Welcome, Explorers and Alchemists.
You’ve just stumbled into a coordination experiment disguised as a research program.
The Cookie Jar Research Raid.
This is our attempt to unlock community-driven capital allocation research.
Your mission:
Explore the domain of on-chain coordination. Return with insights that can make Allo flow
WTF Research Raid?
Research Raids are seasonal, time-boxed research sprints that will seek to turn collective intelligence into coordination infrastructure for Ethereum-aligned ecosystems.
This Raid will be a 6-week research sprint, where selected Explorers and Alchemists will dive into allocators pain points, coordination frictions, and UX blockers. Returning with insights, prototypes, and artifacts to evolve Ethereum’s public goods stack and TVF outcomes. This raid is governed by conviction voting on Gardens, and uses a weekly Cookie Jar to fund a small cohort of researchers that will:
- Explore research prompts
- Share insights
- Produce artifacts that unblock real capital flow
- Seed reusable refined prompts, emergent patterns, and prototypes for future builders and buildings
Roles
| Role | Core Function | Weekly Commitment |
|---|---|---|
| Explorer | Deep-dive into one Research Track prompt; produce outputs | 5–6 h |
| Alchemist | Sense-make across Tracks; weave insights; Raid OS Stewardship | 5–6 h |
Research Tracks
The research raid is designed around three exploration tracks and one alchemy track. These prompts frame the big questions we aim to answer. Explorers will tackle the track prompts in the Explorer Circle thread, and Alchemists will synthesize insights in the Alchemist Circle thread.
Exploration
Each Explorer chooses one of the following three tracks. These tracks are aligned with allocator archetypes and Ethereum’s most urgent coordination problems. Their quest is to narrow the prompt into a sharp question and return with artifacts that can unlock Total Value Flow (TVF).
Track 1: Allocator Pain Mapping & Signal Architectures
Prompt:
How do different types of allocators (DAO stewards, ReFi leads, NGOs, L2 teams) experience friction in making capital allocation decisions. And what kinds of signals help them trust where to send funds?Why it matters:
This track supports the “broad listening” challenge. Understanding allocator perception is key to designing mechanisms that move real capital.Sub-questions you might explore:
- What makes a coordination effort legible to funders?
- How do allocators differ in their readiness to act on signals?
- What patterns emerge in ecosystem “cold spots” where good work goes unfunded?
Track 2: Growth, Activation & Strategic Readiness
Prompt:
What conditions make an ecosystem (e.g. DeSci hub, ReFi group, city DAO) “funding-ready”? And how can we detect and support these inflection points before they fade?Why it matters:
This track aligns with vertical adoption efforts from Allo, Gitcoin, and the Ethereum Foundation. Especially around sustaining momentum in emerging ecosystems.Sub-questions you might explore:
- What signal mix precedes successful rounds or pilots?
- When do ecosystems stall despite capital or talent?
- What does “shipping velocity” look like in practice?
Track 3: Product & Mechanism R&D (UX, Coordination, Interop)
Prompt:
Where are developers and contributors dropping off in the Ethereum coordination stack? And what UX, mechanism, or protocol designs could reduce those frictions without adding overhead?Why it matters:
UX is one of EF’s core priorities. Understanding contributor pain and reducing coordination overhead is key to ecosystem resilience.Sub-questions you might explore:
- What barriers stop new contributors from maintaining open infra?
- What types of stateless flows can reduce user fatigue?
- What lessons can we borrow from Solana, Stellar, or NEAR app flows?
Alchemy
Alchemists don’t pick a Track, they track the Tracks. This prompt asks them to surface the design patterns, coordination insights, and infrastructure upgrades that emerge as the Raid unfolds. Their job is to spot systemic learnings and make them useful not just now, but for future Raids and funding experiments.
Meta track: Evolving the Raid OS
Prompt:
How might we design the Cookie Jar Raid OS to unlock 10× researcher throughput and TVF?Why it matters:
- Supports deeper application-layer infrastructure design
- Resonates with EF’s focus on UX, coordination, and governance
- Helps Allo, Gitcoin, and others evolve intent-based capital flow
- Serves ecosystem stewards looking for reusable research systems
Sub-questions to explore
- What design patterns or blockers are recurring across Tracks?
- How might prompts evolve into products, patterns, or new roles?
- When do meta-items actually reduce friction, and when do they add it?
- How do we know when a research insight is TVF-relevant or funding-ready?
- How should we version rules, approve changes, and assess impact, through TVF and other metrics?
- Where can smart-contracts, bots, EAS, or templates replace manual bottlenecks?
- Which raid rules & meta-items drive the most collaboration value, and which add noise?
- Quorum & voting on rules – Hypercert weight schema – TVF research rubric
Rewards
- Each selected participant receives 0.08 ETH / week from the Cookie Jar.
- Weekly updates links (Circle Threads and replies) are required to claim.
- Missed updates = 1 week - forfeited payout for that week, 2 weeks - removed by the Raid Council
How can you participate?
