Please describe your proposed solution.

Description:

Building upon the proof of concept developed in fund 9 project TribalDID's = Indigenous Sovereignty (prototype available via this link, and further instructions in the comments), we discovered that the development of a registrations and membership system that leverages the Cardano infrastructure could be an effective ecosystem adoption strategy.

The proposed solution will take the proof of concept and create a cutting-edge open-source software (FOSS) initiative aimed at revolutionizing community registration, membership, and identity management. This project focuses on developing a scalable solution utilizing the cardano blockchain for verifiable credentials and decentralized identity technologies. It empowers diverse communities to effortlessly establish and manage memberships, issuing secure credentials for members to express their digital identities seamlessly.

Key Features:

1. Multi-method signup: Support for in app, website and paper based registrations.
2. Verifiable Credentials: Implementing a robust system for issuing and verifying credentials, ensuring authenticity and security.
3. Decentralized Identity (DID): Harnessing the power of decentralized identifiers to grant communities control over their identity infrastructure.
4. Data Sovereignty: Designing a flexible architecture that can be easily deployed by community groups, ensuring easy self-hosted, permanent access and control.
5. User-Friendly Interface: Creating an intuitive and accessible interface for easy administration setup, community onboarding and member interaction.
6. Security Measures: Implementing state-of-the-art security protocols to safeguard member data and prevent unauthorized access.
7. Community Empowerment: Providing tools for communities to customize and manage their identity solutions independently.
8. Documentation and Support: Comprehensive documentation and ongoing support to facilitate easy adoption and troubleshooting.

Impact:

1. Cost Efficiency: Reducing financial burdens and on communities.
2. Empowered Communities: Granting communities control over their identity infrastructure, fostering a community autonomy.
3. Inclusivity: Promoting digital identity expression, creating an inclusive environment for diverse community members.
4. Security Enhancement: Mitigating data security risks through advanced encryption and decentralized control.
5. Community development: By reducing the time and resources required to design, develop and maintain these community systems, communities can focus on the important work of getting things together.

Vision: This project envisions a future where communities of all shapes and sizes can effortlessly manage memberships and identities, fostering a sense of belonging and empowerment through secure, decentralized, and accessible solutions.

Join us in shaping a digital landscape where every community can onboard it members securely and seamlessly.

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

This project will positively impact the wider Cardano community in several key ways:

1. Integration with Cardano Ecosystem: The project solution will seamlessly integrate with the Cardano blockchain, providing communities with opportunity to leveraging Alataprism to issue no DID's on chain. Its robust and secure infrastructure to enhance the reliability of decentralized identity management.
2. Foundation for ADA Transactions: Communities that utilise the project will have the required foundational understanding and infrastructure already in place to explore further ADA use cases.
3. Community Governance: The project will empower communities to efficiently manage their memberships and engage in governance processes, fostering a more participatory and inclusive ecosystem.
4. Global Collaboration: The open-source nature of the project includes collaboration within the Cardano community and beyond, participating in the development of a standardized, interoperable, and universally accepted decentralized identity framework,
5. User Adoption: The user-friendly interface and customizable features will encourage widespread adoption within the Cardano community, enhancing the overall user experience for community members interacting with decentralized identity solutions.
6. Community Empowerment: By providing communities on Cardano with tools to manage their identities independently, this project contributes to the empowerment of community members, aligning with the principles of decentralization and autonomy.

In summary, this project aims to positively contribute to the Cardano community by onboarding more communities and members, and fostering a user-friendly environment that promotes widespread adoption of decentralized identity solutions within the Cardano ecosystem.

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?

With a proven track record of five years working collaboratively, our team has demonstrated our commitment and competence in delivering successful projects, including the development and delivery of the Ahau application. Having delivered over $1.5 million in project funding in that time span, each endeavour required meticulous reporting, transparent communication, and the successful attainment of project objectives. Our collective experience showcases a consistent dedication to accountability and transparency, adapting to diverse communication methods and ensuring project success. This established cohesion, coupled with our expertise and track record, uniquely positions us as the ideal team to confidently and effectively deliver the proposed project.

A list of recently funded projects has been provided below:

To successfully deliver the project, we have an experienced team that possess a range of capabilities and experiences across various domains. Our fields of expertise include:

1. Decentralized Identity (DID) and Verifiable Credentials:

• Expertise in designing, implementing, and managing decentralized identity systems, including the use of decentralized identifiers (DIDs) and verifiable credentials.

1. Security Proficiency:

• Strong background in cybersecurity and secure coding practices to establish robust security measures, safeguarding user data, and ensuring privacy.

1. Open-Source Development:

• Experience in leading or contributing to open-source projects, understanding the importance of transparency and collaboration in building trust within the community.

1. User-Centric Design:

• User experience (UX) and user interface (UI) design skills to create an intuitive and user-friendly interface, prioritizing the needs of the end-users.

1. Community Engagement:

• Past experience in managing and engaging with diverse communities, fostering open communication, and addressing concerns effectively.

1. Ethical Considerations:

• A commitment to ethical considerations in identity management, including a focus on user consent, data ownership, and minimizing biases.

