Proposal submission Guide

Proposal title #

Please note we suggest you use no more than 60 characters for your proposal title so that it can be easily viewed in the voting app

The title should clearly express what the proposal is about. Voters can see the title in the voting app, even without opening the proposal, so a clear, unambiguous, and concise title is very important.

Name and Surname of Main Applicant #

Please provide the name and surname of the main applicant. The main applicant is considered as the individual responsible for the project and the person authorized to act on behalf of other applicants (where applicable).

Are you delivering this project as an individual or as an entity (whether formally incorporated or not) #

Please select from one of the following

1. Individual
2. Entity (Incorporated) 3.Entity (Not Incorporated)

Co proposers and Additional applicants #

List any persons who are submitting the proposal jointly with the main applicant. Make sure you have confirmed approval/awareness with these individuals / accounts before adding them. If there is more than one proposer, identify the lead person who is authorised to act on behalf of other co-proposers

IMPORTANT - A maximum of 5 (five) proposals can be led or Co-proposed by the same applicant or enterprise. More information can be found here

Requested funds in ada #

Minimum 15k in Ada for all projects

All amounts below are in Ada

Maximum caps on funds requested segmented by 3 tiers for Cardano Use Cases

• Concept: up to 100k
• Solution: up to 300k
• Product: up to 750k

Cardano Open (both technical & non-technical tracks) up to 200k

Catalyst System Improvements: no cap

Please specify how many months you expect your project to last (from 2-12 months) #

Minimum 2 months - Maximum 12 months. ​ The scope of your funding request and this project is expected to produce the deliverables you specify in the proposal within 2-12 months. ​ If you believe your project will take longer than 12 months, consider reducing the project’s scope so that it becomes achievable within 12 months. ​ If your project completes earlier than scheduled so long as you have submitted your PoAs and Project Completion report and video then your project can be closed out

Please indicate if your proposal has been auto-translated into English from another language. #

YES/NO - Tick YES to remind readers that your proposal has been translated, and that they should be tolerant of any language imperfections. ​ You can either link a document with your proposal in its original language OR provide your response in your native language after the English language in each question if you wish. ​ Tick NO if your proposal has not been auto- translated into English from another language

What is the exact problem you want to solve? (200-character limit including spaces) #

Ensure you say what is a well-defined problem. What is the core issue that you hope to fix? Remember: the reader might not recognize the problem unless you state it clearly. ​ This answer will be displayed on the Catalyst voting app, so voters will see it even if they don’t open your proposal to read it in detail.

Summarize your solution to the problem (200-character limit including spaces) #

Focus on what you are going to do, or make, or change, to solve the problem. So not ‘There should be a way to….’ but ‘We will make a…’ ​ Clearly state how the solution addresses the specific problem you have identified - connect the ‘why’ and the ‘how’. ​ This answer will be displayed on the Catalyst voting app, so voters will see it even if they do not open your proposal and read it in detail.

Website/ GitHub repository, or any other relevant link (Optional) #

Here, you could include links to your website or that of a partner organization, and/or a link to any whitepaper or other publication you have written about your proposal. ​ Note however that this is extra information that voters and Community Reviewers might choose not to read. You should not fail to include any of the questions in this form because you feel the answers can be found elsewhere. ​ If any links are specified make sure these are added in good order (first link must be present before specifying second). Also ensure all links include ‘https.’ Without these steps, the form will not be submittable and show errors.

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

YES/NO

If YES, please describe what the dependency is and why you believe it is essential for your project’s delivery. If NO, please write “No dependencies.” #

Here you should list any dependencies and prerequisites for your project’s success. These are usually external factors (such as third-party suppliers, external resources, third-party software, etc.) that may cause a delay, since a project has less control over them. In case of third party software, indicate whether you have the necessary licenses and permission to use such software.

Will your project’s output/s be fully open source? #

YES/NO

Open Source refers to something people can modify and share because its design is publicly accessible. Open source software is software with source code that anyone can inspect, modify, and enhance. ​ Conversely, only the original authors of proprietary software can legally copy, inspect, and alter that software.

Please provide here more information on the open source status of your project outputs #

If you answered YES to the above questions

Please indicate here the type of licence you intend to use for open source and provide any further information you feel is relevant to the open source status of your project outputs.

If only certain elements of your code will be open source please clarify which elements will be open source here.

If you answered NO to the above question, please give further details as to why your projects outputs will not be open source.

