{"signature": "0xe024bdde10f6d9f9d8bbb765a46fcd2473dbdcf697fd9509ec2ee86f18ada06652ccb512464d8eea5ae65939e875a350be4cffe5cd050a19f007384990af5d111c", "application": {"round": "0x0C0412DDB846096Ea1e37de717921EBF4fEF9A39", "answers": [{"type": "email", "answer": "netxstate@gmail.com", "hidden": true, "question": "Email Address", "questionId": 0}, {"type": "paragraph", "answer": "USD", "hidden": false, "question": "Funding Sources and Total prior funding for project in USD", "questionId": 1}, {"type": "number", "answer": "3", "hidden": false, "question": "Team Size", "questionId": 2}, {"type": "paragraph", "answer": "https://bento.me/netxstate", "hidden": false, "question": "Profiles or socials of other main team members publicly associated with project", "questionId": 3}, {"type": "short-answer", "answer": "elchanguitoeth", "hidden": true, "question": "Telegram username", "questionId": 4}, {"type": "short-answer", "answer": "6", "hidden": false, "question": "How old is the project? (Months)", "questionId": 5}, {"type": "paragraph", "answer": "Problem Statement\n The current global governance system, grounded in centralized nation-states and multilateral institutions, has proven increasingly inadequate in addressing the systemic risks and polycrises of the 21st century—from climate collapse to geopolitical instability and digital sovereignty. Amid this governance failure, new models like Network States and DAOs (Decentralized Autonomous Organizations) have emerged as experimental alternatives, yet their legitimacy, functionality, and scalability remain under-explored, especially in connection to scientific governance and knowledge production.\nSolution\n My project is a transdisciplinary, doctoral-level research initiative that seeks to explore and clarify whether blockchain-enabled Network States can serve as viable models of decentralized global governance. Grounded in global studies and using a decolonial lens, this project investigates how these structures—enabled by smart contracts, decentralized finance, and DAO-based coordination—can reshape how we govern science, identity, territory, and collective action beyond the state.\nThe research contributes to the DeSci movement by producing:\nConceptual clarity on decentralized governance models for science.\nCase study analyses of emergent Network States (e.g., GitcoinDAO, Nation3, Pangea, Praxis, Etc).\nOpen-access publication of research tiers via decentralized storage (IPFS/Arweave).\nInterviews with DAO and Network State builders to identify real-world barriers and strategies.\n\n\nRoadmap & Timeline\nPhase 1: Conceptual Framework and Chapter Completion (March–May 2025)\nFinalization of theoretical chapters: Polycrisis, Blockchain Governance, Network States.\nIntegration of key literature (Castells, Srinivasan, Bauwens, Biermann, De Filippi, Ostrom).\n\n\n Phase 2: Fieldwork and Data Collection (April–May 2025)\nSemi-structured interviews with key figures from Draper Nation, Satoshi Island, Praxis, and Prospera.\nParticipant observation during DAO governance events (e.g., Ipe City DAO Brazil).\n\n\n Phase 3: Data Analysis and Empirical Interpretation (June–August 2025)\nThematic coding of interviews.\nComparative analysis of governance mechanisms, legitimacy, scalability, and community engagement.\n\n\n Phase 4: Synthesis and Dissemination (Sept 2025–March 2026)\nDrafting and peer review of final chapters.\nOpen-source publication of dissertation and research papers on-chain.\nPublic workshops or DAO-hosted governance roundtables to discuss findings.\n\n\n April 2026: Final Submission and Public Release\nSubmission of dissertation to Humboldt University and USAL.\nOn-chain documentation of final insights, milestones, and contributions.