Proposal submission Guide

This page guides proposers in submitting their proposal in ideascale

Looking for help with submissions? Please review this Catalyst gitbook page for all the additional relevant resources related to Fund12, including deadlines and overall timelines.

Proposals may be initially submitted in draft form and finalized at any time before the final submission deadline. Proposals that are not complete by the final submission deadline will be archived and will not be submitted to the community for voting. Kindly submit drafts once you are ready to proceed with enough context for the community to be able to provide tangible feedback. Proposal submissions with insufficient detail or information added across all fields are at risk of being archived at any time without notice.

Proposal submission is done via cardano.ideascale.com

Community Review guidelines link here.

GENERAL

GENERAL

QUESTION	GUIDANCE	REQUIRED / OPTIONAL
Proposal title Please note we suggest you use no more than 60 characters for your proposal title so that it can be easily viewed in the voting app	The title should clearly express what the proposal is about. Voters can see the title in the voting app, even without opening the proposal, so a clear, unambiguous, and concise title is very important.	Required
Name and Surname of Main Applicant	Please provide the name and surname of the main applicant. The main applicant is considered as the individual responsible for the project and the person authorized to act on behalf of other applicants (where applicable).	Required
Are you delivering this project as an individual or as an entity (whether formally incorporated or not)	Please select from one of the following Individual Entity (Incorporated) Entity (Not Incorporated)	Required
Co-proposers and additional applicants	List any persons who are submitting the proposal jointly with the main applicant. Make sure you have confirmed approval/awareness with these individuals / accounts before adding them. If there is more than one proposer, identify the lead person who is authorised to act on behalf of other co-proposers. IMPORTANT - A maximum of 6 (six) proposals can be led or co-proposed by the same applicant or enterprise. Please, reference Fund12 rules for added detail.	Required
Requested funds in ada	There is a minimum and a maximum amount of funding that can be requested in a single Catalyst proposal. These are outlined below per each category: Minimum Funding Amount: Cardano Uses Cases: ₳15,000 Cardano Open: ₳15,000 Cardano Partners + Real World Integrations: ₳500,000 Maximum Funding Amount: Cardano Uses Cases: Concept: ₳100,000 MVP: ₳300,000 Product: ₳500,000 Cardano Open: Developers (technical): ₳200,000 Ecosystem (non-technical): ₳100,000 Cardano Partners + Real World Integrations: ₳2,000,000	Required
Please specify how many months you expect your project to last (from 2-12 months)	Minimum 2 months - Maximum 12 months. The scope of your funding request and this project is expected to produce the deliverables you specify in the proposal within 2-12 months. If you believe your project will take longer than 12 months, consider reducing the project’s scope so that it becomes achievable within 12 months. If your project completes earlier than scheduled so long as you have submitted your PoAs and Project Close-out report and video then your project can be closed out.	Required
Please indicate if your proposal has been auto-translated into English from another language	YES/NO - Tick YES to remind readers that your proposal has been translated, and that they should be tolerant of any language imperfections. You can either link a document with your proposal in its original language OR provide your response in your native language after the English language in each question if you wish. Tick NO if your proposal has not been auto-translated into English from another language	Required
What is the exact problem you want to solve? (200-character limit including spaces)	Ensure you say what is a well-defined problem. What is the core issue that you hope to fix? Remember: the reader might not recognize the problem unless you state it clearly. This answer will be displayed on the Catalyst voting app, so voters will see it even if they don't open your proposal to read it in detail.	Required
Summarize your solution to the problem (200-character limit including spaces)	Focus on what you are going to do, or make, or change, to solve the problem. So not 'There should be a way to....' but 'We will make a...' Clearly state how the solution addresses the specific problem you have identified - connect the 'why' and the 'how'. This answer will be displayed on the Catalyst voting app, so voters will see it even if they do not open your proposal and read it in detail.	Required
Website/ GitHub repository, or any other relevant link	Here, you could include links to your website or that of a partner organization, and/or a link to any whitepaper or other publication you have written about your proposal. Note however that this is extra information that voters and Community Reviewers might choose not to read. You should not fail to include any of the questions in this form because you feel the answers can be found elsewhere. If any links are specified make sure these are added in good order (first link must be present before specifying second). Also ensure all links include ‘https.’ Without these steps, the form will not be submittable and show errors.	Optional
Does your project have any dependencies on other organizations, technical or otherwise?	YES/NO	Required
If YES, please describe what the dependency is and why you believe it is essential for your project’s delivery. If NO, please write “No dependencies.”	Here you should list any dependencies and prerequisites for your project’s success. These are usually external factors (such as third-party suppliers, external resources, third-party software, etc.) that may cause a delay, since a project has less control over them. In case of third party software, indicate whether you have the necessary license and permission to use such software.	Required if you replied YES to the above question about dependencies
Will your project’s output/s be fully open source? Open source refers to something people can modify and share because its design is publicly accessible. Open source software is software with source code that anyone can inspect, modify, and enhance Conversely, only the original authors of proprietary software can legally copy, inspect, and alter that software.	YES/NO	Required
Please provide here more information on the open source status of your project outputs	If you answered YES to the above questions: If declaring the project is open source in the application form, the project should be open source-available throughout the entire lifecycle of the project with a declared open-source repository. Please indicate here the type of licence you intend to use for open source and provide any further information you feel is relevant to the open source status of your project outputs. If only certain elements of your code will be open source please clarify which elements will be open source here. If you answered NO to the above question, please give further details as to why your projects outputs will not be open source.	Required

