Applicant Name: benedictvs

Applicant ETH Address: benedictvs.eth

Organization(s) or Affiliation(s): Nouns Builder, Metagov Grant Innovation Lab

Why do you want to serve as an Expert Evaluator for the Localism Fund?

Through my PhD fieldwork on digital (decentralised) infrastructure in Aruba, Curaçao and the Marshall Islands, I am seeing the adverse effects of disconnects between globalised technology applied on a local level without consideration for local effects.

As an expert in digital identity, governance, and Web3 technology, I would like use my skills to fill this gap - an affordance I sadly cannot make within the scope of my PhD research to the extent I would like.

🪴 Grant-Making Expertise

Program Design & Management: ****1

Evaluation & Impact Learning: 3

Financial Strategy & Fundraising: 2

Governance Systems & Mechanism Design: 3

Experiences, Highlights & Evidence:

As a Web3 practicioner, I have procured, administered, and documented grants amounting to ~500.000 USD, most namely, from Taiko, ENS, and the European Commission. Through my involvement in decentralised technology pilots in Germany, I managed non-dilutive funding of over 1.5m USD.

Since December 2023 I am part of the Metagov Grant Innovation Lab, and published peer-reviewed academic papers describing the Grant Maturity Framework (https://doi.org/10.1109/ICBC64466.2025.11185099, https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2410.19828). Most recently, I am working with Polygon to design event-based micro-grants and bounties for the Nounish community and Web3 skate scene in Latin America.