Please describe your proposed solution.

The Challenge

DLT360’s overall mission is to drive real-world blockchain adoption in business and industry. In order to pursue this mission, this project is addressing one of the most critical pain-points: The lack of an effective Web3.0 Business Development Sandbox for clients from business & industry, that is enabling easy pathways to perform Proof-of-Concept (PoC) for testing feasibility and business benefits of Web3.0 applications. In other words: A launch platform for carefully selected Cardano applications with high product / market fit. Existing approaches are still greatly missing to address this product/market-fit and do not sufficiently consider existing enterprise architectures and technology stacks in business and industry.

The white frame in the graphic below shows, how the DLT360 Business Development Sandbox fits into our overall DLT360 approach:

This proposal needs to be seen as central element of our overall DLT360 approach, which focuses on creating an effective and efficient 'Launch Platform' for door-opening, scalable applications for business and industry. While substantial pre-work in the Knowledge-Management and ThinkTank Layer has been funded by Fund 6, 7 and 8, <u>this Fund 10 proposal is important for completing our approach, allowing us to start the piloting-process with real-world pilot clients</u>. In Fund 11 we have also submitted the conception for 3 scalable applications (cardaBAN, twinSHARE and auditSHARE under 'Use Cases: Concept'). These applications will become important additional door-openers for attracting Commercial Clients to start engaging with Web3.0 approaches. A fifth proposal can be found under Fund 11 'Cardano open: Ecosystem', focusing on investigating 'FUNDING & business opportunities based on the EU Digital Decade 2030 Program' for the benefit of the Cardano ecosystem. All our Fund 11 proposals can be easily found by typing DLT360: into the IdeasScale search field.

Our Approach:

• Establishing the MVP-Version of DLT360's powerful Web3.0 Business Development Sandbox for demonstrating and testing Web3.0 applications with high product/market fit, supported by a team of implementation architects and business analysts. A special emphasis is put on interoperability and compliance with the emerging European Digital Identity and Credentials framework (eIDAS2.0, EUDI Pilot Wallets), the European Union's Next Generation Internet (NGI) and Digital Commons Initiatives as well as the overall European Unions's Digital Decade 2030 Program. This first MVP-Version of the sandbox will focus on foundational applications around Digital Identity, Verifiable Credentials and Personal Data Privacy.

• Establish MVP-Version of a client-oriented PoC-Process with Training and Workshop & Material: The sandbox is the central element of an easy and cost-effective PoC-Process, where Commercial Clients can test Web3.0 applications for their feasibility and business benefit. During this process, our Commercial Clients will participate in specific PoC Trainings and Workshops, where the sandbox will be applied for the hands-on work. The PoC-Process and the required training material are established (in MVP status) during this Fund 11 project.

• Establish infrastructure and team: Professional technical infrastructure and expert team for development and application lifecycle maintenance (ALM), all based in GitHub.

• Establish a competent integrator team that will actively support the work with the Business Application Sandbox in joint effort with partners and commercial clients

• Create publicly available promotion material: These material consists of a short primer, a pitch-deck and a promotional video, made for creating attention and generating interest in deeper engagement with our sandbox approach.

• Pilot-Testing with one Commercial Client: At the end of the project, we will run a pilot testing of sandbox and PoC-Process together with one Commercial Client from business and industry.

Rationale:

The journey of scaling Web3.0 solutions in business and industry is at its very beginning. Attracting commercial clients requires:

• Understanding the hottest current pain points along the Digital Transformation of business and industry
• Alignment with existing real-world technology-stacks: Web 3.0 solutions must fit into existing enterprise architectures and technology stacks
• Regulatory compliance and future-proof approaches: Due to the dynamic landscape of Web3.0, it is not enough to just follow existing regulations. It is furthermore important to be closely engaged with authorities and organizations that are shaping the future.
• Specialist Expertise: The involvement of architects and business analysts is crucial for the market adoption of Web 3.0 tools
• Industrial Partnerships: Early collaboration with strategic partners from business, industry, academia and Web3.0 space is important for ensuring business relevance.

