THEORY OF CHANGE · v2.2

WHY CLEANUP STAYS INVISIBLE

DeCleanup Network converts grassroots environmental action into verified, funded, and onchain-permanent impact.

3

Systemic Gaps

4

Pathways

15+

SMART Outcomes

48mo

Horizon

01 - Root Cause

The problem isn't a lack of action

Volunteers organize. NGOs mobilize. Communities clean every single day. The problem is that this action remains invisible - producing no data that funders, partners, or institutions can trust, verify, or build upon.

Trust Gap

Funders and partners cannot verify outcomes. Decisions rely entirely on self-reported claims.

Capital stays on the sidelines

Coordination Gap

Local actions remain fragmented. Efforts duplicate. Best practices never travel beyond a single neighborhood.

No network effect compounds

Incentive Gap

Volunteers and organizers receive no structured recognition. Participation stays episodic.

Cleanup stays episodic

A world where every cleanup event produces trusted, portable data that connects grassroots action to institutional funding, policy decisions, and regenerative ecosystem coordination.

DeCleanup Network - Long-Term Vision (5-10 Years)

02 - Core Logic

From photo to funded impact

A single verified submission triggers a chain of value that compounds over time.

01

Documentation

Geotagged before/after photos in under 60 seconds

02

Verification

DMRV - AI + human review validates evidence

03

Onchain Record

Immutable anchoring on Base / Celo

04

Reward

$DCU + Impact Product NFT per verified event

05

Capital Flow

Funders use verified dashboards - fund more cleanups

30-Second Strategy Test

We discovered that grassroots cleanup cannot attract institutional capital because it produces no verifiable data. So we are prioritizing verification infrastructure first - a 60-second documentation process that creates immutable onchain records. We are testing this by running a hybrid AI + human validation pipeline and piloting with few communities around the world. If we can show 80% DMRV compliance and 3+ funders using dashboard data by month 12, we will scale organizer activation across 10+ countries.

03 - Resources

Inputs - Outputs

What we put in and what the network produces. Outputs connect to measurable behavior change.

Inputs

Human capital (volunteers, organizers, devs)
Technology (Base + Celo, AI/ML, DMRV)
Financial (Giveth, Gitcoin, Octant, $bDCU)
Partnerships (disposal, municipal, ReFi)
Knowledge (DMRV, ESG, impact standards)

Outputs

Verified cleanup records (DMRV threshold)
Waste datasets (ESG reporting)
Immutable onchain logs
Impact dashboards for funders
Governance proposals (onchain)

04 - Causal Pathways

Four pathways to systemic change

From shared root to canopy: trust creation is the trunk; coordination and incentives branch in parallel; verification credibility is where institutional trust lives.

Shared root

DMRV Infrastructure

P1

Trust Creation

Trunk — what makes everything else possible

  • Documentation under 60s
  • Geotag + timestamp
  • Verifiable onchain records
  • Funders gain confidence
  • Capital flows to verified cleanups

P1 Trust enables shared infrastructure to scale

P2

Coordination

Shared infrastructure — network effects

  • Shared DMRV across regions
  • Common data standards
  • Organizers discover best practices
  • Knowledge transfer
  • Effectiveness improves network-wide
→ More organizers generate more submissions
P3

Incentives

Recognition — sustained behavior

  • $bDCU structured recognition
  • Tangible acknowledgment per action
  • Episodic → sustained participation
  • Documentation normalized
  • Data quality improves
→ Higher volume feeds verification pipeline

P2 + P3 converge: volume × quality feeds the verification layer

P4

Verification Credibility

Canopy — where institutional trust lives

  • Open source waste detection model
  • AI flags for human review
  • Hybrid reduces fraud
  • Quality = network reputation
  • Partners trust for ESG reporting
Loops back to P1

05 - SMART Outcomes

Measurable targets across three horizons

Outputs are activity. Outcomes are behavior change. Every target passes the "So What?" test.

Short-Term · 0-12 Months

300 verified submissions (DMRV)

25 organizers in 10+ countries

30% repeat volunteer rate

80% DMRV compliance

85% AI waste detection accuracy

3+ funders using dashboards

Medium-Term · 12-24 Months

3+ funding decisions citing DeCleanup

75k kg verified waste documented

100+ stakers in verification

3 multi-country campaigns

10+ governance proposals

3+ ReFi integrations

Long-Term · 24-48 Months

$100k+ capital to verified cleanups

30% partners adopting DMRV

70% community-initiated campaigns

10+ ESG reports referencing data

80% decisions by community vote

Self-sustaining feedback loop

06 - Decentralization Roadmap

Verification: trusted to trustless

Progressive decentralization. Quality standards first, then distributed responsibility.

Active Now

Phase 1

Human Review

Core team manually reviews every submission.

  • Manual photo review
  • Geotag validation
  • Timestamp checking
  • Before / after comparison
  • Feedback to submitters
In Development

Phase 2

AI-Assisted

AI-assisted validation; human confirms.

  • Open source trash detection
  • Duplicate detection
  • Geo inconsistency flagging
  • Fraud probability scoring
  • Human confirms AI flags
Planned

Phase 3

Trustless

Decentralized: token holders become verifiers.

  • Community staking for verification
  • Stake-weighted votes
  • Verification rewards
  • Slashing for false approvals
  • Fully onchain governance

07 - Stakeholders

Who makes the network work

Six participant types. The network functions when all six are active.

Volunteers

Clean. Document. Earn.

Organizers

Launch campaigns

Funders

Anyone can fund impact

$DCU Holders

Trade. Govern. Stake. Verify.

Partners

Municipalities & waste

Developers

Build & maintain

08 - Assumptions

What must be true and how we test it

Every pathway rests on assumptions. We state them, test early, and pivot if they fail.

AssumptionTimelineSuccess Criteria
Volunteers document if process <60sMonth 1-370%+ completion rate
Funders value verified over self-reportedMonth 3-61+ funding decision cites data
Onchain anchoring adds trustMonth 3-6<10% user confusion
Community governance attracts participantsMonth 12-185+ proposals, 10%+ participation
AI verification improves accuracyMonth 3-685%+ trash detection accuracy
Fair-launch prevents extractive behaviorMonth 1-6No holder >5%; <30% sell pressure

09 - Risk Register

Known risks - how we respond

Good strategy names risks, assigns probability and impact, and prepares mitigations.

High Impact

Low Adoption from Friction

UX target <60s; feedback on every rejection.

High Impact

Funder Indifference to Verified Data

Validate with grant partners; reframe to coordination if needed.

High Impact

Regulatory Uncertainty

Utility-only framing; legal counsel as we scale.

Medium Impact

Token Speculation Overrides Utility

Fair-launch; staking for verification.

Medium Impact

AI Verification Errors

Hybrid: AI flags, humans confirm; publish metrics.

Medium Impact

Governance Apathy

Progressive decentralization; expand as participation proves sustained.

Medium Impact

Local Disposal Gaps

Partner with municipalities before expanding region.

Medium Impact

Data Quality Inconsistency

Strict DMRV; reject with actionable feedback.

Managed Impact

Community Trust Erosion

Transparent governance; fair-launch; no insider advantages.

Ready to be part of the proof?

Every cleanup you verify is a data point that makes the next funder more confident.