What is your capability to deliver your project with high levels of trust and accountability?
Proven track record of delivering
DirectEd has a long-standing history within the Cardano ecosystem and it was born out of a project proposal in Catalyst Fund 6 (proposal). It has since then received funding for two proposals in Fund 8 (dApp & SSI). Closeout video for the F8 dApp proposal here. To sign up for testnet Alpha testing, go to <http://testnet.directed.dev/> (opens July 31st). We embrace radical transparency, as can be observed through our public Progress & OKR page and by inspection of our wallet transaction metadata ($directed, $simondirected).
Our SSI proposal is still in progress after both technical and operational challenges alongside contingencies outside of our control. After undertaking feasibility study, several aspects of the original idea contained in the proposal was found to be intractable. More details on other factors can be found in this Change of Scope request that has been submitted to IOG.
DirectEd has delivered in several ways. Utilization of the network, open-source code contributions and real-world impact & partnerships. The section below quantifies each of these:
Cardano use
- 120+ wallets created and estimated 250+ transactions (lower end). To illustrate, the Decentralised Tutorial Marketplace pilot has (at the time of writing) generated 130 transactions. You can see it being actively used by inspection of the policyID <https://cardanoscan.io/tokentransactions?assetId=d365ad6a86fe81ed303eab00fc46031e88879166f7d26a271a553009445456>
- Salaries have been paid on-chain. Previous treasury address: <https://cardanoscan.io/address/0158a6c035359d0c470f790c0eedc10b034bcbefeccf3573b979236358a6f473253923585a4137f57aa71ae386a96ca1f568ffec3c35320910>. Current treasury (multi-sig): <https://cardanoscan.io/address/31edbbf1a2258c28b4fe58fd29abd38d79cf8b2d576006343de5d83ff8edbbf1a2258c28b4fe58fd29abd38d79cf8b2d576006343de5d83ff8>
Open Source Contributions (repo)
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CIP-30 wallet connection for any NextJS/ReactJS website. Our wallet connect automatically detects which Cardano browser extension wallets are present in your browser and displays a dropdown upon hovering of the ones detected..
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NFT-gating. We have written code enabling simple NFT gating for a NextJS/ReactJS website. Users can either choose to gate content by policyID in an array (multiple policyIDs can be added) or by the unique asset ID. This gives website owners a novel method of access control that does not hinge on storing emails and passwords.
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Milestone-based smart contract. This smart contract enables accountability of approved granting of funds in a distributed manner wherein Examiners (human oracles) must issue tokens to grantees before they can redeem each tranche payout.
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Voucher Redemption Contract. This smart contract enables education funders to restrict the use of stipends for specific uses, in our case students receive tutorial vouchers and only tutors can redeem those for stablecoin.
Real-world impact and Partnerships
- 100+ students trained in our 1-week-long Introductory Coding course in Python with some testimonies here. Students received basic blockchain education and testnet wallet onboarding, video recording of the workshop here.
- 14 Access Scholarships funded through the DirectEd Lions NFT fundraiser. This financed purchase of laptops, WiFi devices and data bundles for students from needy backgrounds, enabling them to partake in the DirectEd Bootcamp. Images here. Sample on-chain transactions for data bundles and tutorial vouchers. Check out our Twitter for some of the testimonials from the students!
- MOUs with 3 national high schools in Kenya, including most notably Mang’U High - one of the most famous schools in the country, with many eminent alumni including one former president, several vice presidents and a former governor of Central Bank of Kenya. Pictures from the MOU signing here.
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MOU with Kotebe University of Education in Addis Ababa. This university is dedicated to research and development in education for Ethiopia.
- In-person Bootcamp launch day at Young African Leaders Initiative East Africa regional center at Kenyatta University (USAID project).
- Sponsorships: [CLOVR] stake pool, [KIND] stake pool, COTI Group
- Internship partnerships with Snapbrillia and Tally
- Other partnerships: Cardanowarriors, Web3 User Group
Traction
- In the spring of 2022, DirectEd was admitted to the inaugural Ariob incubator for Catalyst-funded Africa projects.
- During the Cardano summit, CEO Simon Sällström met with Shahaf Bar-Geffen (CEO of COTI) who generously agreed to provide a sponsorship for the first cohort of DirectEd students.
- CEO Simon was invited to speak at NFT.NYC on a panel “Why NFTs will revolutionize charitable giving”.
Media and Twitter spaces
Spring 2023
Fall/Winter 2022
Financial Management and Transparency
We have implemented robust financial management processes, leveraging cardano blockchain technology for transparency, accountability, and responsible use of funds. All transactions contain metadata and can be tracked on the Cardano blockchain. We maintain accurate records, conduct regular audits, and provide transparent financial statements to relevant parties, promoting transparency and accountability in our financial management practices.
To this end, we have implemented the following policies for our treasury management.
- Catalyst funds received in the main multi-sig with 5 signatories, with 3/5 signatures required for any transaction.
- ADA funds received are immediately converted to stablecoins to avoid volatility
- No more than ½ of on-chain assets will be held in any one given stablecoin in order to reduce risk.
- All transactions contain metadata regarding its intended use.
- All DirectEd-controlled wallets will contain ADAhandles indicating its purpose and controller.
This means we have a multi-sig for the custodianship of received funds. We convert the majority of funds to one or several stablecoins upon receipt. We also extensively document each transaction with information about its use in the metadata. The multi-sig wallet can be explored here ($directeddev) and the payout wallet ($directedsimon) can be audited here.
