Mini Proposal Workshops

[IMPACT] Please describe your proposed solution.

The solution we propose is to create educational resources and coordinate workshops to help proposers write well-planned proposals. Our workshops assist participants in identifying the appropriate scope for their proposals, ensuring they align effectively with the objectives of the Cardano ecosystem. In order to facilitate idea generation for proposals, we have adopted a modular approach to our educational materials, utilizing a Miro Board for visual guidance. These workshops and meetings are open to all interested parties, and we believe this approach will reduce the risk of proposals being funded that do not meet expectations.

Besides the workshops, we provide video learning resources and a Miro board template for comprehensive and flexible learning. Our workshops offer interactive guidance, while our videos provide detailed explanations. Our Miro board template allows users to take the insights gained from our workshops and easily integrate their own ideas. It provides a collaborative and customizable space for users to explore and develop their proposals within the Cardano ecosystem.

We will create a "Clean Up" group in addition to our teaching materials and workshops to help proposers finish their proposals. What the cleanup group does is help proposers to finish milestone reports. In case of no funded proposers through MPW, we will spend time on reviewing other funded proposals and reaching out to ones where information is lacking and provide support.

Additionally, we will put in place a suitable dashboard so that the community can see how our project is progressing and be part of contributing to the project development.

[IMPACT] How does your proposed solution address the challenge and what benefits will this bring to the Cardano ecosystem?

Decentralized project management is at the core of Mini Proposal Workshops (MPW), which aims to foster a community-driven, transparent ecosystem. By enabling open access to the components and resources used in MPW, Catalyst community members can leverage this knowledge to further their own projects and initiatives. This supports individual growth and contributes to the overall development and expansion of the Cardano ecosystem.

[IMPACT] How do you intend to measure the success of your project?

We will measure the success of our project through the following metrics:

Operational KPIs: We will measure the percentage of tasks completed by the community and the team. This will allow us to assess the level of engagement and collaboration from the broader community, highlighting the collective effort in achieving project milestones. By making a significant number of tasks open to the public, we aim to encourage active participation and leverage the collective skills and knowledge of the Cardano community.
User Engagement: The number of users who sign up, attend workshops, and utilize our instructional resources will be measured to determine the level of interest, engagement, and usage.
User Experience: Feedback ratings (1-4) on the usefulness of live workshops will provide insights into their effectiveness and guide future improvements. Additionally, qualitative feedback on how helpful the workshops were in preparing proposals for funding will be collected to assess their impact.

By analyzing these metrics, we will be able to assess the success of our project, identify areas for enhancement, and ensure that our workshops effectively support proposers in developing high-quality proposals within the Cardano ecosystem.

For transparency purposes, we will utilize the following public, open-source channels, and platforms:

Dework Space: We will track the main tasks outlined above in the public Dework space in the Swarm Dework project bounty board. This will provide visibility and transparency into our progress and task completion, allowing anyone to contribute and help us complete tasks for rewards actively.
YouTube Channel: The Swarm YouTube channel will host edited full-length and summarized videos of our workshops. We can monitor the engagement, views, and feedback on these videos to assess their impact and reach.
Project Management Miro Board: All related documentation, including work guides, materials, and proposals, will be aggregated and organized in the Project Management Miro Board.

Perspective

In the short term, the innovation of MPW will contribute to Cardano's productivity and growth by creating community engagement and activities within Project Catalyst. MPW will provide a platform for students to quickly onboard and participate in the Cardano ecosystem, fostering a vibrant and diverse community.

In the long term, MPW will have a significant impact on Cardano's productivity and growth by cultivating knowledge and expertise within the ecosystem. The workshops will equip participants with the necessary skills and understanding to develop high-quality proposals, fostering innovation and driving the advancement of projects on the Cardano platform.

Furthermore, MPW's unique aspect of openly sharing the components and resources used in the workshops will have a lasting effect on Cardano's productivity and growth. This transparency enables other individuals and groups to learn from and reuse these components, expanding the reach and impact of similar workshops beyond our project. This collaborative approach encourages the sharing of knowledge and best practices, ultimately benefiting the entire Cardano community and facilitating ongoing productivity and growth in the long term.

We will share the project's outputs over the duration of Fund 10, which spans up to 12 months, ensuring comprehensive dissemination of results. The draft roadmap can be found under the "When It's Completed" column, providing an estimated timeline for the project's deliverables.

The Swarm Dework project bounty board is for providing a hands-on opportunity to contribute to education, and the Swarm Discord server will be for sharing updates.

We will explore various communication channels, such as Twitter, Telegram, and others, to effectively disseminate information and engage with the Cardano community.

We will leverage the results generated from our project, specifically the participation of proposals in our workshops, to assess their delivery and alignment with our proposal expectations. By tracking the progress and outcomes of these proposals, we can gather valuable insights into the effectiveness of our workshops and their impact on proposal success. This data will inform further research and development activities, allowing us to refine and improve our educational resources and workshop methodology to better support proposers in delivering on their proposals within the Catalyst ecosystem.

[CAPABILITY/ FEASIBILITY] What is your capability to deliver your project with high levels of trust and accountability?

Our capability to deliver the project with high levels of trust and accountability is demonstrated through our track record and experience through multiple funds. As evidenced in our Fund 9 closing report, we have successfully created 37 learning videos covering various topics and formats, indicating our ability to produce educational resources effectively.

