<https://www.linkedin.com/in/riley-kilgore-1645b813a/>

• Oversee the development process of software and product development
• Assist in project outreach and technology integration
• Experienced DevOps and Smart Contract Engineer
• Wrote first DAO script deployed on the Cardano Blockchain as founding core contributor of ADAO

Allusian, Community Manager, Summon Association

<https://twitter.com/allusian1>

• Oversee organizing the Cardano Community members interested in DAOs

• Assist in logistics and stakeholder outreach

• Experienced community manager with organizational skills

• Founding core contributor of ADAO

  [BUDGET & COSTS] Please provide a cost breakdown of the proposed work and resources.

45,000 ADA - Creation of educational content and material

• Percentage of Total Budget: 31%
• Details: development of comprehensive guides, manuals, and tutorials on DAO formation and management.

25,000 ADA - Facilitate Workshop or Meetup at Consensus 2024

• Percentage of Total Budget: 17.25%
• Details: Venue rental, logistics and catering for meetup and workshop, travel and accommodation for project team members, and guest speaker fees (if applicable).

25,000 ADA - Facilitate Workshop or Meetup at Rare Evo 2024

• Percentage of Total Budget: 17.25%
• Details: Venue rental, logistics and catering for meetup and workshop, travel and accommodation for project team members, and guest speaker fees (if applicable).

25,000 ADA - Facilitate Workshop or Meetup at NFTxLV 2024

• Percentage of Total Budget: 17.25%
• Details: Venue rental, logistics and catering for meetup and workshop, travel and accommodation for project team members, and guest speaker fees (if applicable).

25,000 ADA - Facilitate Workshop or Meetup at Cardano Summit 2024

• Percentage of Total Budget: 17.25%

• Details: Venue rental, logistics and catering for meetup and workshop, travel and accommodation for project team members, and guest speaker fees (if applicable).

  [VALUE FOR MONEY] How does the cost of the project represent value for money for the Cardano ecosystem?

The cost of our project represents exceptional value for the Cardano ecosystem in several ways:

• Education and Training Impact: The primary focus of our project is to provide comprehensive education and training in DAO formation and management. The costs associated with creating high-quality training materials, organizing community meetups, and hosting in-person workshops are justified by the immense value they bring in terms of empowering community members. The impact of well-educated and skilled community members participating in DAOs and governance processes is substantial and far-reaching.

• Community Empowerment: The core value proposition of our project is community empowerment. The costs are directly tied to equipping community members with the knowledge and skills to actively participate in DAOs and governance. This empowerment leads to more effective decision-making and governance within Cardano, making the costs worthwhile.

• Strategic Impact: Our project focuses on strategically selected events and blockchain activities that maximize its impact. By targeting events that attract a diverse and influential audience, we ensure that the costs translate into widespread awareness and engagement.

• Long-Term Benefits: The costs associated with education and training have long-term benefits. As community members become more proficient in DAO formation and governance, they contribute to the sustainability and resilience of the Cardano ecosystem. This long-term perspective justifies the initial costs.