Introducing Web3 Foundation Open Grants
Web3 Foundation has launched an open grants program to run alongside our general grants program. Transparent and efficient, the new program is running on GitHub, funding projects that support the Polkadot ecosystem up to US$30K equivalent, administered in cryptocurrency. This represents a practical step on our mission towards building a fair and transparent internet.
The Web3 Foundation Mission and Vision
At Web3 Foundation we believe in an internet where individuals, not corporations, own their own data.
Over the past 50 years, digitization has changed our world dramatically. Developments in each generation of the web have brought us from the primarily static pages of Web 1.0 to the interactive system we know today: Web 2.0, where we not only read but can also publish our own content, and where economies like Airbnb and Uber can be created just by leveraging these distributed, interconnected platforms. Along with these advances came problems: a greater concentration of power, and centralized groups that we have to trust with our data. With the development of blockchain technology, we now have the ability to build “trustless” systems, where we don’t have to trust in the good intentions of the service provider. With this new technology, the rules and regulations can be built into the system, which will continue to run by these rules no matter who owns or runs it.
Blockchain is still at the early stages of development, and currently there are few ways for the chains offering services to interact. As part of our vision we are building Polkadot, technology that allows different kinds of blockchains to work together. This facilitates an ecosystem with the potential to create the next generation of the web, Web 3.0, in which you no longer have to trust a single party.
Our General Grants Program
Since 2019 we have been funding the development and advancement of decentralized open source projects, particularly those related to Polkadot and Substrate (our open source modular kit that makes creating a blockchain something that can literally be achieved in minutes).
So far, these grants have covered software development and research. Generally, the projects we fund are structured over multiple milestones, with documentation and payment at each milestone. At each stage, we try to ensure that projects can be widely used by the community.
Grants are available up to US$100,000 per project.
We welcome applications from individuals, companies, teams, and research institutions. Further information is available on GitHub and our template gives a comprehensive list of what is needed to apply.
A full list of the recipients of the grant and their projects can be seen on GitHub here.
Our Open Grants Program
In the general grants system, decisions are made offline by the Grants Committee, which meets every two weeks on average. An element of privacy exists in the application process, as submissions can be made via the google form link.
In contrast, our open grants program is completely transparent on GitHub. Like a blockchain, GitHub tracks everything that is done. Things cannot be deleted: even if something is overridden the full history of the file is available. So, when an application is submitted everyone can see it and can track the payment, because payments are only made in cryptocurrency.
Things are also fully transparent from our side. Decisions on the grants are currently made by a committee of eight people from Web3 Foundation and Parity Technologies. Our comments on the application, who approved it, feedback on the milestones, everything is visible on GitHub. So, theoretically, nothing needs to happen in private channels.
The application is accepted when one-third of the committee approves a pull request, the terms and conditions have been agreed, and any requested changes are addressed.
Currently, only grants of up to US$30K, paid in cryptocurrencies, are available in this program.
For the recipients, the obvious advantage of this way of approving grants is that we are fully transparent, and the system is very efficient. Technically decisions can be made within a few hours of application. On May 6, 2020, the committee approved a grant application in less than three hours from the initial pull request to the final approval, including changes to the application itself. The time saved with bureaucracy can be used for doing more productive, fun things! More details on the grant and the application process can be found on GitHub.
Building the Internet of the Future
For us, this is a logical step towards Web 3.0 and the trustless system we envision. Recipients of our grants are building the nuts and bolts of the fair and open internet of the future, creating an ecosystem where public and private enterprise can exist and interact.
While not all technologies will be designed to make a profit — functioning more like the streets, water, or sanitation systems in everyday life — all the software will continually need some support. The treasury on Kusama (the “wild cousin” of Polkadot), which gets funded via a small percentage of the transaction fees, slashing, staking inefficiencies, etc., is one way to test and ensure the self-sustainability of the network. The open grants program is another way to test and improve the concepts required. In the long term, these are ethical and sustainable ways of keeping the system running. And with our transparent system the entrepreneurs of the future can keep an eye on the bleeding edge of developments and identify opportunities along the way.
Become part of the Polkadot community
Things change rapidly in Polkadot-world! We have provided lots of ways for members of the wider Polkadot community to keep up to date with what’s going on. Join us on your favorite medium as we head into exciting times.
Real-time conversation
We have Riot channels for real-time discussions on Web3 Foundation and Polkadot. Join the conversations.