Strategy

Our strategy is set as follows:

• Team Formation: Assemble a strong team of business analysts, architects, and developers. People and partner-network are key for our success.
• Requirements Specification: A lot has changed and is currently changing in the Web3.0 world and in the political and economic environment around it. Before developing the technical solutions, we therefore take another deep-dive into the latest requirements. This shall ensure that whatever we develop is relevant and provides the required business benefit.
• Proximity to European Union Digital Decade 2030 Program. This program is currently the strongest approach worldwide and is - despite all political difficulties - aiming for utilizing Digital Commons and creating a Next Generation Internet as am 'Internet for Humans'. We will take a critical stance, but work in close proximity to the major actors, organizations and authorities. This brings us also closely together with renowned players from business and industry.
• Early engagement of pilot customers

Summary

Due to the dynamics of technical developments and regulation, the coming 2 to 3 years might still be difficult for seeing large-scale applications in mainstream business and industry. Nevertheless, this is the time for gaining knowledge and performing Proof-of-Concepts. With the DLT360 Business Development Sandbox (and the surrounding 'Launch Platform'), we want to fill a definite gap: Translating complex technology to business benefits. Based on this PoC phase during 2024 and 2025, we see a multitude of great Web3.0 applications ready to scale in 2026 and beyond.

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

Value to the Cardano Community:

• Increased Adoption: The DLT360 Sandbox focuses on encouraging business- and industry projects to adopt Cardano for their blockchain-based solutions. This will lead to an expanded ecosystem of diverse business and industry applications and use cases.

• Enhanced User and Developer Experience: The DLT360 Sandbox focuses on show-casing user-friendly tools, software, and educational resources. The direct feedback from Commercial Clients will lead to feedback and future application requirements, making it easier for developers in the Cardano ecosystem to develop tools and applications with great product/market fit. This will contribute to the growth of the developer community and increase the overall innovation on the Cardano blockchain.

• Enhanced Standardization and Interoperability: Through the focus on technical standards, the proximity to regulators and the emphasis on blockchain interoperability, the DLT360 Sandbox will facilitate seamless integration between Cardano and other blockchain systems. This will promote collaboration, cross-chain functionality, and interoperability, positioning Cardano as a robust and interconnected blockchain platform.

• Increased Knowledge Sharing: The project's focuses on knowledge-sharing, which will empower individuals and teams to make informed decisions, improve their skills, and contribute effectively to the ecosystem's growth.

How to measure the impact ?

To measure the success of the project, we will employ a combination of quantitative and qualitative measures. The following are some key areas we intend to measure:

• Measuring Increased Adoption:

• Quantitative measuring of the level of engagement resulting from the use of our promotional material, the number of Commercial Clients actually responding, the number of clients participating in the resulting PoC-Process

• Measuring Enhanced User and Developer Experience:

• This will require qualitative methods, but will also be determined by the quantity and quality of community engagement and the size and satisfaction of our partner network

• Measuring Enhanced Standardization and Interoperability:

• Also this will require mainly qualitative methods. The quantitative part will be the level of engagement among various blockchain communities and e.g. the number of projects utilizing cross-chain solutions.

• Measuring Increased Knowledge Sharing:

• Reach and engagement of technical documentation and educational resources provided by the project.

• Surveys, interviews, or feedback sessions with users, developers, and stakeholders to gather qualitative insights on the project's impact and benefits.

• Analysis of community sentiment, forum discussions, or social media interactions to gauge the perception and reception of the project within the Cardano ecosystem.

How we will share the outputs and opportunities that result from this project?

The way we plan to make the results of this project available has been described in the 'Open Source Section' earlier in this proposal. Due to the nature of the project, this will be a mix of publicly available and not publicly available outputs (this is unavoidable, as the use of the sandbox is part of a Commercial Clients-oriented PoC-Process that is embedded in a training and workshop program).