\n", "hidden": false, "question": "Describe your project in a few paragraphs (ideally including a problem statement, solution, roadmap, and timeline for implementation)", "questionId": 6}, {"type": "paragraph", "answer": "My project directly supports the mission of DeSci by advancing the conceptual and empirical understanding of decentralized governance systems that underpin the future of open, transparent, and community-driven science. While many DeSci initiatives focus on specific infrastructure (e.g., funding, publishing, or peer review), this research investigates the governance layer that enables sustainable, legitimate, and scalable coordination across DeSci ecosystems.\nSpecifically, it contributes to DeSci’s goals in the following ways:\n 1. Governance as Public Infrastructure\n By analyzing Network States and DAOs as governance primitives for science, my project helps clarify how decentralized systems can coordinate research funding, knowledge validation, and data stewardship—core challenges in DeSci. This aligns with DeSci’s mission to create bottom-up, community-governed models that go beyond the limitations of academia, venture science, or centralized platforms.\n2. Scientific Legitimacy in Web3 Contexts\n Drawing from the fields of global governance, political economy, and decentralized systems, the project evaluates how DAOs can produce legitimate, inclusive, and trustable mechanisms for conducting and funding science. This helps address a key concern in DeSci: how to build and scale scientific communities without centralized gatekeeping.\n3. Bridging Theory and Practice\n The research is not just theoretical—it engages directly with real-world DeSci actors such as GitcoinDAO, Praxis, and Nation3, offering grounded analysis of their governance strategies. Insights are shared back with the community through open-access publications, conference presentations, and on-chain documentation, thus enriching the DeSci knowledge commons.\n 4. Education and Conceptual Innovation\n As a bi-national doctoral project rooted in Global Studies, the work introduces DeSci to broader academic and policy audiences. It brings DeSci into dialogue with global governance theory, platform cooperativism, and digital sovereignty debates—supporting the educational mission of the movement to redefine science as a planetary public good.\n", "hidden": false, "question": "How does your project support the mission or goals of DeSci?", "questionId": 7}, {"type": "paragraph", "answer": "Funds from the Gitcoin Grants program will directly support the empirical phase of my doctoral research on Network States and decentralized governance models. Specifically, they will be used to:\nFund travel to Ipe City (Brazil) in May 2025, a major gathering for decentralized governance and Web3 communities, where I will conduct fieldwork and participant observation with key actors in the DeSci and Network State ecosystem.\n\n\nSupport interviews with Network State founders and DAO governance coordinators, including GitcoinDAO participants, to document best practices, challenges, and governance innovations relevant to DeSci.\n\n\nCover costs related to recording, transcription, and qualitative analysis tools for processing interview data and producing open-access research outputs.\n\n\nEnable participation in community-led events, workshops, and DAO forums to bridge academic research with live decentralized governance experimentation.\n\n\nThis funding will ensure that the project is grounded in real-world interactions, not just theory, and that findings are co-produced with the communities driving decentralized science forward.\n\n\n", "hidden": false, "question": "Describe how funds from the grants program will be used for your project.", "questionId": 8}, {"type": "paragraph", "answer": "https://beta.checker.gitcoin.co/view/application/%20%20%20%2042220/16/34\n\nhttps://beta.checker.gitcoin.co/view/application/%20%20%20%2042220/18/4", "hidden": false, "question": "If you participated in past grant rounds (i.e. DeSci GR15/ Beta/GG 20DeSci round/GG21 DeSci round) using a different project payout wallet address, please share it here.", "questionId": 9}, {"type": "paragraph", "answer": "-", "hidden": false, "question": "If this project participated in past DeSci grant rounds, please share any new updates or milestones since the last round.", "questionId": 