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In episode 164, we’re excited to welcome David Casey, CEO of Funding the Commons, a project incubated by Protocol Labs that creates bridges between builders, researchers, and funders transforming funding models and mechanisms for public goods. We discuss why Web3 has become a hub for public goods funding experimentation, some of the most exciting innovations coming out of the space, the challenge of balancing reward and impact in funding mechanisms, some of their upcoming events and experiences, and much more.

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Key Takeaways

• If the Web3 ecosystem is truly committed to funding and scaling open-source software, it’s important for different protocols across the ecosystem to collaborate and develop shared public goods funding mechanisms to support the digital public goods that benefit the ecosystem as a whole.
• When coordinating conferences and events around public goods funding, it’s important to engage diverse sectors including the public sector, international NGOs and organizations, the Web3 community, and academics and researchers. Many of these communities have decades of experience in public goods and can bring important perspectives to the conversation.
• To reach a broader audience and scale Web3 public goods mechanisms, it is important to focus on building more accessible and user-friendly UI/UX, including solutions that reach the last mile. A great example of this is the launch of Mini Pay on the Opera Browser.

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Episode Time Stamps:

02:20 - What was your “Ah hah” moment that first got you excited about cryptocurrency and web3?

07:55 - To start things off, can you please give listeners a quick intro to the mission of Funding the Commons?

10:50 - On your website, it mentions how “We envision a world where human coordination at scale inherently prioritizes commons, with the brightest global talent focused on public good innovation, backed by robust impact evaluation systems, and sustained by continuous capital flows.” How can blockchain-based infrastructure help make this a reality?

15:05 - Funding the Commons has organized many conferences and events bringing together builders, researchers, and funders in the space, and I understand that next week is Funding the Commons Tokyo! Can you tell me more about the event and some of the speakers participating?

24:30 - Another focus of Funding the Commons is hackathons, and I understand that over 100 projects have been impact by hackathons organized by your team. What makes hackathons such a powerful tool for building public goods solutions?

28:20 - Many Web3 public goods funding mechanisms have struggled to onboard projects that aren’t Web3 native. How can we address this and make the space more accessible for diverse public goods builders?

31:40 - Coming up with reliable and consistent impact evaluation mechanisms has always been a challenge in public goods funding. How can Web3 primitives help with this?

34:40 - What do you believe to be the single greatest Web3 innovation when it comes to public goods funding?

38:40 - What’s the best way for listeners to get in touch and learn more about Funding the Commons?

40:10 - To wrap things up, if you could name one thing that excites you most about the social impact potential of web3, what would it be and why?

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