Tags choose the most relevant tags that can help identify and categorise your project #

Options:

API
DAO
DApp
Datatools
DeFi Exchanges
Explorers
Gaming
Identity solutions
NFTs
RealFi
SDK
Wallet
Cardano Ambassadors
Education
Events
Incubation
Regional expansion
Standards and regulation
Translation
Dev ecosystem collaboration
Devteam
Developertools
SPOs
Node
Other

SDG rating (Optional) #

This field is optional. You can use the SDG Proposer Tool to help you include any relevant UN SDGs,sub goals and/or KPIs in your proposal.

Please describe your proposed solution #

How you write this section will depend on what type of proposal you are writing. You might want to include details on:

• how you perceive the problem you are solving
• your reasons for approaching it in the way that you have
• who will your project engage
• how you will demonstrate or prove your impact

Explain what is unique about your solution, who will benefit, and why this is important to Cardano.

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

Please include here a description of how you intend to measure impact (whether quantitative or qualitative) and how and with whom you will share your outputs.

• In what way will the success of your project bring value to the Cardano Community?
• How will you measure this impact?
• How will you share the outputs and opportunities that result from your project?

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? #

Please describe your existing capabilities that demonstrate how and why you believe you’re best suited to deliver this project?
​ Please include the steps or processes that demonstrate that you can be trusted to manage funds properly.

What are the key milestones you need to achieve in order to complete your project successfully? #

A clear set of milestones and acceptance criteria will demonstrate your Capability to deliver the project as proposed. More guidance on submitting milestones as part of your project proposal can be found here

Milestones guidance #

For Grant Amounts of up to 75k ada, at least 2 milestones, plus the final project completion report and video milestone, must be included
​ For Grant Amounts between 75k ada and 150k ada, at least 3 milestones, plus the final project completion report and video milestone, must be included
​ For Grant Amounts over 150k ada up to 300k ada, at least 4 milestones.plus the final project completion report and video milestone, must be included
​ For Grant Amounts exceeding 300k ada, at least 5 milestones, plus the final project completion report and video milestone, must be included

Milestones #

Describe the milestone, what will be the milestone output(s), and what will be the acceptance criteria to confirm and verify the milestone has been achieved?

• Milestone 1: Required for all projects
• Milestone 2: Required for all projects
• Milestone 3: Optional depending on amount requested
• Milestone 4: Optional depending on amount requested
• Milestone 5: Optional depending on amount requested
• Final Milestone: Required for all projects

Who is in the project team and what are their roles? Please add the relevant Linkedin profiles (or similar) here #

List your team, their Linkedin profiles (or similar) and state what aspect of the proposal’s work each team member will undertake.
​ If you are planning to recruit additional team members, please state what specific skills you will be looking for in the people you recruit, so readers can see that you understand what skills will be needed to complete the project.
​ You are expected to have already engaged the relevant members of the organizations referenced so you understand if they are willing and/or have capacity to support the project.
If you have not taken any steps to engage with your team yet, it is likely that the resources will not be available if you are approved for funding, which can jeopardize the project before it has even begun. The Catalyst team cannot help with this, meaning you are expected to have understood the requirements and engaged the necessary people before submitting a proposal.
​ Have you engaged anyone on any of the technical group channels (eg Discord or Telegram), or do you have a direct line of communications with the people and resources required?
​ Important: Catalyst funding is not anonymous, and some level of ‘proof of life’ verifications will take place before initial funding is released. Also remember that your proposal will be publicly available, so make sure to obtain any consent required before including confidential or third party information.

Please provide a cost breakdown of the proposed work and resources. #

Make sure every element mentioned in your plan reflects its cost. It may be helpful to refer to your plan and timeline, list all the resources you will need at each stage, and what they cost. ​ Here, provide a clear description of any third party product or service you will be using. This could be hardware, software licenses, professional services (legal, accounting, code auditing, etc) but does not need to include the use of contracted programmers and developers. ​

The exact budget elements you include will depend on what type of work you are doing, and you might need to give less detail for a small, low-budget proposal. If the cost of the project will exceed the funding request, please provide information about alternative sources of funding. ​

Consider including budget elements for publicity / marketing / promotion / community engagement; project management; documentation; and reporting back to the community. Most proposals need these, but many proposers forget to include them. ​ It is the project team’s responsibility to properly manage the funds provided.

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

Use the response to provide the context about the costs you listed previously, particularly if they are high.

​ It may be helpful to include some brief information on how you have decided on the costs of the project. ​

For instance, can you justify with supporting evidence that costs are proportional to the average wage in your country, or typical freelance rates in your industry? Is there anything else that helps to support how the project represents value for money?

The applicant agrees to Fund11 rules and also that data in the submission form and other data provided by the project team during the course of the project will be publicly available. #

By submitting this application, the applicant confirms that:

(i) this proposal and the project complies with Fund rules and

(ii) data in the submission form and other data provided by the project team during the course of the project will be publicly available.