- Choose your role
- Submit your proposal in one of the 2 signaling Pools created on Gitcoin Grants Garden
- Explorers Pool
- Alchemists Pool
- Allo NFT holders and Allominati Circle allowlisted to vote.
- Ranked conviction voting determine the results:
- Top 4 Explorers
- Top 3 Alchemists
Selection will favor:
- Alignment with Allo’s real-world questions and strategy
- Clear scoping and realistic deliverables
- Creativity and praticality
Forum Threads
To track everything, we’ll use three main threads:
[Research Raid #1] – Call to Adventure – Ethereum’s Biggest Problems[Research Raid #1] – Explorers Circle- Will be posted after selection[Research Raid #1] – Alchemists CircleWill be posted after selection
These will be the official hubs for weekly updates, meta-item usage, and shared discoveries.
Timeline
- July 21 – Call to Adventure
- Aug 05 – Gardens selection ends
- Aug 06 – Raid Begins
- September 20 – Raid Chronicle published
Meta-Items
Meta-items are specific processes designed to reduce friction and unlock collective intelligence. For this Raid, here’s what’s live:
| Meta-Item | Function | Who Can Use It | Activation Protocol |
|---|---|---|---|
 Research Aid |
Call Alchemists for help, feedback, or peer review. Tag @Alchemists in your post. |
Explorers | Tag in your thread when you need signal support. |
 Signal Beacon |
Launch a lightweight sensemaking tool (poll, Slido, form). | Alchemists | Community outreach + summary in Alchemist Circle. |
 Prompt Fragment |
Post a distilled research insight or prompt seed. May evolve into future raid themes. | Alchemists | Post directly in the Alchemists Circle. |
 Call the Wizard |
Schedule a 30-min call with Kevin (or a designated Wizard). Max 3 per raid. | Alchemists | Tag @owocki in the Alchemist Circle to coordinate. |
 Party |
Propose a co-working or brainstorm session to align or energize the group. | Explorers and Alchemists | Share time, agenda, and host info in either Circle. |
What To Include in Your Proposal (via Gardens Pools)
- Your research focus or synthesis intent
- What track (or lane) you’ll contribute to
- What artifact(s) you plan to produce
- Impact Statement (Example: “If adopted, this work could unlock $X of value for Y allocator group, by Z mechanism.”)
- A TVF Reflection will be required at the end of the raid from all participants.
Ready to enter the Raid? 
Get the templates below, submit your proposal in the respective Garden pool, and get ready to blaze a trail.
Explorers Submission Pool 
## Explorer Application
[Telegram or Discord Handle]
[Your Wallet]
**1. Track you're applying to (pick one):**
[ ] Track 1 – Allocator Pain Mapping & Signal Architectures
[ ] Track 2 – Growth, Activation & Strategic Readiness
[ ] Track 3 – Product & Mechanism R&D (UX, Coordination, Interop)
**2. Why this track excites you (max 4 sentences):**
Tell us why this question matters to you. What drives your curiosity here?
**3. Relevant experience:**
Any work, research, or contributions that show you’re ready for this topic. Links welcome.
**4. Research approach (3 bullet outline):**
How do you plan to explore this question? Interviews, dashboards, diagrams, forum archeology, etc.
**5. Intended output format:**
What form will your final artifact take? Report, prototype, Figma flow, data viz, strategy brief, etc.
**6. Impact Statement (max 150 words):**
If adopted, how might this research unlock future value flow? Who benefits, and how?
Alchemists Submission Pool 
## Alchemist Application
[Telegram or Discord Handle]
[Your Wallet]
**1. Why this excites you (max 4 sentences):**
What draws you to sensemaking, research synthesis, and meta-level insight work?
**2. Which evidence base are more you focused on?**
[ ] Allocator Archetypes (Allo)
[ ] Ethereum’s Biggest Problems (Gitcoin + EF forum sensemaking)
**3. Relevant experience:**
Share examples of your research, facilitation, systems thinking, or coordination background. Include links if helpful.
**4. Meta-Track focus (1–2 sentences):**
What aspect of the funding coordination problem are you most curious to synthesize across?
**5. Weekly synthesis flow (3 bullets):**
How will you track, connect, and surface patterns? (e.g. forum scanning, prompt harvesting, visual frameworks, workshop recaps)
**6. Meta-items you’re excited to test:**
Which of the following meta-items will you think you'll lean first on and how do you expect to use them? (Signal Beacon · Prompt Fragment · Call the Wizard · Party)
**7. Impact Statement (max 150 words):**
If selected, how might this research unlock future value for the Raid? Who benefits, and how?
Resources to Explore Before Applying
- Gitcoin: X SPACE - Ethereum’s Biggest Problems
- Gitcoin Forum Sensemaking Threads
- EF: Future of Ecosystem Development (July 2025)
- Allocator Archetypes
- Capital Allocation Pattern Language (v0.1)
- Allo Capital Podcast - Ethereum Biggest Problems 2025 - Tomasz Stanczak
- Full Cookie Jar Research Raid Doc
Allo Research Quests Pilot – Cohort Selected & Kickoff Call 
Congratulations to the Cohort
Kickoff Call
Join via Luma - 