Moreover, our understanding of participants' needs and preferences has been refined through trial and error, allowing us to optimize our approach to social media announcements and workshop discussions. This iterative process ensures we adapt and improve based on real-time feedback and engagement.

Furthermore, the positive testimonial from the project we supported throughout our workshop underscores the practical impact and value we bring to participants. This recognition validates our ability to provide meaningful assistance and insights.

[CAPABILITY/ FEASIBILITY] What are the main goals for the project and how will you validate if your approach is feasible?

The main goal of our project is to ensure that proposers we assist in Fund 11 Cardano Project Catalyst complete their proposals on time, contributing to the overall productivity of the ecosystem. We will validate the feasibility of our approach by tracking the KPIs mentioned in the “measuring success” section above to identify areas for improvement and assess the effectiveness of the project.

[CAPABILITY/ FEASIBILITY] Please provide a detailed breakdown of your project’s milestones and each of the main tasks or activities to reach the milestone plus the expected timeline for the delivery.

M1 - Preparing Dework Tasks - 1 month - 5917 ADA

M2 - Prepare Educational Resources - 1 month - 12910 ADA

M3 - Publish Workshop Videos - 1 month - 18558 ADA

M4 - Support Funded Proposers - 8 months - 12453 ADA

M5 - Project Closing - 1 month - 8795 ADA

We describe project implementation under the Impact section above.

[CAPABILITY/ FEASIBILITY] Please describe the deliverables, outputs and intended outcomes of each milestone.

M1 - Preparing Dework Tasks

We have created a dedicated open Dework Link with a list of bounty templates that are needed to deliver all Workshop Milestones.

We have implemented Dework Bounty templates to acknowledge and reward project contributions.

In this way, project progress will be more transparent and project contributors will have an easier time participating.

M2 - Prepare Educational Resources

We have prepared Miro Board templates for Fund 11

These templates include all the requirements and questions for proposal development.

These templates are utilized during our workshops to assist proposers in creating their proposals effectively.

M3 - Publish Workshop Videos

Facilitate and release four workshop videos.

We coordinate meetings between the proposers and people interested in supporting the idea.

We edit and upload the session recordings and may use the material to create additional learning material. We also collect feedback from attendees.

Our intended outcome is to provide a platform for collaboration and knowledge sharing, enabling proposers to refine their ideas and receive valuable feedback from the community.

M4 - Support Funded Proposers

We have created several Youtube compilation videos and shorts

The intended outcomes of creating the compilation videos are to enhance accessibility and promote the proposer proposal's key insights.

We have created a report of Proposals that attended MPW answering questions like What were the reviews and voting results?

We have created a report of the Funded Proposal progress answering questions like Are the teams on track and if not what kind of help they need?

Reports provide insight if teams are on track with their projects and identify areas where they may need assistance. By closely monitoring their progress, we can provide the necessary support and guidance to help them overcome challenges and achieve their milestones successfully.

M5 - Project Closing

We have reviewed the feedback from workshop participants to gather valuable insights and improve the quality of our workshops.

We have analyzed video analytics to assess the engagement and effectiveness of our educational resources.

Furthermore, we have finalized the project documentation, ensuring that all necessary information is documented accurately.

Finally, we have created a comprehensive Closing Report summarizing the project's achievements, lessons learned, and key outcomes.

More details of reviews under the “measuring success” section above

[RESOURCES & VALUE FOR MONEY] Please provide a detailed budget breakdown of the proposed work and resources.

Through collective brainstorming of actions and assets, we estimated that the project would require 218 hours. We offer to deliver this project with the cost of 58633 ADA which includes market risks and allows some room for emerging ideas.

The estimated detailed budget breakdown can be found on Google Sheets here.

[RESOURCES & VALUE FOR MONEY] Who is in the project team and what are their roles?

Tevo - Co-founder of The Catalyst Swarm

Responsible for creating easy-to-understand educational materials, guides, and other resources.

As a project manager, I take accountability for organizing team members' activities, tracking tasks and responsibilities, and ensuring the project stays on schedule and within budget.

Finds necessary information and interested proposers. Gathers information and coordinates with them to schedule workshops.

Evaluates the educational resources' effectiveness and results and provide constructive criticism to help proposers.

Manages the financial aspects of the project, including budgeting, invoicing, and monitoring expenses, as well as distributing resources fairly.

Tõnis - Two years of experience in the Mini Proposal workshops as a video editor and content writer.

Responsible for creating and fine-tuning educational video material, such as tutorials, to supplement educational resources.

He also writes, edits, and proofreads proposal drafts for submission, creating engaging, persuasive content that effectively communicates the proposer's ideas.

Responsible for using the designed resources created to promote the project and make it more visible across various channels such as social media, email marketing

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

We have now had quite a lot of experience running the workshops, to scale it in decentralized environments, we plan to modularise the project deliverables. The documentation of this project will be adaptable and reusable for all kinds of workshops. This also provides an example of how to run decentralized projects.

In addition, the ideation steps covered in these workshops provide a strong basis for utilizing AI to create proposals.

These are self-employed rates that consider the overheads of the resources contracted. The rates are based on the low end of US averages. The amounts are calculated for each milestone based on the estimated hours.

In addition, all the resources working on this project are taking on the currency risk of being paid in ADA. This means that a fall in the ADA price will result in being paid less or delivering less in each milestone. Any rise in the ADA price will represent a reward for investing in the Cardano ecosystem.

Consequently, given these factors, we believe this proposal offers excellent value for money in a volatile cryptocurrency environment.

bookmarked!