The publicly available parts of our outputs will be shared as following:

• Accessible in our GitHub repository
• Over the DLT360 Website
• Ober LinkedIn and YouTube (the promotional elements)
• By delivering to the Cardano Catalyst Community based on the valid reporting standards

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?

DLT360 was founded by an ambitious core-team coming from many years of leadership experience in business and industry, combined with the fresh perspective of young talents in various disciplines (see team description later in this proposal). DLT360's core-team and extended domain expert team in the knowledge areas of Economy,Technology, Regulation, Politics and ESG.

The senior founders have also been active members of and contributors to the Catalyst community since early-on. DLT360 has successfully completed 20 projects in Fund 6, 7 and 8. This project is now a major element of orchestrating many of the previous projects and to make us ready for piloting and scaling up the work with Commercial Clients from business and industry.

Our team (including the closely linked free-lancers) has many years of experience in:

• Innovation Management
• Specific deep knowledge about industrial process and supply-chain transformation
• Specific knowledge of activities and regulations of the European Union
• Strong network to key-players within academia and within the various EU-initiatives
• Quality Management according to ISO9001
• Cybersecurity according to ISO27001
• Specific knowledge in Business Model & Value Proposition Development
• Specific knowledge in UX, design and branding
• Program Management
• Project Management
• Full-stack development resources
• Knowhow in business administration, controlling and reporting

We use best-practice infrastructure and tools like e.g. GitHub and MIRO for supporting our collaborative processes and document management.

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

Milestone Title:

Project Setup and Requirements Gathering

Completion:

End of Month 1 of 10

Outputs:

1. Project Infrastructure in place
2. Team and external partners allocated
3. Business Requirements gathered
4. Regulatory Requirements gathered
5. Technical Solution Requirements gathered

Acceptance Criteria (for Outputs):

1. Project setup in GitHub, including project plan, project boards prepared in MIRO
2. Roles defined and allocated to resources: project lead, project manager, business analyst(s), developers, required external partners, external domain experts for specific inputs and quality checking
3. Draft documentation of requirements for PoC-Process, use of sandbox, sandbox main functionalities available
4. Draft documentation of Regulatory Requirements available
5. Draft documentation of Technical Solution Requirements available

Evidence (for Acceptance Criteria fulfilled):

We will deliver a brief video in which we will go through the individual outputs, the acceptance criteria and the evidence. As evidence we will provide:

1. Demonstrating the project setup in GitHub and MIRO
2. Showing the project organization chart and introducing the key-people
3. Demonstrating and explaining the MIRO Board with the Business Requirements (PoC-Process, use of sandbox, sandbox main functionalities)
4. Demonstrating and explaining the MIRO Board with the Regulatory Requirements
5. Demonstrating and explaining the MIRO Board with the Technical Solution Requirements

>Milestone Title:

Specification Phase completed, ready for Development Phase

Completion:

End of Month 2 of 10

Outputs:

1. Formal Requirements Specification document completed
2. Technical Specification completed
3. Software development environment established

Acceptance Criteria (for Outputs):

1. Completely written and formally released Requirements Specification
2. Completely written and formally released Technical Specification
3. Setup of the software development environment with the necessary infrastructure, tools and processes in place

Evidence (for Acceptance Criteria fulfilled):

We will deliver a brief video in which we will go through the individual outputs, the acceptance criteria and the evidence. As evidence we will provide:

1. Brief introduction to the Requirements Specification Document and providing a link for deeper-going inspection
2. Brief introduction to the Technical Specification and providing a link for deeper-going inspection
3. Demonstrating and explaining the GitHub Repository, our tools and processes

>Milestone Title:

First MVP-iteration developed and tested

Completion:

End of Month 5 of 10

Outputs:

1. First MVP iteration of Clients PoC-Process & Test and improvement protocol
2. First MVP iteration of Sandbox UX/Frontend & Test and improvement protocol
3. First MVP iteration of Sandbox backend functions & Test and improvement protocol
4. First MVP iteration of workshop and training material & Test and improvement protocol

Acceptance Criteria (for Outputs):