10}, {"type": "paragraph", "answer": "At this time, I have no additional information to include. There are no conflicts of interest or external affiliations that would compromise the integrity of this project. All relevant details about my research, affiliations, and objectives have been provided in the application.", "hidden": true, "question": "Is there any other information you would like to share about your project, previous work, other project affiliations, or potential conflicts of interest? (or anything not covered elsewhere in this application that you feel is relevant to share)", "questionId": 11}, {"type": "dropdown", "answer": "Yes", "hidden": false, "question": "Does 50% of your team reflect the diversity of the community your project serves with a particular emphasis on including women, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPoC), individuals with disabilities, and members of the LGBTQ+ community?", "questionId": 12}], "project": {"id": "0xde76b334b3b417606e8e8c053ae6cfc1b6a2b187805498034d2444d410e9ed10", "title": "NetX State", "logoImg": "bafkreieohiet2myejidtixweigb3eadbcjm3m33bk5akjg3uocempb3u2u", "metaPtr": {"pointer": "bafkreihuidbqzzkdppxwws7pdiyljzxvffwwkpovif2da3scapl4gtprp4", "protocol": "undefined"}, "website": "https://www.netxstate.com/", "bannerImg": "bafkreifcpecrejfskv5nygza4wkmigewn3etdnz2blihdhiif3n6buegwa", "createdAt": 1729524346665, "userGithub": "", "credentials": {"twitter": {"type": ["VerifiableCredential"], "proof": {"jws": "eyJhbGciOiJFZERTQSIsImNyaXQiOlsiYjY0Il0sImI2NCI6ZmFsc2V9..t9Ygh53oCWXf8rASUjdXWc5HCIksuCfeZAjDC_zfayBRMLXZ8oC666ZwNzCRBX_9WQh_Ss9MN655bvgO7qHDDA", "type": "Ed25519Signature2018", "created": "2024-10-21T15:20:11.155Z", "proofPurpose": "assertionMethod", "verificationMethod": "did:key:z6MkghvGHLobLEdj1bgRLhS4LPGJAvbMA1tn2zcRyqmYU5LC#z6MkghvGHLobLEdj1bgRLhS4LPGJAvbMA1tn2zcRyqmYU5LC"}, "issuer": "did:key:z6MkghvGHLobLEdj1bgRLhS4LPGJAvbMA1tn2zcRyqmYU5LC", "@context": ["https://www.w3.org/2018/credentials/v1"], "issuanceDate": "2024-10-21T15:20:11.154Z", "expirationDate": "2025-01-19T15:20:11.154Z", "credentialSubject": {"id": "did:pkh:eip155:1:0xF2e4a33BA8963372d95c061d2592A212E57287F5", "hash": "v0.0.0:K/eTWIqHQ5ZqSUxjT38D6mm8dUe3ca53QHtpcr8SWOc=", "@context": [{"hash": "https://schema.org/Text", "provider": "https://schema.org/Text"}], "provider": "ClearTextTwitter#NetxState"}}}, "description": "NetX State is a decentralized and regenerative project within the Red Argentina de Nodos ReGen ecosystem. It aims to foster a new model of interconnected, autonomous communities across Argentina’s diverse bioregions using Web3 technology. Each node within this network embodies principles of sustainability, decentralized governance, and regenerative economics, functioning as a self-sustaining community. These nodes range from eco-friendly residential areas and co-living/co-working spaces to pop-up cities, hacker houses, and eco-productive hubs, all acting as centers for innovation and environmental harmony​​.\n\nThe primary objective of the NetX State project is to create a decentralized network of nodes where citizens can live, work, and share experiences in a natural and efficient environment, aligned with regenerative principles. It seeks to transform traditional community models, emphasizing coordination, productivity, and sustainability​. This ecosystem fosters collaboration at both national and global levels, promoting a regenerative economy while supporting decentralized decision-making and governance​.\n\nNetX State envisions a scalable model of autonomous, decentralized communities connected through shared values and advanced technology. Each node can adopt unique forms—whether urban, rural, or experimental—and operates in harmony with its surrounding environment, offering residents an innovative, high-quality lifestyle integrated with nature and modern technology​.", "lastUpdated": 0, "projectGithub": "https://netx-state.gitbook.io/next-state", "projectTwitter": "netxstate"}, "recipient": "0xF2e4a33BA8963372d95c061d2592A212E57287F5"}}