Self-Curated Registries enable projects and individuals to autonomously nominate themselves for funding consideration without gatekeepers. Rather than applying to central committees, participants join open registries where communities validate legitimacy through signaling, voting, and curation. These registries serve as foundations for downstream mechanisms like Quadratic Funding, Direct Grants, or Retro Funding rounds.
How It Works
Self-Curated Registries replace application-based gatekeeping with open, community-validated participation.
- Define eligibility criteria — basic requirements for registry membership are published
- Projects self-nominate — anyone meeting stated criteria can list themselves without committee approval
- Community signals support — members filter, tag, upvote, and endorse registry entries
- Challenge mechanisms — bad actors can be challenged and removed through community processes
- Downstream integration — registries feed into funding mechanisms (QF rounds, grant programs, retro funding) as eligible project lists
Advantages
- Low barriers to entry enable broad participation
- Reduces bureaucratic overhead and administrative bottlenecks
- Increases accessibility to funding opportunities for unknown or emerging projects
- Community-driven legitimacy builds from the ground up
Limitations
- Vulnerable to sybil attacks without supplementary verification
- High-volume spam requires active curation to manage
- Unsuitable for strict compliance or vetting environments
- Dependent on meaningful community engagement to separate signal from noise
Best Used When
- DAOs want lower entry barriers to funding opportunities
- Inclusive grant programs are trying to discover emerging talent
- Funding ecosystems are exploring decentralized legitimacy models
- Protocols need transparent contributor pipelines without centralized review
Examples and Use Cases
QF Round Eligibility
Quadratic Funding rounds allow self-nomination — anyone can register their project, and community funding decisions determine allocation.
Steward-Filtered Registries
Grant programs use self-nomination with steward council filtering — projects self-register, then stewards review for eligibility before funding rounds.
Recurring Public Goods Eligibility
Civic networks create self-curated eligibility registries for recurring public goods funding cycles, making it easy for new projects to join.