Project Governance and Reporting
Building upon our previous project experience, we have established a robust project governance structure that emphasizes transparency and accountability. Regular reporting and monitoring mechanisms are in place to track progress and ensure adherence to project milestones and targets. You can inspect our public Progress reporting and OKR page here.
As part of our commitment to transparency, we implemented a progress page for donors to track the performance of students, providing updates on their achievements, which can be observed by donors (NFT gated) here. This reporting framework enables stakeholders to stay informed about project status, outcomes, and financial performance, fostering transparency and accountability throughout the project lifecycle.
What are the main goals for the project and how will you validate if your approach is feasible?
- Improve user experience: The project aims to enhance the user experience by providing a dynamically updating progress bar. This feature allows users to visually track the real-time progress of the fundraising campaign, making it more engaging and interactive.
- Increase transparency: By displaying the current donation progress, the project aims to improve transparency for donors. They can see how their contributions align with the overall fundraising goal and gain confidence in the impact of their donations.
- Enhance visibility: The dynamically updating progress bar provides a visual representation of the donation progress, which increases the visibility of the fundraising campaign. This can attract more potential donors and generate awareness for the cause.
- Facilitate impact information management: The project also focuses on enabling impact organizations to update and manage the impact information associated with each NFT. This allows organizations to provide timely and accurate information about the impact achieved through the fundraising campaign, further enhancing transparency and donor confidence.
- Ensure security and authorization: Implementing security measures and authorization mechanisms ensures that only authorized individuals or impact organizations can update the relevant data. This helps maintain data integrity and prevents unauthorized modifications.
Feasibility
For the donor progress update module and updatable metadata field ('minted for' field in our case), we have already built out 3/4 of the necessary elements. Much of the remaining work pertains to documentation and polishing the solution to make it easy to reuse.
The dynamically updatable NFT is going to simply be an implementation of the new CIP-68. The first milestone will contain feasibility study, however, to ensure that our goals can be met.
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.
Milestone 1: Initial Setup and API integration for the Progress Bar
- Task 1: Design the basic structure and components of the progress bar.
- Task 2: Integrate the progress bar component into the Next.js page/component.
- Timeline: 2 weeks
Milestone 2: Dynamic Progress Bar Implementation
- Task 1: Implement a mechanism to periodically fetch the latest donation data, test it, and ensure the bar updates dynamically.
- Task 2: Refine the visual design and styles of the progress bar using Sass. Iterate on the design and functionality based on user feedback.
- Timeline: 2 weeks
Milestone 1: Setup and Designing the User Interface for “Minted for” Functionality
- Task 1: Design the user interface in Next.js to display NFT details and provide an input field for updating the "minted for" field.
- Task 2: Implement form validation to ensure data integrity.
- Timeline: 1-2 weeks
Milestone 2: Backend Implementation for Updating NFT Metadat
- Task 1: Create a Node.js server and define API endpoints for updating the "minted for" field.
- Task 2: Implement authentication and authorization mechanisms to ensure only authorized users can update the field. Refine the user interface based on user feedback and improve the overall user experience.
- Timeline: 2 weeks
Milestone 1: Metadata Schema Design, Backend Setup and Impact Organization Interface
- Task 1: Define the metadata schema for capturing impact information and set up the backend infrastructure, including server and database.
- Task 2: Develop an interface for the impact organization to input and manage impact information. Implement authentication and authorization mechanisms for secure access.
- Timeline: 2 weeks
Milestone 2: NFT Metadata Integration and Donor NFT Details Page Updates.
- Task 1: Integrate the backend system to update NFT metadata.
- Task 2: Enhance the user interface of the donor's NFT details page to display impact information.
Task 3: Design visual components and layouts to present the progress and impact in an easily understandable manner and do proper testing.
Please describe the deliverables, outputs and intended outcomes of each milestone.
Milestone 1: Feasibility Study
Deliverables:
- Feasibility study report: This report will summarize the findings of the research and analysis conducted during the feasibility stud
Outputs:
- Research and analysis on the technology stack and integration possibilitie
- Assessment of feasibility and technical requirement
- Project plan and timelin
Intended Outcomes:
- Clear understanding of the feasibility of integrating the NMKR API and implementing the desired feature
- Identification of potential risks and challenge
- Informed decision-making regarding the project's viability and next step
Milestone 2: Development and Implementation
Deliverables:
- Dynamically updating progress bar component: This component will be integrated into the user interface to display the real-time progress of the fundraising campaig
- Backend functionality for updating the "minted for" field and impact information: This includes the implementation of logic and API endpoints to enable authorized users or impact organizations to update the "minted for" field and impact information associated with each NF
- Authentication and authorization mechanisms: Implement security measures to ensure that only authorized individuals can update the relevant dat
Outputs:
- Fully functional dynamically updating progress bar componen
- Backend functionality for updating the "minted for" field and impact informatio
- Implemented authentication and authorization mechanism
Intended Outcomes:
- Enhanced user experience with the dynamically updating progress ba
- Empowered impact organizations to manage impact information and the "minted for" fiel
- Improved security and data integrity through authentication and authorization measure
Milestone 3: Deployment and Optimization
Deliverables:
- Deployed and optimized system: The updated system, including the progress bar and impact information updates, will be deployed to a production environmen
- User feedback and improvement implementation report: This report will summarize the feedback gathered during user acceptance testin
Outputs:
- Deployed and optimized system with real-time progress updates and impact information managemen
- User feedback and improvement implementation repor
Intended Outcomes:
- Operational system with the desired features available to user
- Improved system performance and efficienc
- Enhanced user interface and user experience based on user feedback, leading to increased user satisfactio
