Hello there, beautiful soul!
Hope this message finds you well.
I am very excited about this weekend. Are you?
A series of celebrations of collective efforts, knowledge, building, ideating, and everything in between is taking place this weekend. IO ScotFest just kicked off earlier today, and the main event Cardano Summit will follow right after in Lausanne and in tens of locations around the world. If you have an opportunity to go and meet fellow community members locally - please do. You will not regret creating those new relationships. For those who can’t, much will be broadcasted live as well.
Did you know that the Catalyst team will be Lausanne as well? Come say hi if you see us or sign up for a workshop we’ll be having. More info further below.
Meanwhile, we continue to take the opportunity to pause and reflect, considering the valued feedback from the Cardano community and readjusting processes ahead of the next iteration of Project Catalyst. The intention is to launch Fund10 when all community input is processed and agreed-upon new methods are implemented. Having said that, we would like to bring clarity on timelines imminently ahead of us. Fund9 accounts for the last fund of 2022, and current estimates on the launch of Fund10 are around the middle of Q1 23. However, it is a complex topic that will need a thorough examination.
We want to acknowledge the hard work of community builders, educators, innovators, countless volunteers, supporters, and everyone who interacts and makes this beautiful ecosystem whole. All of YOU together are essential in making the Project Catalyst environment exist in the first place. We equally recognize that much of this effort is directly connected with incentives that come with your hard work. The extended cooldown impacts this dynamic considerably.
However, there must be an understanding that this period of reflection is essential for the continued healthy and sustainable growth of Project Catalyst. With new needs emerging organically, new infrastructure and processes are also needed. This pause and its effect are not lost upon us. We would love to reassure every one of you that your efforts and needs are not just appreciated, they directly influence how we move into 2023.
With the release of the Voltaire CIP (more on that further below) and the announcements at IO ScotFest, next year promises to be full of evolution - with Project Catalyst playing a big role in the innovation and growth of Cardano. As always, we will continue to engage, support, and work with many of you.
Setting the current direction and co-creating the future pathway is better done together.
Thank you for being here. 
Town Hall
Catalyst Town Halls are currently suspended in lieu of a cooldown period. However, Town Halls will resume on Nov 30 and be running until Dec 14. We’ll pause for holiday period and resume likely Jan 11. We should be then on schedule following.
Town Hall Playlist: link here
Break Out Rooms: https://bit.ly/33i38SB
- Want to open your own room next time? Book it via this form at least 24hrs in advance and get those conversations rolling!
Next: To be announced. Register now via this recurring link.
IO ScotFest - Live Now
‘IO ScotFest; the age of Voltaire’ is a 2-day virtual event showcasing what has been achieved so far, and celebrating what we have to look forward to. And it started earlier today! Over 20+ keynotes and presentations featuring project updates and new announcements will be live-streamed to the community across our official channels for you to watch and engage with throughout.
Catch the day one live YouTube stream via this link. What are the key highlights to look out for this weekend?
Research
- We’ll announce new initiatives and collaborations driving Cardano and the wider blockchain industry forward
Governance
- How we’ll support the continuing growth of a decentralized, community-first ecosystem
- Decentralization and Scalability
- Our plans for building a blockchain fit for the future
Realfi and Adoption
- How we’ll drive and support real-world use cases and onboard new users Ecosystem Hear about new and exciting projects in our community
The Cardano Summit and Project Catalyst
As soon as IO ScotFest warms up the waters, Cardano Summit will take over the main stage throughout the world.
The Catalyst was given an opportunity to run a workshop directly in Lausanne where Cardano Summit is taking place. Fast forward a week, and I am even more excited about the event. This is no longer just IO led workshop but is co-run with CF and community members who have reached out to help support the process and be engaged. We have also received great input from those who cannot attend this time around. I would like to thank all of you who did so.