1. First presentable version of the PoC-Process available, that allows us to test the logical flow, the effectiveness and efficiency of our future work-process with commercial clients. This first version was then thoroughly tested and a test & improvement protocol is available
2. Sandbox UX/Frontend Framework Version 0.0.1 showing how clients will interact with the sandbox (from usability perspective). This first version was then thoroughly tested and a test & improvement protocol is available
3. Sandbox Backend Version 0.0.1 showing the integration of first basic functionalities consisting of the selected Identity and Credentials Wallet and a specific Personal Data Privacy related application. This first version was then thoroughly tested and a test & improvement protocol is available
4. First presentable version of the workshop & training material, allowing us to test the comprehensiveness and didactic quality. This first version was then thoroughly tested, gaps were identified and a test & improvement protocol was established.

Evidence (for Acceptance Criteria fulfilled):

We will deliver a brief video in which we will go through the individual outputs, the acceptance criteria and the evidence. As evidence we will provide:

1. Brief explanation of our Design Thinking & process development activities (documented on MIRO boards) and demonstration of the results of the first MVP iteration by going through the process. Presentation of test results and possible improvements (we will also provide a link to the document)
2. Demonstrating and explaining the UX/Frontend, showing how users actually interact with the sandbox framework. Presentation of test results and possible improvements (we will also provide a link to the document)
3. Demonstrating and explaining the sandbox backend, explaining the solution architecture, the technology stack and the basic functionalities. Presentation of test results and possible improvements (we will also provide a link to the document)
4. We will introduce the established workshop and training material and provide the necessary links. Also here, we will presentation test results and possible improvements.

>Milestone Title:

Second MVP-iteration developed and tested

Completion:

End of Month 7 of 10

Outputs:

1. Second MVP iteration of Clients PoC-Process & Test and improvement protocol
2. Second MVP iteration of Sandbox UX/Frontend & Test and improvement protocol
3. Second MVP iteration of Sandbox backend functions & Test and improvement protocol
4. Second MVP iteration of workshop and training material & Test and improvement protocol

Acceptance Criteria (for Outputs):

1. Improved version of the PoC-Process available, further testing of our future work-process with commercial clients. The testing of this second version is documented and a test & improvement protocol is available.
2. Improved version of the Sandbox UX/Frontend Framework Version 0.0.2 available. The testing of this second version is documented and a test & improvement protocol is available.
3. Improved version of the Sandbox Backend Version 0.0.2 available. The testing of this second version is documented and a test & improvement protocol is available.
4. Improved version of the workshop & training material. The testing of this second version is documented and a test & improvement protocol is available.

Evidence (for Acceptance Criteria fulfilled):

We will deliver a brief video in which we will go through the individual outputs, the acceptance criteria and the evidence. As evidence we will provide:

1. Brief explanation of the improvement and development activities achieved by this second iteration, and demonstration of the results of the second MVP iteration. Presentation of test results and possible improvements (we will also provide a link to the document)
2. Brief explanation of the improvement and development activities achieved by this second iteration, and demonstration of the results of the second MVP iteration. Presentation of test results and possible improvements (we will also provide a link to the document)
3. Brief explanation of the improvement and development activities achieved by this second iteration, and demonstration of the results of the second MVP iteration. Presentation of test results and possible improvements (we will also provide a link to the document)
4. Brief explanation of the improvement and development activities achieved by this second iteration, and demonstration of the results of the second MVP iteration. Presentation of test results and possible improvements (we will also provide a link to the document)

>Milestone Title:

MVP developed completed. Documentation and promotional material available

Completion:

End of Month 9 of 10

Outputs:

1. MVP release of Clients PoC-Process & Test and improvement protocol
2. MVP release of Sandbox UX/Frontend & Test and improvement protocol
3. MVP release iteration of Sandbox backend functions & Test and improvement protocol
4. MVP iteration of workshop and training material & Test and improvement protocol
5. Technical documentation
6. Promotion Material
7. Application Whitepaper

Acceptance Criteria (for Outputs):

1. Formal MVP release of the PoC-Process available
2. Formal MVP release of Sandbox UX/Frontend Framework Version 0.1.0 available
3. Formal MVP release of Sandbox Backend Version 0.1.0 available
4. Formal MVP release of workshop & training material available
5. Internal technical documentation available
6. Promotion Material available (short video-clip and primer-presentation)
7. Application Whitepaper available (This document provides an overview of the sandbox, including the problem it solves, the solutions it brings, all from a business benefit perspective).