1. Project Management Skills:

• Strong project management skills to ensure timely delivery, accountability, and effective communication with stakeholders.

By combining the team experience, expertise and already functional PoC developed in the tribalDIDs = indigenous data sovereignty project, the project team will continue to build trust through transparency, accountability, and a demonstrated commitment to user needs and security along with regular communication with the community throughout the development process.

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

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

For the past five years our team have been successfully building and delivering community designed technologies. Below are our team members that are leading this project

Ben Tairea:

As Product Owner of the project solution, Ben will play a pivotal role in driving the development and success of the project. Ben will be responsible for ensuring the product meets the needs of both the development team and the diverse communities it aims to serve.

Professional Experience:

• Proven experience as the Product Owner with Ahau since 2017
• Strong familiarity with AtalaPrism and Cardano as the core contributor to the ssb-atalaprism module
• Strong understanding of decentralized identity concepts, verifiable credentials, and related technologies, serving as chair of Digital Identity NZ 2019-23 and Member of the Identity Product Advisory Group for New Zealand Government (current)
• Clear understanding of user base and product vision as Earth Defenders Toolkit Community Steward since 2022

Key Responsibilities:

• Develop and communicate a clear product vision aligned with the goals of the project.
• Curate and manage the product backlog, ensuring it reflects project priorities.
• Champion user-centric design principles, working closely with UI/UX designers to implement feedback and improve usability.
• Collaborate with QA teams to establish and maintain quality standards, participating in testing processes.
• Develop and maintain comprehensive project plans, defining tasks, timelines, and dependencies.
• Track project timelines, identifying and addressing potential delays, and ensuring the timely delivery of milestones.
• Facilitate clear communication between project stakeholders, ensuring everyone is informed about project progress and changes.
• Work closely with the project's financial team to manage and monitor the budget, ensuring resources are allocated efficiently.

Engie Matene:

Is our community liaison for the project leading our co-development approach between between the product development team and the communities we aim to serve. Engie will be responsible for developing an engaged communities user base, fostering collaboration, addressing concerns, and ensuring a positive and inclusive experience.

Personal experience:

• Strong understanding of community registrations as lead research and community engagement for TribalDID's = Indigenous sovereignty project since Nov 22
• Secretary for Te Riingi Marae (Marae Trustee)
• Strong technical understanding and community product development working as a community software developer since 2017

Key Responsibilities:

• Actively engage with potential user communities to build strong relationships.
• Gather and synthesize user feedback, ensuring the community's voice is heard and considered in project development.
• Address community concerns, inquiries, and issues promptly, working closely with the development team to find resolutions.
• Act as the bridge between development teams, community stakeholders, and other relevant parties.
• Be an advocate for the community within the development team, ensuring their needs and perspectives are considered in decision-making processes.

Mix Irving:

As the senior developer for the project Mix is a key player in the design, development, and implementation of our decentralized identity solution on the Cardano blockchain. His expertise will drive technical excellence, innovation, and the successful delivery of a robust and scalable open-source product.

Personal Experience:

• Core developer for Loomio governance tool
• Key contributor to Dark Crystal v1
• Core developer and community organiser of Scuttlebutt
• Lead developer for Āhau
• Founder of commons.garden
• a new project working to build a stronger p2p commons, sharing learning, fostering collaborations

Key Responsibilities:

• Provide technical leadership within the development team, guiding the implementation of decentralized identity solutions.
• Lead blockchain development efforts, particularly on the Cardano and AtalaPrism platform, ensuring secure and efficient integration
• Enforce coding standards and best practices to maintain high-quality, maintainable, and efficient code.
• Implement robust security measures, including encryption and secure key management, to ensure the integrity of the decentralized identity system.

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

• Development Team (67% - ₳201,000):
• Compensation for the development team, solution architect and technical lead.
• Software development tools and licenses.
• User Experience (UX)/User Interface (UI) Design (10% - ₳30,000):
• Compensation for UX/UI designers.
• Design tools and software licenses.
• User testing expenses.
• Documentation and Support (5% - ₳15,000):
• Technical writers for creating comprehensive documentation.
• Support team compensation for post-deployment assistance and user guides.
• Community Engagement (10% - ₳30,000):
• Funding for community events, webinars, and meetups.
• Marketing and promotional materials to raise awareness.
• Contingency (3% - ₳9,000):
• A reserve fund for unexpected expenses or scope changes.
• Project management (5% - ₳15,000)
• Compensation for project manager

The budget will be regularly revisited throughout the duration of the project with shared responsibility between the project leads to ensure that funds are allocated optimally and to accommodate any emerging needs or changes in scope. Additionally, maintaining a detailed and transparent record of expenditures will aid in effective budget management throughout the project lifecycle.

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

The project budget has been based on converted industry average salary rates for Aotearoa, NZ, where our project team in based:

Average salary: Technical lead

Average salary: Project manager

Average salary: Solution architect

Considering the teams considerable expertise in this particular field and current contracting rates the Cardano ecosystem is getting significant value for money for this project.