METADATA

METADATA

QUESTION	GUIDANCE	REQUIRED / OPTIONAL
Themes choose the most relevant tags that can help identify and categorise your project	Options: API DAO DApp Data tools DeFi Education Events Exchanges Explorers Gaming Governance Identity solutions NFTs RealFi SDK Wallet Cardano Ambassadors Marketing Hackathon Incubation Regional expansion Standards and regulation Translation Dev ecosystem collaboration Dev team Developer tools SPOs Node Other	Required
SDG rating	This field is optional. You can use the SDG Proposer Tool to help you include any relevant UN SDGs, sub goals and/or KPIs in your proposal.	Optional

SOLUTION

SOLUTION

QUESTION	GUIDANCE	REQUIRED / OPTIONAL
Please describe your proposed solution	How do you write this section will depend on what type of proposal you are writing. You might want to include details on: How do you perceive the problem you are solving What are your reasons for approaching it in the way that you have Who will your project engage How will you demonstrate or prove your impact Explain what is unique about your solution, who will benefit, and why this is important to Cardano.	Required

IMPACT

IMPACT

QUESTION	GUIDANCE	REQUIRED / OPTIONAL
Please define the positive impact your project will have on the wider Cardano community	Please include here a description of how you intend to measure impact (whether quantitative or qualitative) and how and with whom you will share your outputs. In what way will the success of your project bring value to the Cardano Community? How will you measure this impact? How will you share the outputs and opportunities that result from your project?	Required

CAPABILITY & FEASIBILITY

CAPABILITY & FEASIBILITY

QUESTION	GUIDANCE	REQUIRED / OPTIONAL
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?	Please describe your existing capabilities that demonstrate how and why you believe you’re best suited to deliver this project? Please include the steps or processes that demonstrate that you can be trusted to manage funds properly.	Required

PROJECT MILESTONES

PROJECT MILESTONES

QUESTION	GUIDANCE	REQUIRED / OPTIONAL
What are the key milestones you need to achieve in order to complete your project successfully?	A clear set of milestones and acceptance criteria will demonstrate your capability to deliver the project as proposed. More guidance on submitting milestones as part of your project proposal can be found here.
Milestones guidance	For Grant Amounts of up to 75k ada, at least 2 milestones, plus the final one including Project Close-out Report and Video, must be included (3 milestones in total) For Grant Amounts over 75k ada up to 150k ada, at least 3 milestones, plus the final one including Project Close-out Report and Video, must be included (4 milestones in total) For Grant Amounts over 150k ada up to 300k ada, at least 4 milestones.plus the final one including Project Close-out Report and Video, must be included (5 milestones in total) For Grant Amounts exceeding 300k ada, at least 5 milestones, plus the final one including Project Close-out Report and Video, must be included (6 milestones in total)
Milestones
Milestone 1	Please follow this guideline here to understand how to build your individual milestones. Each milestone must have declared: A: Milestone outputs B: Acceptance criteria C: Evidence of milestone completion	Required for all projects
Milestone 2	Please follow this guideline here to understand how to build your individual milestones. Each milestone must have declared: A: Milestone outputs B: Acceptance criteria C: Evidence of milestone completion	Required for all projects
Milestone 3	Please follow this guideline here to understand how to build your individual milestones. Each milestone must have declared: A: Milestone outputs B: Acceptance criteria C: Evidence of milestone completion	Optional depending on amount requested
Milestone 4	Please follow this guideline here to understand how to build your individual milestones. Each milestone must have declared: A: Milestone outputs B: Acceptance criteria C: Evidence of milestone completion	Optional depending on amount requested
Milestone 5	Please follow this guideline here to understand how to build your individual milestones. Each milestone must have declared: A: Milestone outputs B: Acceptance criteria C: Evidence of milestone completion	Optional depending on amount requested
Final Milestone	Please follow this guideline here to understand how to build your individual milestones. Each milestone must have declared: A: Milestone outputs B: Acceptance criteria C: Evidence of milestone completion	Required for all projects

