[Approved by HoM, paid] NEAR Research Collective - March 2024

[xvii]

Summary

The NEAR Research Collective (NRC) is requesting funding of $5,700, with the main focus this month on running the second cohort of the course, beginning February 28th.

This funding will help sustain our operations, including paying our course facilitators and guest lecturers, providing students of the course with opportunities to earn, allowing people who’ve already completed the course to make proposals to fund their research, helping with any extra development work needed, and more.

Links

[REPORT] NEAR Research Collective February Report

NEAR Research Collective | February 2024 Report Funding and Financials We received a total of $5000 from the NDC for the month of February on Feb 5 2024. Budget Utilization: *Includes funds that are on track to be spent soon as the KYC process and verification of members has taken longer than expected Expense Budgeted Spent / On Track Guest Lecturers $1,500 $1,500 Student Earning $1,000 $700 Operation $1,000 $1000 Course Set Up $1,500 $1,500 Total: $5,000 $4,700 Summary: $…

[Approved] NEAR Research Collective DAO: NDC Budget Subcategory code HOM-004P-1-1-1 Ecosystem

Section 1. DAO / Project Information Organization Name: Near Research Collective (NRC) Proposal Title: NRC 001 Establishment Date: July 2023 DAO’s Category: Ecosystem / Research Project’s Category: Community Led Section 2. Previous Funding We have received previous funding from the Marma J Foundation as well as Meta Pool, which has helped kickstart our activities at the NEAR Research Collective (NRC). This funding has been useful for compensating researchers on the DAO for their article public…

[Approved] NRC February Funding

Submission Period Approved proposals for the February 2024 submission period: List of Approved Proposals Description Link Amount Guest Lecturer Retroactive Comp. Guest Lecturers $1,500 Student Earning Opportunities Student Earning $1,000 NCR Cohort 2 Setup Costs NCR 2 setup $1,500 NRC Council Council Activities $1,000 Total: $5000 Funding Procedure ** We are not currently accepting funding requests outside of what we put in our budget; all funding proposals are currently submi…

[PROPOSAL] NEAR Research Collective - February 2024

Summary The NEAR Research Collective (NRC) is requesting funding of $5,000, with a significant focus this month on empowering the NEAR Certified Researcher (NCR) course and specifically getting the second cohort up and running. Following the successful conclusion of the first set of classes and the submission of final projects, we are enthusiastically preparing for an even more impactful second run slated to begin late February. This funding is essential not only for sustaining our operations bu…

Charter

NCR Course Page

DAO Page

Telegram

Twitter / X

Achievements / Objectives

Although the NRC is relatively new, we have achieved significant milestones:

• Enlisted six guest lecturers for the first 12-week NCR course.
• Engaged a dedicated group of 10 students actively participating in the course, completing assignments, and on track to submit their final projects.
• Collaborated with Meta Pool DAO to produce 3 articles by our researchers.
• Directed 3 researchers to the Technical Speakers Program (TSP).

Our objectives for March are:

1. Retain at least 12 students active in cohort 2.
2. Bring on at least 3 guest lecturers.
3. Begin accepting proposals to fund relevant research.

Objectives over Q1 - Q2 include:

• Bringing on 7 or more guest lecturers for the next iteration of the course.
• Have 1 or more alumni of the NCR course be a guest lecturer in cohort 2.
• Expanding the NRC researcher role to over 100 members.

Student activity post-course completion (no exact targets currently):

• Staying active in the NEAR ecosystem for 6 months after the course, evidenced by on-chain activity.
• Publishing research findings in the year following certification.
• A high percentage of alumni remaining active in the NEAR Research Collective.

Budget

Expense Category	Amount	Breakdown
Guest Lecturers	$1,000	$250 per guest lecturer x 4 (1 per week)
Earning Opportunities	$1,000	Bounties for NCR students for their studies.
Operation	$1,200	Support for NRC Team / Council. ($400 x 3)
Course facilitators	$2000	$1000 each x 2 facilitators
Research Proposals	$500	Funds earmarked for research proposals in March. (5 x $100 bounties)

Total Budget: $5,700

Council Members

xvii.near
hannah17.near
earnestetim.near

For more information about the NRC, including long-term goals and objectives, check out our Charter.

We appreciate your consideration and look forward to the opportunity to continue advancing the NEAR ecosystem together.