Presenting the Ecosystem Support Program
Initially, the majority of Ethereum-centric development and inquiry happened within the Ethereum Foundation. Today, the Ethereum ecosystem has evolved from a modest garden into an expansive, lively rainforest. Throughout this journey, the Ethereum Foundation’s position in the ecosystem has transformed significantly. Nevertheless, our commitment to assisting Ethereum to the fullest extent possible has remained our primary objective.
From DEV Grants, to grants centered on scalability, to generalized support, grants have consistently been a significant aspect of our support for Ethereum. Amplifying the impact of our grants program yields multiplicative advantages. Thus, it remains one of our highest priorities.
This year, the Ethereum Foundation grants team enhanced its capabilities and reinforced its limitations to evolve into a genuine Ecosystem Support Program. Along this path, we have:
- broadened the methods through which applicants can receive assistance
- integrated a substantially wider array of experts into the evaluation process
- refined the experience for applicants
- proactively identified and forged partnerships with individuals, projects, and entire sectors where the Ethereum Foundation can offer support
- … and more (including our Local Grants Programs)!
Soon, we will unveil a revamped Ecosystem Support Program website. This will provide additional information regarding all the ways we can assist, making it easier to find such details in the future (after all, for every individual within the Ethereum ecosystem, many more are on the horizon 😎). Through future blog articles and the Ecosystem Support Program site, we will present a 2019 recap of the projects and individuals we’ve supported, how much funding we have distributed, our evaluation process, and more.
Invitation For Applications
Within the Ecosystem Support Program team is a subgroup devoted to aiding applicants in refining their submissions, directing them to advisors or prospective collaborators, among other offered assistance. Today, we are elevating things with this Invitation For Applications. We are thrilled to assist a broader array of projects and to evaluate and enhance our support-providing abilities.
The following is a compilation of application types we are particularly keen on.
- Light clients for eth2
- Including if you’re interested in forming or joining a team focused on developing industrial-grade eth2 light clients.
- Bridges connecting Ethereum with other blockchains
- If you are a mathematician eager to explore issues pertinent to Ethereum or the broader cryptoeconomics field that utilize your expertise, we would love to hear from you.
- Investigations into the security-usability tradeoff for cryptoassets.
- For instance, social recovery methods for wallets, or guidelines that differ based on asset type / value / other characteristics.
- Anything with a substantial case for enhancing the Ethereum developer experience (at any layer of the stack).
- We seek applications that clearly define the problem(s) you aim to address, as well as illustrating the number of individuals affected and elaborating on what options they currently have.
- Translators
- Extra credit for providing examples of past translations and/or sharing a list of your top translation targets, including an explanation of how you prioritized your selections.
The above compilation seeks to express the range of the Ecosystem Support Program, but it is by no means exhaustive of what’s significant for Ethereum. We remain interested in applications related to other domains, such as our previous categories of scalability, usability, education, security, and beyond. As always, we look to the community and its engaged contributors to help us broaden our understanding of the ecosystem’s shifting requirements.
So please, do not hesitate if your project or idea does not align with one of the aforementioned application types. Whether it’s a large undertaking, a concise and specific concept, a team that is clear on their objectives, an individual with a unique skillset aiming to apply it optimally, or something that hasn’t crossed our minds yet, we are eager to hear from you.
Visit https://esp.ethereum.foundation to submit an inquiry.