Tapping Into Decentralized Science Funding Opportunities for Your Projects Part Two
Welcome back to learning about funding opportunities in the DeSci space. Last time, we discussed VitaDAO and AthenaDAO, and today, Gitcoin and Molecule.
So, without further ado, let’s get into the nitty gritty and get our hands dirty!
Gitcoin
Gitcoin is a platform that allows individuals to monetize their work. It grew out of the vibrant tech scene in Boulder, Colorado.
Gitcoin is based on Ethereum where network individuals are incentivized to provide value, and edge cases are handled without the use of legacy legal enforcement mechanisms. The value could revolve around working on a project or donating to a project. The more thriving the community, the more successful open-source projects.
Gitcoin combines the Boulder community’s #givefirst mantra with capitalistic incentives to create great projects. It advances open-source projects by making it easier for repo maintainers, developers, and financiers to find one another. In the last three years, Gitcoin has provided over $65 million in funding for open source and related public goods, but they are just getting started.
To fund projects, Gitcoin employs Quadratic Funding, initially developed by Vitalik Buterin, Zoe Hitzig, and E. Glen Weyl in a research paper in 2018. Quadratic Funding is the mechanism we use to decide how matching funds should be distributed. It’s been called the “mathematically optimal way to fund an ecosystem in a democratic way.” To learn more about quadratic funding check here.
Who can benefit from Gitcoin?
Provided you have a research project to work on, you can benefit from Gitcoin grants.
How can one apply to get one’s research project funded by Gitcoin?
To be a part of Gitcoin you can start by joining their discord server, introducing yourself, and then attending one of their community gathering events or if you can take on more tasks, you can decide to help drive the DAO by visiting their governance forum. A way to really enjoy the benefits of Gitcoin, whether it is to fund a project of yours, or you want to support a project would be to have a Gitcoin passport.
A Gitcoin passport is a decentralized collection of your credentials, you can gain access to the most trustworthy web3 experiences and maximize your ability to benefit from platforms like Gitcoin Grants by collecting “stamps” of validation for your identity and online reputation. The more you verify your identity, the more opportunities to vote and participate on the web3 you will have.
Now for the crux of the matter, to submit your project for funding on Gitcoin, the following steps will aid you.
- You will need to visit the dedicated landing page for it. This is the link to the new Gitcoin grant stack. It is available now for the Gitcoin Grants Beta Round.
- Check the rounds available, there are 5 core rounds currently and some featured rounds. See the one your project fits, then click on “Apply.”
- You will see the necessary eligibility questions for the specific round. Click on “Apply to this round” to continue.
- You will see a form where you will need to fill in all the required details. Note: If you have not created a project connected to this wallet in Builder, the application will redirect you to create a project first, and then you will be able to apply.
- You can then preview your application by clicking on “Preview Application” at the bottom right of the screen. Make sure that you have inputted all your information correctly before continuing on and submitting.
- Once you are done with your application, click “Submit,” which will open your connected wallet. A prompt will follow to sign the transaction, and you will need to pay the necessary gas fee to apply.
- Finally, wait for a few minutes for your application to be processed.
Once you have applied to Gitcoin for funding, it will be reviewed and you can view the status of your application in Builder, and you will receive an email from them.
Molecule DAO
Molecule is a marketplace for early-stage biopharma research projects to be funded, collaborated on, and transacted. They are developing collaborative ecosystems to help stakeholders accelerate the process of bringing novel therapeutics to patients. By transforming the intellectual property and its development into easily investable assets, they connect leading researchers with funding.
Researchers can present their research projects, find investors and collaborators, and move their projects forward while investors gain access to new biopharma research projects seeking funding for their research objectives.
The infrastructure of the Molecule platform is built on Ethereum, giving researchers and investors full access to the Decentralized Finance ecosystem. Also, its innovative approach to intellectual property NFT (IP-NFT) allows anyone to share ownership of research projects as well as future outcomes such as IP, royalty rights, data, and much more.
Molecule can be referred to as a trinity, in the sense that it functions as a protocol as seen in the case of IP-NFTS, a marketplace. It acts as a sort of matchmaker between investors and researchers who need the funding, and finally, as an incubator for BioDAOs to help develop a new class of decentralized biotech IP and R&D organizations, through an incubator/accelerator program called bio.xyz.
Who can benefit from Molecule?
Anyone can benefit from the funding opportunities of Molecule including individuals and organizations.
How can one apply to get one’s research project funded by Molecule?
To achieve your goal of having funding acquired via Molecule several steps are required:
- Create a researcher account on discover.molecule.to
- Create a project draft under the “create project” tab. Don’t worry if you cannot fill in all fields immediately. You can save the draft and work on it later before publishing. You can also contact their team for further enquiries.
- Publish the research project for investors to see your project. You can edit your research project under the “My projects” tab and publish it when you‘re ready.
- Start to attract investors: Make investors aware of your project by reaching out to research communities among your peers and web3. You can also contact the Molecule team. They can help you feature your research project and highlight it with the investor network.
- Align on legal terms: When you get investor(s), reach out to the Molecule team to start the IP-NFT process.
- Mint an IP-NFT: Once you created the legal agreement for your research project follow the guide on how to mint an IP-NFT in their IP-NFT protocol section
We are so glad you’ve come this far to know how you can fund your research projects. Don’t be afraid to apply and don’t have doubts that your project won’t get funded.
It’s best to try than to do nothing. Just prepare the necessary requirements, relax and apply.
We wish you the best of luck!