Now, understandably, this is a very limited experience event when contrasted to the size and complexity of communities. The workshop itself is not positioning itself to decide upon future directions nor represent all the diversity of various Catalyst communities. Instead, the idea is to open that first door on the way to co-create the collective future of those participating in Project Catalyst. And in this workshop, we’ll begin exploring the notion of a Charter. This will then head on a virtual roadshow for much more deliberation and iterations with all parts of the community before we have a fully-fledged V1.
It also gives us an opportunity to meet friendly faces in person and build on relationships that have been formed often only via computer screens. Some of our Catalyst team members will be there, including me. Can’t wait to see many of you there!
If you’re heading to Lausanne this weekend we’d love you to join the conversation! REGISTER HERE.
Note: We’re on Day 1 (20.11.2022) and the workshop kicks off at 13:30 (Swiss/CET time). If you’d like to join the working group RSVP here (this is an in-person event).
CIP 1694 (FYI - Voltaire’s Birthday)
The ongoing ScotFest brought about one of the most important documents to the Cardano public to begin conversations and debates. I invite you to start browsing “An On-Chain Decentralized Governance Mechanism for Voltaire.”
We’re heading into the age of Voltaire, laying down the foundations for decentralized decision-making. This CIP describes a mechanism for on-chain governance that will underpin the Voltaire phase of Cardano. The document builds on and extends the original Cardano governance scheme that was based on a fixed number of governance keys. It aims to provide a first step that is both valuable and technically achievable in the near term as part of the proposed Voltaire governance system.
It also seeks to act as a jumping-off point for continuing community input, including on appropriate threshold settings and other on-chain settings. Subsequent proposals may adapt and extend this proposal to meet emerging governance needs. Continue reading here.
Member Based Organizations (MBOs)
Last week, I’ve shared a few notes about where you can engage in community conversations on the topic of MBOs. Such as this forum post. Fast forward to this week - you can now sign up! Yup, that’s right. The initial call was just published earlier today and you can access it here.
PA/vPA Side-Treasury Weekly Update
Looking back to look forward: "We hope everyone is finding ways to surface essential Catalyst feedback in order to ring in a positive Fund 10 experience. For our part, PA/vPA side-treasury has been funding members of the community to convene, discuss and build in hopes of improving both the conditions of our self-organization and participation, as well as healthier relationships between roles and processes that steward great proposals from the start to finish."
Check out the highlights by following this link for full details in our Weekly Update.
Caught my attention
Catalyst making an impact in people’s lives. Small and big, they all count. Thank you, Dani for being part of this crazy whirling of innovation and challenges with all of us. Keep up the great work.
Catalyst Campus Train updates
Last week, Catalyst Campus Trian event took place. Check out the brief photo report via tweet here. Thank you, Mustapha for leading the way and organizing with the rest of your team. Seems like it was a great event. The catalyst team is wishing you the best of luck in more endeavors in the future.
Catalyst Project Completions - 300 and counting!
300+ projects have been completed to date by submitting their self-reported close-out reports and videos. There is so much goodness taking place in this ecosystem. Navigate to the COMPLETED tab to keep track of all their work. Not seeing your favorite project completed yet? You can check their progress on other tabs and also the monthly reporting output documents. Save the links below:
- Monthly Reporting: Catalyst Public Reporting Tracker - Google Sheets
- Monthly Report Output Data: Public Catalyst Monthly Reporting - Google Sheets
- Proposal Journey: Proposal Journey in Catalyst (public) - Google Docs
- Want to do more? Check this call to action about accountability and participation! We begin already next week! Stay tuned for updates.
Are spreadsheets a little too much? Leverage community tools like Lido Nation which you can find here.
Get in touch
And that’s a wrap. Let’s talk Catalyst & governance via twitter, or telegram, or reddit, or wherever is your home online and keep conversations engaging on these very important topics.
Enjoy your weekend ahead!
Danny & the Project Catalyst team
Daniel Ribar
Community at Project Catalyst & Governance