Evidence (for Acceptance Criteria fulfilled):

We will deliver a brief video in which we will go through the individual outputs, the acceptance criteria and the evidence. As evidence we will provide:

1. Brief explanation of the improvement and development activities since the second iteration, and demonstration of the resulting changes and improvements. Presentation of the final testing results and the formal release (links will be provided).
2. Brief explanation of the improvement and development activities since the second iteration, and demonstration of the resulting changes and improvements. Presentation of the final testing results and the formal release (links will be provided).
3. Brief explanation of the improvement and development activities since the second iteration, and demonstration of the resulting changes and improvements. Presentation of the final testing results and the formal release (links will be provided).
4. Brief explanation of the improvement and development activities since the second iteration, and demonstration of the resulting changes and improvements. Presentation of the final testing results and the formal release (links will be provided).
5. The (internal) technical documentation will be presented and the links to the documents will be made available for validation purposes.
6. The promotional video clip and the primer-presentation will be presented and links will be made available
7. The Application Whitepaper will be presented and links will be made available

>Milestone Title:

Piloting and Project Completion

Completion:

End of Month 10 of 10

Outputs:

1. One completed pilot workshop based on using the sandbox
2. Improvements Protocol
3. Market Introduction Plan: Form MVP to a service at scale
4. Project Closeout Report
5. Project Closeout Video

Acceptance Criteria (for Outputs):

1. Piloting of the PoC-Process and of the use of the sandbox together with one real-world pilot customer from business and industry completed.
2. Improvements Protocol available, summarizing all known issues and improvements
3. Market Introduction Plan: Summarizing document, outlining the next steps towards a market introduction from MVP to a Service at scale available
4. Project Closeout Report available
5. Project Closeout Video available

Evidence (for Acceptance Criteria fulfilled):

We will deliver a brief video in which we will go through the individual outputs, the acceptance criteria and the evidence. As evidence we will provide:

1. Brief summary of the workshop, with focus on highlights, remaining issues and customer feedback
2. Brief presentation of the Improvements Protocol
3. Brief presentation of the Market Introduction Plan
4. Hand over Project Closeout Report
5. Present Closeout Video

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

Project Lead

• Heinz Gassner, founder of DLT360 comes from 30+ years of experience in technology marketing, strategic business model development and innovation leadership positions in renowned manufacturing companies. In addition to this this, Heinz has education and experience in general business administration and regulatory matters and is just completing his latest M.Sc. in DLT/Blockchain at University of Malta. Due to his long industry-career, Heinz also has a strong personal network within the business and industry leadership community. Heinz has been engaged with CARDANO since 2017 and is an active player within the Catalyst community since the very first town-hall. See LinkedIn

Major Contributor and Project Management

• Guilherme Pereira, co-founder of DLT360, just completing his M.Sc. in Mechatronics in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Guilherme is active in our research team and is our program- and project management lead. See LinkedIn

Research assistant and graphic design

• Jonas Weinberger, co-founder of DLT360. Jonas has recently graduated from Brussels School of Governance. Jonas is regular contributor to DLT360’s legal workstream and is active part of the DLT360 research team. Jonas is also our internal mastermind in design, presentation and video production. See LinkedIn

Business and Industry Expert, Quality Control

• Thorsten Potebaum, co-founder and CTO of DLT360, is a very active player in the Cardano Catalyst community. Thorsten comes with a long industry-experience in financial management, IT and cybersecurity (cybersecurity audit program manager). See LinkedIn

Additional Ressources

Besides our core-team, this project will be supported by the freelance and partner resources:

• Backoffice team (Brazil)
• Development team (Brazil)
• Domain Experts from industry and academia for assisting us on demand
• External partnerships

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

Please see next chapter (value for money) in this proposal for our comments on how we calculated the average hourly rates applied herein.

