## Proposal Abstract: Polkadot Pioneers Prize, an Incentive Prize Program

We are excited to announce a proposal for a new incentive prize program called the Polkadot Pioneers Prize (“Pioneers Prize”).

The Pioneers Prize is a series of challenges created with the goal of propelling technical innovation on the Polkadot network. The first two of those challenges will be announced later this year and will cover categories including zero-knowledge research and Polkadot infrastructure improvements.

Challenge winners will receive DOT; the total prize funds available at program launch will be split between the first two challenge categories and is projected to be 993286.08 DOT — worth roughly 18 million USD.

The Pioneers Prize will be managed by an elected curator and will likely contain members of the on-chain treasury council, Parity Technologies, the Web3 Foundation, and other external ecosystem partners.

In addition to funding research, the Pioneers Prize and its proposal look to model how the community can achieve greater agency by directing on-chain treasury funds in new and creative ways.

We hope you’ll join us in being excited about the Polkadot Pioneers Prize and are equally as eager to see what the community comes up with.

Let the challenges begin!

If you would like to read the full proposal, you can do so here