Course Content
Introduction & Overview
Learn what it means to be a Proposal Assessor in Project Catalyst, and what you will learn in this course.
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Gather the Tools
This section will guide you through gathering tools you need to be a Proposal Assessor. These include setting up a Cardano wallet so that you can get paid, as well as joining the social channels and website platforms that you will need to join in order to participate.
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Project Catalyst 101
Project Catalyst is an experiment in collaboration and innovation for Cardano. This experiment is made possible by the Cardano blockchain. The format of Project Catalyst is a series of funding rounds, wherein challenges are presented, and anyone in the world may propose solutions. The Cardano community votes for the solutions they like. Winning proposals receive funding to deliver their solutions.
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Proposal Assessors
Now that you know all about Cardano and Project Catalyst, it's your time to shine! How does being a Proposal Assessor work? How can you be a valuable contributor to the process - and be compensated accordingly?
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Your Instructors: LidoNation.com
While many blockchain websites feel like a club for techies and crypto insiders, Lido Nation focuses on content, resources, and opportunities for everyday people. Learn more about Lido Nation!
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Proposal Assessor Training for Cardano Project Catalyst
About Lesson

On Nov 11, 2021, during the weekly Cardano town hall meeting, Charles Hoskinson announced the kickoff of Project Catalyst Fund 7. I counted 500+ Zoom attendees; not many months ago, town halls commonly had around 50 in attendance. This growth is reflected in every part of the Catalyst experiment. The budget for example has doubled with every round. In this round, 6.4 million dollars is available to teams proposing solutions to challenges across 21 categories. There is also 1.6 Million available to people who participate in other roles in the project. This last category and budget is often overlooked. Creative solutions to big problems are what make Project Catalyst so exciting, but it only happens when the community jumps in to perform many important roles. These positions are flexible and short term. They are a great way to learn while helping build something new – and get paid to do it!


1) Proposers
When most people think of Project Catalyst, they think about the Proposers. After all, when you log in to Ideascale and look around, the proposals are the stars of the show. However, the role of the proposer is often misunderstood. The proposer is like the founder of a startup – the idea person. Sometimes that same person has the skills to implement their ideas, but often they actually do not! They might have important strengths, like business development, marketing, etc, but they need a team with special skills to actually deliver their idea. If you have an idea, you can participate in Catalyst as a Proposer looking for implementers.


2) Implementers
Perhaps you are a software engineer, developer, graphic artist, translator, finance guru, videographer, etc. You can go to Catalyst, browse ideas, and connect with proposers looking for people to help implement their ideas. Check out the “Team” section of proposals that interest you; often there will be opportunities listed there for people with specific skill sets needed to complete the team.


3) Referrers
If you know of a team that might benefit from building with Cardano, you can refer them to apply for Catalyst funding. Referrers simply share win-win knowledge about the awesomeness of Catalyst. If you refer someone to Catalyst and their proposal gets funded, you both get rewarded! 


4) Catalyst Circle
Over the last two years of rapid growth since Project Catalyst’s inception, certain cohorts of participants and stakeholders formed naturally. For example, Stake Pool Operators, Voters (ADA Holders), and Funded Proposers are groups with common concerns who naturally talk to each other. To give these groups representation and a direct voice in shaping the project, the Catalyst Circle was introduced. The Catalyst Circle is “a human sensor array acting as the representative body for all the different groups participating in Project Catalyst.” Individuals that sit on the circle are elected every three months. Members of the Circle are remunerated in ADA. The budget for the circle is itself a catalyst proposal, which must be approved in every funding round in order to continue.


5) Challenge Teams
“Challenges”, also called “Campaigns”, define the problems the community should solve for a given round. For Fund 7, there are more than 20 unique “Challenges”. Ideas and solutions that are proposed must fit within a defined challenge. Challenge Teams steward the Challenges in Catalyst. They track progress and report to the community about whether and how the challenges were addressed. Presentations are made at weekly virtual town halls. The processes and tools for this tracking are a work in progress – you can be part of the solution! 


6) Proposal Assessors <<THIS IS YOU!!
New proposals for each round are posted at https://cardano.ideascale.com/, where community members can post feedback and questions. Proposal teams then have the opportunity to respond and refine their proposals. Then, before voting, proposals are reviewed by Proposal Assessors (PAs). Proposal Assessors evaluate every proposal for adherence to the challenge, feasibility and auditability. This helps increase the overall quality of proposals that are eventually presented on the ballot. 


7) Veteran Proposal Assessors
In further service of quality assurance, reviews from Proposal Assessors are themselves reviewed by people who were CAs in previous funds. Veteran Proposal Assessors are the check for the checkers. 


8) Voters
Finally, at the heart of the whole process, is the opportunity for every ADA holder to have a say. Proposals that make their way to the ballot are presented in an app for apple and android, where ADA holders get to vote yes or no on each proposal. 


This lesson is sourced from the course creators at LidoNation.com. You can read the original article and find additional links and resources at Lido Nation: https://www.lidonation.com/en/posts/ways-to-participate-in-project-catalyst

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