Expanded Scope and Project Clarity
Thanks to the support and feedback on the initial proposal, I’ve expanded the scope to build a more comprehensive dashboard that’s better suited for long-term use and integrates operations with the new GitHub FPF process. One feature I’m particularly excited about is the ability for project owners to provide more clarity and transparency around key project decisions. The platform will allow them to explain the thinking behind important steps—especially when it comes to milestones, delays, or strategic changes during the grant lifecycle. This added context will give the Zcash community deeper insight into project choices, fostering greater understanding and trust.
As someone who has been part of the blockchain ecosystem for close to a decade, I’ve seen firsthand the challenges that come with tracking and managing decentralized projects. I have been looking forward to building this since I saw the comment last year by zkcroc. I see this as an opportunity to contribute a meaningful solution to not only enhance transparency and improve grant management within the Zcash community but also to create a tool that fosters deeper engagement.
Project Summary
A visual dashboard for tracking Zcash community grants—designed to provide transparent milestone updates, real-time progress and spending indicators, and automated alerts to keep the community informed and engaged.
Project Description
The Grant Tracking Dashboard will give the Zcash community a transparent, unified platform to monitor grant-funded projects. With real-time milestone tracking, structured reporting, and automated alerts, it will strengthen accountability, boost community engagement, and improve the efficiency of grant oversight. The dashboard will also equip FPF and ZCG with actionable metrics to assess grant impact and inform future funding decisions.
Proposed Problem
The Zcash community lacks a unified, transparent system for tracking grant-funded projects. This results in inefficiencies, limited visibility, and accountability gaps. Updates are scattered across forums, GitHub repositories, and reports, making it difficult for the community, FPF, and ZCG to effectively monitor progress, measure impact, and ensure the success of funded initiatives. After a proposal has passed, there is a tendency to overlook its execution and final output. Although a proposal’s author will publish progress reports, not all delegates will read the report as they are often burdened with numerous other responsibilities ranging from reviewing proposals, offering feedback, and voting on proposals. This has allowed proposals not to fully deliver on their promises to the network without significant recourse.
Key Issues
- Lack of Visibility on Grant Usage
There is no centralized, real-time system to track how funds are allocated and spent. This makes it difficult for the community to assess whether resources are being used effectively and responsibly. - Inefficient Oversight
Monitoring progress across fragmented sources—forums, spreadsheets, and reports—is time-consuming and inconsistent. This fragmented approach hampers timely intervention, support, and course correction. - Reduced Community Engagement
Without a clear and accessible view of grant activity, community members are often left in the dark. This disconnect discourages active participation and reduces the sense of shared ownership in ecosystem growth. - Limited Accountability
The absence of structured, standardized reporting means project delays, unmet goals, or inefficient spending may go unnoticed until it’s too late. This diminishes the community’s ability to ensure projects deliver on their promises.
Proposed Solution
Create a unified, transparent platform that tracks both the progress and financial health of grant-funded projects. This dashboard will offer real-time visibility into milestones, fund usage, and outcomes, ensuring greater accountability engagement and governance across the Zcash ecosystem.
Key Features
- Comprehensive Grant and Financial Tracking
A visual dashboard displaying both project milestones and spending progress—including how funds are distributed (e.g., development, marketing, research). Progress bars, percentages, and real-time updates will offer a complete snapshot of each project’s health and trajectory. - Standardized Reporting
Grantees will submit structured updates that combine milestone progress with financial reports. A timeline feature will map project phases alongside fund usage, offering a holistic view of both development and resource consumption. - Automated Alerts & Oversight
Real-time notifications will flag overdue milestones, scope changes, or spending anomalies, enabling timely review and intervention by the community and the Zcash Foundation. - Seamless Ecosystem Integration
The platform will be accessible via the Zcash Community Forum and connected to existing Foundation tools—making it easy for stakeholders to track grants without navigating multiple platforms. - Governance Integration
The system will connect to Zcash’s governance processes. If a project underperforms or misuses funds, stakeholders can vote to pause, reallocate, or request revisions, ensuring responsible and democratic oversight. - Explore Projects Page
A searchable, filterable list of all active, completed, and proposed grants. Each listing will include progress metrics, fund usage data, and key updates, making discovery and evaluation effortless. - Project Subscriptions
Community members can opt-in to follow specific projects, receiving alerts for key milestones, delays, or financial updates—encouraging ongoing engagement and feedback. - Automated GitHub Integration
Milestone and financial updates will automatically post to the relevant Zcash GitHub repository via GitHub Actions, ensuring transparency and reducing manual overhead. - Community Feedback Loop
Introduce a feedback mechanism where community members can review and flag discrepancies in reports. This will strengthen accountability through participatory oversight.
Benefits of the Platform
- Improved Financial Accountability
Integrating financial tracking with project progress ensures funds are used efficiently, helping prevent waste and reinforcing responsible grant management. - Real-Time Transparency
Timelines, deliverables, and fund usage are all visible in real-time. creating a more open and trustworthy grant ecosystem. - Better Decision-Making
With complete visibility into project performance, the Foundation and community can make smarter decisions about future funding and resource allocation. - Proactive Issue Detection
Potential issues—such as scope creep, mismanagement, or underperformance can be identified and addressed early, reducing risks and improving project outcomes. - Stronger Community Involvement
With transparent, accessible data, the community can engage more meaningfully with funded projects, offering support, raising concerns, and helping align initiatives with Zcash’s goals.
Integrating robust project monitoring and financial accountability into the Zcash grant ecosystem ensures that funded initiatives are progressing as planned and using resources wisely. This dual focus will improve transparency, oversight, and performance tracking while reinforcing community trust and enhancing the sustainability and impact of future funding decisions.
Solution Format
A fully functional, user-friendly dashboard accessible via web browsers to provide real-time visibility, structured milestone tracking, and automated reporting for Zcash grants. The solution will include:
You can view the proposal here: Grant Application - Zcash Unified Grant Tracking Dashboard · Issue #33 · ZcashCommunityGrants/zcashcommunitygrants · GitHub
Thank you.