CoW DAO envisions a future where digital assets can be traded fairly, efficiently, and reliably among individuals and communities worldwide. Our objective is to establish CoW Protocol as the leading and most widely used platform for digital asset trading. To achieve this, we aim to attract top talent in trading and decentralized systems, continuously innovating and enhancing CoW Protocol.

The CoW Grants Program (CGP) has a mission to provide funding and support the growth of the CoW Protocol ecosystem. To fulfill this mission, CoW DAO is allocating funds through formal CIPs: CIP-8 and CIP-18.

The primary areas of growth outlined in this proposal for CoW Protocol are as follows:

1. CoWmunity growth: CoW Protocol aims to foster a vibrant and active community around its platform. Efforts will be focused on attracting more users, traders, and contributors to join the CoWmunity. This can be achieved through marketing campaigns, community events, educational initiatives, and partnerships to raise awareness and engagement with the platform.
2. User interface and user experience (UI/UX): Improving the UI/UX of the CoW Protocol platform is crucial to enhance user satisfaction and encourage broader adoption. The focus will be on refining the user interface, simplifying navigation, streamlining workflows, and incorporating user feedback to create an intuitive and user-friendly trading experience.
3. Decentralization: CoW Protocol recognizes the significance of decentralization in ensuring the security and resilience of the platform. Efforts will be directed towards increasing decentralization by enhancing network consensus mechanisms, encouraging wider participation in the network's governance, and exploring opportunities to distribute decision-making power among community members.
4. Develop new Solvers: To expand the capabilities of the CoW Protocol platform, new Solvers will be developed. Solvers are algorithmic models that analyze and optimize trading strategies. These new Solvers will aim to provide users with more sophisticated trading tools, advanced risk management features, and enhanced performance in different market conditions.
5. Developer tools (SDK): To encourage developers to build on top of the CoW Protocol ecosystem, comprehensive developer tools in the form of Software Development Kits (SDKs) will be created. These SDKs will provide documentation, libraries, and resources to simplify the development process, facilitate the creation of decentralized applications (dApps), and support the integration of third-party services.
6. Integrations and protocol order flow: CoW Protocol recognizes the importance of seamless integration with external systems and liquidity sources. Efforts will be made to establish partnerships and develop integration solutions with exchanges, liquidity providers, and other relevant platforms. This will enhance the protocol's order flow, liquidity depth, and trading efficiency, thereby attracting more participants to the CoW ecosystem.
7. Other/miscellaneous: This category encompasses various additional areas of focus that contribute to the growth and improvement of CoW Protocol. It may include initiatives such as security enhancements, research and development, scalability improvements, community governance enhancements, and exploring new opportunities and use cases for the platform.

By prioritizing these areas of growth, CoW Protocol aims to continually enhance the platform's features, user experience, security, and community engagement. These efforts will strengthen the position of CoW Protocol as a leading venue for fair, efficient, and reliable digital asset trading while fostering innovation and growth within the broader CoW ecosystem.

Evaluation Criteria

Grant applications will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

1. Feasibility: Grant applications will be evaluated based on their feasibility within the current stage of the CoW Protocol ecosystem. This criterion assesses whether the proposed grant can be realistically implemented at the given moment or if it requires upgrades to the protocol layer or the overall ecosystem. Consideration will be given to the technical readiness, resource availability, and alignment with the existing infrastructure of CoW Protocol.
2. Impact for the CoW ecosystem: The positive impact that a grant will have on the overall CoW Protocol ecosystem is a crucial factor in the evaluation process. The potential effects on user adoption, community growth, platform scalability, and ecosystem expansion will be carefully considered. Grants that demonstrate the ability to significantly enhance the ecosystem's functionality, user base, or value proposition will be prioritized.
3. Sanity check: The sanity check criterion ensures that the workload estimation for the proposed grant is accurate and reasonable. The evaluation process will verify if the grant application provides a well-defined scope, timeline, and resource requirements. It aims to assess whether the proposed workload aligns with the expected outcomes and whether the grantee has adequately considered the feasibility and practicality of the project.
4. Technical expertise of the grantee(s): The technical expertise of the grantee(s) is an important aspect of the evaluation process. It assesses whether the individuals or team behind the grant application possess the necessary skills, knowledge, and experience to successfully deliver the proposed grant milestones. The evaluation will consider their track record, expertise in relevant technologies, and the ability to execute the project effectively.

By considering these judgment criteria, the CoW Grants Program aims to ensure that grants awarded align with the objectives of CoW Protocol and contribute to its growth and development. Grants that demonstrate feasibility, have a positive impact on the ecosystem, provide realistic workloads, and are backed by competent individuals or teams will have higher chances of receiving funding and support.