ZIP-0023: Community Grant Program

Abstract

This proposal defines an on-chain grant program for funding conservation research, open-source development, citizen science, and community initiatives on Zoo Network. The system supports proposal submission, peer review, milestone-based funding, and impact-based evaluation using the Impact Metric Oracle (ZIP-0020). Grant funds are drawn from the Grants Fund (ZIP-0018) and new token emissions (ZIP-0016).

Motivation

Decentralized science (DeSci) and conservation require accessible funding mechanisms:

Researcher access: Traditional grant processes are slow, opaque, and biased toward established institutions
Global participation: On-chain grants enable researchers anywhere to apply without institutional gatekeeping
Accountability: Milestone-based disbursement ensures funds are used effectively
Transparency: All proposals, reviews, and disbursements are publicly auditable
Impact-driven: Tying follow-on funding to measured outcomes (ZIP-0020) optimizes for results

Specification

Grant Categories

Category	Max Award (ZOO)	Duration	Review Panel
Conservation Research	500,000	12 months	Science Council
Open Source Development	250,000	6 months	Technical Council
Citizen Science	100,000	6 months	Community Council
Education & Outreach	50,000	3 months	Community Council
Emergency Conservation	200,000	1 month	Fast-track (3 reviewers)

Proposal Lifecycle

Submit → Screen (3 days) → Review (14 days) → Vote (7 days) → Fund → Milestones → Report

lifecycle:
  submission:
    required_fields:
      - title
      - abstract (500 words max)
      - team (with qualifications)
      - budget_breakdown
      - milestones (min 2, max 6)
      - impact_metrics (from ZIP-0020 metric types)
      - timeline
    deposit: 1000 ZOO  # Refunded if proposal passes screening
  screening:
    duration: 3 days
    screeners: 2 council members
    criteria: [completeness, relevance, feasibility]
  review:
    duration: 14 days
    reviewers: 3-5 domain experts
    scoring: 1-10 on [impact, feasibility, team, budget, innovation]
    minimum_score: 6.0 average
  voting:
    duration: 7 days
    quorum: 5% of ZOO supply
    approval: >50%
  funding:
    method: milestone-based
    initial_disbursement: 20% of total
    milestone_disbursement: per milestone schedule
    final_disbursement: 10% held until final report

Grant Contract

// SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT
pragma solidity ^0.8.20;

contract ZooGrantProgram {
    struct Grant {
        uint256 id;
        address grantee;
        uint256 totalAmount;
        uint256 disbursed;
        uint8 currentMilestone;
        uint8 totalMilestones;
        GrantStatus status;
    }

    enum GrantStatus { Proposed, Screening, Review, Voting, Active, Completed, Revoked }

    mapping(uint256 => Grant) public grants;
    mapping(uint256 => mapping(uint8 => Milestone)) public milestones;

    struct Milestone {
        string description;
        uint256 amount;
        uint256 deadline;
        bytes32 evidenceHash;
        bool approved;
    }

    event GrantProposed(uint256 indexed grantId, address grantee, uint256 amount);
    event MilestoneSubmitted(uint256 indexed grantId, uint8 milestone, bytes32 evidenceHash);
    event MilestoneApproved(uint256 indexed grantId, uint8 milestone, uint256 disbursed);
    event GrantCompleted(uint256 indexed grantId, uint256 impactScore);

    function submitMilestone(
        uint256 grantId,
        bytes32 evidenceHash
    ) external onlyGrantee(grantId) {
        Grant storage grant = grants[grantId];
        Milestone storage ms = milestones[grantId][grant.currentMilestone];
        require(block.timestamp <= ms.deadline, "milestone overdue");
        ms.evidenceHash = evidenceHash;
        emit MilestoneSubmitted(grantId, grant.currentMilestone, evidenceHash);
    }

    function approveMilestone(uint256 grantId) external onlyReviewCouncil {
        Grant storage grant = grants[grantId];
        Milestone storage ms = milestones[grantId][grant.currentMilestone];
        ms.approved = true;
        uint256 amount = ms.amount;
        grant.disbursed += amount;
        grant.currentMilestone++;
        IERC20(zooToken).transfer(grant.grantee, amount);
        emit MilestoneApproved(grantId, grant.currentMilestone - 1, amount);
    }
}

Review Councils

Council	Members	Selection	Term
Science Council	7	3 Foundation + 4 DAO-elected	1 year
Technical Council	5	2 Foundation + 3 DAO-elected	1 year
Community Council	5	All DAO-elected	6 months

Council members receive 500 ZOO per review completed. Reviewers must disclose conflicts of interest and recuse from conflicted proposals.

Impact-Based Follow-On Funding

Completed grants with Impact Oracle scores (ZIP-0020) above 700/1000 are eligible for automatic follow-on funding:

Score 700-799: Eligible for 50% of original grant as follow-on
Score 800-899: Eligible for 75% of original grant
Score 900+: Eligible for 100% of original grant (fast-tracked, no re-review)

Reporting Requirements

Quarterly progress: Brief update posted to governance forum
Milestone reports: Detailed report with evidence, uploaded to IPFS
Final report: Comprehensive report including impact metrics, lessons learned, and data outputs
Open access: All grant-funded research must be published under CC-BY-4.0 or equivalent open license

Rationale

Milestone-based disbursement protects the treasury from non-performing grants while providing grantees with sufficient working capital (20% upfront). The 10% holdback until final report incentivizes proper documentation and knowledge sharing.

The council structure balances domain expertise (Foundation appointees) with community representation (DAO-elected). Overlapping terms ensure institutional memory.

Impact-based follow-on funding creates a virtuous cycle: successful projects automatically receive continued support, reducing grant application overhead for proven teams.

Security Considerations

Sybil grants: Deposit requirement and council screening prevent spam proposals
Reviewer collusion: Reviews are blinded during scoring; conflicts must be disclosed
Fund misuse: Milestone evidence is publicly auditable; community can flag suspicious disbursements
Council capture: Mixed appointment (Foundation + DAO) and term limits prevent entrenchment
Budget overruns: Each grant has a fixed maximum; no mechanism for unilateral budget increases

Community Grant Program