RESOURCES

RESOURCES

QUESTION	GUIDANCE	REQUIRED / OPTIONAL
Who is in the project team and what are their roles?	List your team, their Linkedin profiles (or similar) and state what aspect of the proposal’s work each team member will undertake. If you are planning to recruit additional team members, please state what specific skills you will be looking for in the people you recruit, so readers can see that you understand what skills will be needed to complete the project. You are expected to have already engaged the relevant members of the organizations referenced so you understand if they are willing and/or have capacity to support the project. If you have not taken any steps to engage with your team yet, it is likely that the resources will not be available if you are approved for funding, which can jeopardize the project before it has even begun. The Catalyst team cannot help with this, meaning you are expected to have understood the requirements and engaged the necessary people before submitting a proposal. Have you engaged anyone on any of the technical group channels (eg Discord or Telegram), or do you have a direct line of communications with the people and resources required? Important: Catalyst funding is not anonymous, and some level of ‘proof of life’ verifications will take place before initial funding is released. Also remember that your proposal will be publicly available, so make sure to obtain any consent required before including confidential or third party information. All Project Participants must disclose their role and scope of services across any submitted proposals, even if they are not in the lead or co-proposer role, such as an implementer, vendor, service provider, etc. Failure to disclose this information may lead to disqualification from the current grant round.	Required

BUDGET & COSTS

BUDGET & COSTS

QUESTION	GUIDANCE	REQUIRED / OPTIONAL
Please provide a cost breakdown of the proposed work and resources	Make sure every element mentioned in your plan reflects its cost. It may be helpful to refer to your plan and timeline, list all the resources you will need at each stage, and what they cost. Here, provide a clear description of any third party product or service you will be using. This could be hardware, software licence, professional services (legal, accounting, code auditing, etc) but does not need to include the use of contracted programmers and developers. The exact budget elements you include will depend on what type of work you are doing, and you might need to give less detail for a small, low-budget proposal. If the cost of the project will exceed the funding request, please provide information about alternative sources of funding. Consider including budget elements for publicity / marketing / promotion / community engagement; project management; documentation; and reporting back to the community. Most proposals need these, but many proposers forget to include them. It is the project team’s responsibility to properly manage the funds provided. Make sure to reference Fund Rules to understand eligibility around costs.	Required

VALUE FOR MONEY

VALUE FOR MONEY

QUESTION	GUIDANCE	REQUIRED / OPTIONAL
How does the cost of the project represent value for money for the Cardano ecosystem?	Use the response to provide the context about the costs you listed previously, particularly if they are high. It may be helpful to include some brief information on how you have decided on the costs of the project. For instance, can you justify with supporting evidence that costs are proportional to the average wage in your country, or typical freelance rates in your industry? Is there anything else that helps to support how the project represents value for money?	Required

IMPORTANT NOTE

IMPORTANT NOTE

QUESTION	GUIDANCE	REQUIRED / OPTIONAL
MANDATORY ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS	By submitting a proposal to Project Catalyst Fund12, I confirm that I have read and agree to be bound by the Fund Rules.	Required
MANDATORY ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS	By submitting a proposal to Project Catalyst Fund12, I confirm that I have read and agree to be bound by the Project Catalyst Terms and Conditions.	Required
MANDATORY ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS	I acknowledge and agree that any data I share in connection with my participation in Project Catalyst Fund12 will be collected, stored, used and processed in accordance with the Fund Operator’s Privacy Policy.	Required