Karma GAP (Grantee Accountability Protocol)
We were the recipient of a Builder Grant in Cycle 13. We would like to use this thread for posting updates as we complete each milestone. All the grant details can be found here. Below are some details about the project
Summary
We propose building a Grantee Accountability Protocol (GAP) on Optimism’s Attestation Station to address challenges in grant programs within the crypto ecosystem. The current lack of standardization in publishing milestones and progress updates hinders project tracking, accountability, visibility and reputation building. Our solution involves on-chain reporting, comprehensive data storage, enhanced reputation building, and enables the development of novel applications. This protocol will provide easy access, a common interface, and valuable insights for various grant programs.
Problem
Grant programs in the crypto ecosystem lack a standardized method for grantees to publish progress updates and milestones, leading to several issues:
- Limited Accessibility: Currently, it is challenging for grant teams and the community to easily access and track project progress and milestones, as information is scattered across forums and external links.
- Reputation Portability: Grantees who apply for grants from multiple organizations struggle to establish and carry their reputation consistently across the ecosystem. This is particularly difficult for individuals who are new to the ecosystem and need opportunities to showcase their work and build their reputation.
- Inadequate Data Structure: The absence of structured data that can be accessed in a permissionless manner hampers the development of applications and analytical tools for evaluating grant impact and builder reputation.
Solution
To address the aforementioned problems, we propose the implementation of a Grantee Accountability Protocol where grant teams can post information about the grant and grantees can post milestones and progress updates onchain. This solves a number of problems explained below
- Onchain Reporting: Grantees will utilize the protocol to self-report their progress and milestones directly on the blockchain through Optimism’s Attestation Station. Leveraging the existing support for EAS schemas, we will define schemas tailored to various reporting needs.
- Universal data access: By storing all grant-related data onchain, we eliminate the need for manual searching and external links. We will build an interface for grantees and grant teams to interact with the protocol. Communities are not obligated to use this interface but are welcome to build their own interface to present this information in interesting ways.
- Enhanced Reputation Building: Our protocol will enable the linking of team member profiles to specific projects. This feature empowers team members to build and showcase their reputation for their contributions. Additionally, this reputation can be carried over to other DAOs, opening opportunities for involvement in various areas of DAO governance or similar initiatives. Optimism is experimenting with different tiers of funding based on grantee reputation and this system can be used to improve those tiers.
- Facilitating Novel Applications: With comprehensive on-chain data available, the protocol encourages the development of innovative applications. Few applications we can think of that can be built on top of this protocol are:
- Grantee reputation systems
- Project impact analysis tools
- Signaling for RetroPGF grants
- Auto monitor milestones and progress updates and alert the community
- Endorsing teams and team members working on projects
- Determine grant tiers for Optimism grants
| Milestone Type | Milestone | Source of Truth | Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Benchmark | Finalize Requirements | Google Doc | August 18th |
| Benchmark | Protocol Architecture | Google Doc | Sept 8th |
| Benchmark | Finish development of Backend and Smart contracts | Github | Sept 22nd |
| Critical | Deploy smart contract | Onchain | Sept 29th |
| Benchmark | Finish Design and Frontnend implementation | Github | Oct 20th |
| Critical | Launch website to interact with the protocol | Website | Oct 27th |
| Benchmark | Onboard 2 teams and get at least 25 grantees to post updates | Onchain | Nov 17th |
| Benchmark | Bug fixes, enhancements and continuous maintenance based on feedback | Github | Nov 17th+ |