Please describe your proposed solution.

We will create the capability for Cardano node operators to independently count and verify votes and weighting for on-chain votes that were cast using the Voteaire specification. Doing so aligns with the goal of ensuring voting is independently verifiable, maintaining a trustless governance system.

The solution will consist of code that will be usable by anyone with access to a Cardano node. This will also provide utility to SPOs as contributing to the ecosystem as good actors. In the future, anyone contributing to decentralized vote counting can be compensated for doing so via rewards.

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

This project will bring us closer to the realized full set of governance tools for Cardano DAOs and other projects utilizing on-chain voting.

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

The project will be successful if at least one other party uses the solution to independently verify (or contest) the aggregated vote and weight counts as displayed on voteaire.io. Ideally, the solution can be leveraged by multiple parties, further contributing to the decentralization of vote counting.

Please describe your plans to share the outputs and results of your project?

We will be sharing the outputs via:

• Medium articles
• Git Repo updates and available open-source code
• Social channels

What is your capability to deliver your project with high levels of trust and accountability?

As the builders of Voteaire, we have an intimate understanding of how vote counting is done and how other people can independently do so. Furthermore, as an SPO, we are uniquely qualified to understand what it would take for a node operator to use the solution.

What are the main goals for the project and how will you validate if your approach is feasible?

The primary goal of the project is to enable the decentralization of vote counting and provide a way for independent parties to verify votes and weightings.

We know that the approach is feasible because we are both the builders of Voteaire and stake pool operators (CANUK)

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.

Project Milestones:

1. Planning
2. Kickoff
3. Architecture
4. Create Github repo
5. Create Epics/Stories
6. Project setup
7. Development
8. Setup of development infrastructure/environments
9. Create the code that the individual would run
10. User Documentation
11. Testing and issue resolution
12. Deployment
13. Final commit to Git Repo
14. Update to Github documentation
15. POC - have an independent party run the ballot counter and verify (or contest) the vote count presented by Voteaire

Please describe the deliverables, outputs and intended outcomes of each milestone.

The deliverables will be as follows:

1. Planning - DELIVERABLE: a project plan
2. Development - DELIVERABLES: git repo with the relevant code, documentation
3. Deployment - DELIVERABLES: a POC/Video where an independent party can verify a vote count

Please provide a detailed budget breakdown of the proposed work and resources.

The budget is broken down this way (USD):

1. Planning - $6,600
2. Development - $9,795
3. Deployment - $4,350

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

MSVN Distributed Systems consists of the following full-time individuals, as well as additional contractors whom we bring on as required to accelerate efforts

Michael Stewart - CTO

• 18+ years of software development and architecture experience.
• Member of the Cardano community since 2017
• Co-Founder of MSVN (Canucks Publishing, Voteaire.io)
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/codefly/

Vivek Nankissoor - CEO

• 15+ years of experience in database requirements, design, and development
• Established and grew web analytics, marketing automation, and QA practices
• Co-Founder of MSVN (Canucks Publishing, Voteaire.io)
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/viveknankissoor/

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

By providing a way for individuals to independently verify vote counts and weights, we are creating an on-chain voting platform that is trustless. Transparency is just the beginning of that process, whereas giving people the tools to count votes, allows for greater adoption and a broader toolset for DAOs.

By building upon the existing Voteaire platform, we are reducing the need for others to build their own governance tools.

• The number of DAOs currently on Cardano: ~50
• The number of NFT projects that want to use on-chain voting: ~150
• If we assume only 10% are actually interested in this functionality, there are ~20 interested parties
• It would take an individual party 200hrs to create a similar solution
• The USD rate for someone with the appropriate skill set to create the solution: $95/hr
• The cost in USD to create a similar solution: $19,000
• If that cost is incurred by the number of interested parties, it would be an overall USD cost of: $380,000