Milestone 1: Project Setup and Requirements Gathering

Completion: End of Month 1

Budget Positions

• Onboarding of team, setting up infrastructure (20 hours x 250 ADA/h = 5,000 ADA)
• Requirements gathering, discussions, meetings (100 hours x 250 ADA/h = 20,000 ADA)
• Total: 30,000 ADA

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Milestone 2: Specification Phase completed, ready for Development Phase

Completion: End of Month 2

Budget Positions

• Expert iterations of requirements, consolidation (80 hours x 250 ADA/h = 20,000 ADA)
• Document writing iterations (25h x 200 ADA/h = 5,000 ADA)
• Development Environment Configuration (25h x 200 ADA/h = 5,000 ADA)
• Total: 30,000 ADA

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Milestone 3: First MVP-iteration developed and tested

Completion: End of Month 5

Budget Positions:

• Design Thinking Process, PoC process development (80h x 250 ADA/h = 20,000 ADA)
• Frontend Development (120h x 250 ADA/hour = 30,000 ADA)
• Backend Development (120h x 250 ADA/hour = 30,000 ADA)
• Development of Workshop & Training Material (50h x 200 ADA/h = 10,000 ADA)
• Total: 90,000 ADA

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Milestone 4: Second MVP-iteration developed and tested

Completion: End of Month 7

Budget Positions:

• PoC-Process, second development iteration (40h x 250 ADA/h = 10,000 ADA)
• Frontend Development, second dev iteration (60h x 250 ADA/hour = 15,000 ADA)
• Backend Development, second dev iteration (60h x 250 ADA/hour = 15,000 ADA)
• Improvement of Workshop & Training Material (50h x 200 ADA/h = 10,000 ADA)
• Total: 50,000 ADA

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Milestone 5: MVP developed completed. Documentation and promotional material available

Completion: End of Month 9

Budget Positions:

• PoC-Process development complete & released (20h x 250 ADA/h = 5,000 ADA)
• Frontend Development, complete & released (20h x 250 ADA/hour = 5,000 ADA)
• Backend Development, complete & released (20h x 250 ADA/hour = 5,000 ADA)
• Workshop & Training Material complete & released (25h x 200 ADA/h = 5,000 ADA)
• Technical documentation complete & released (50h x 200 ADA/h = 10,000 ADA)
• Promotion Material complete & released (40h x 250 ADA/hour = 10,000 ADA)
• Application Whitepaper complete & released (40h x 250 ADA/hour = 10,000 ADA)
• Total: 50,000 ADA

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Final Milestone: Piloting and Project Completion

Completion: End of Month 10

Budget Positions:

• Pilot Workshop Organization & Conduct (100h x 250 ADA/h = 25,000 ADA)
• Improvements Protocol (20h x 250 ADA/h = 5,000 ADA)
• Market Introduction Plan(40h x 250 ADA/h = 10,000 ADA)
• Project closing and gathering of feedback, data & facts (20h x 250 ADA/h = 5,000 ADA)
• Project Closeout Report & Video (20h x 250 ADA/h = 5,000 ADA)
• Total: 50,000 ADA

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

The following background is important for understanding the calculation of our average global hourly rates (we applied 250 ADA for senior expert level and 200 ADA for operational level)

• For the applied average hourly rates, please note that the DLT 360 Team is located in Europe, UK and Brazil
• Our applied hourly rate covers
• average costs for travel & accommodation
• general administration, operations and marketing overhead
• tax and social security expenses
• special crypto-related legal and tax consulting expenses
• EXCHANGE RATE RISK MANAGEMENT
• For this project, we need to engage high-level external experts on-demand, coming from various disciplines in academia and industry. This requires rather high hourly rates.
• We compensate this by allocating tasks to our team in Brazil wherever possible (eg. back-office work, project management work, research and development assistance)