Candidature NGI

https://nlnet.nl/propose/

Abstract: Can you explain the whole project and its expected outcome(s). 1200

Sarah and Pierre uses Agatha to establish a clear financial map for their family. They centralize all their informations from their various banks automatically while still keeping their data private. They have effortlessly adapted the initial template to create a custom budget that guide their decisions without having to be neither tech nor math savvy. Apart from their expenses, they also have a clear vision of the money set aside for expected expenses as well as their progress towards commons goals and aspirations. They also keep part of their finances separated and were able to set up a equitable system that is easily maintained with Agatha.

Sarah and Pierre are two current members of my user base, which includes very diverse profiles going from engineer to social worker, students to retired. Their common trait is that they all felt that their financial situation was too abstract for them to properly make important decisions about their lives (having another child, getting out of debt, getting a new career, retiring etc..).

I have been developping Agatha-Budget on my free time until now and would like to officially get it out of the beta-testing phase.

Have you been involved with projects or organisations relevant to this project before? And if so, can you tell us a bit about your contributions?

I have been volunteering for 3 years with the Restos du Coeur (one of the biggest charity of France) specificaly in the financial counseling department. I have received around a hundred persons to help them make sense of their often complicated financial situation and obtain help from the french institutions or banks to secure their fragile equilibrium. For 2 of these 3 years I was the head of this service for the french department of Isère working in collaboration with the other volunteers and the local social workers. Concurrently, I’m a professional software engineer with 11 years of experience in designing, building and launching softwares. I’m currently working at multi (https://www.multi.coop/?locale=en), a tech cooperative which specialize in open-source and open-data projects for associtations and public services .

Requested Amount

10.000€

Explain what the requested budget will be used for?

The project is lead by its users, our roadmap currently focus on :

• developing a new set of features related to charts that is asked for by my current user base.
• improving the documentation both for developpers and end-users to maximise the re-usability and usage impact of the project
• improving the accessibility. The project theorically respect most of the WCAG recommandations but I would like to put it to the test to insure its complete usability
• translating our current ressources in English as a first step toward making it accessible to foreign contributors and users

Does the project have other funding sources, both past and present?

This project has been mainly self-funded until now but I was supported by Ronalpia (a startup incubator specialised in projects with recognised social impact) and Femme Entrepreneuse Orange. Thanks to mentoring, training and a supportive community, they both assisted me in designing a well rounded service relevant to the users I want to help. The project is also symbolically funded by its users, some of them paying a subscription to use a hosted instance of the service. This financial contribution covers the hosting expenses.

If NGI accepts this project, I will also apply for the “French Tech” grant which I am elligible for and requires a 9000€ outside contribution to receive up to 30.000€. The combination of both grants would allow me to take time off my main job and dedicate myself to bringing Agatha to the next level.

The budget would be divided as follow :

• 8000 : 32 days of work – Erica Delagnier
• 2000 : 8 days of work - Anne-Claire Godet, Estelle Falcoz, others contributors (UX design, translation, educational support writing/filming…)

Compare your own project with existing or historical efforts.

My project is based on the zero-based budgeting approach. In this category, it can be compared to some other projects :

• YNAB, is a famous budget app. It is one of the leader of the market but is both propriatary and based in the USA
• Actual Budget went open-source after the start of my own project and is developped by a company based in the UK
• Bucket

The specifity of Agatha resides in my experience with a more diverse population. Most of these projects were thought by and for computer scientists and caters to the needs and habits of users well versed in spreasheets and numbers manipulation. Agatha aims to be inclusive and user-friendly. My existing user base includes peoples that can be quite intimidated by numbers but still needs and deserves to be able to handle their personal finances with a tool that respect their privacy. My goal is to federate a users and contributors community that share this same ideal for themselves and their loved ones.

What are significant technical challenges you expect to solve during the project, if any?)

As a software engineer I wouldn’t say that there are any significant technical challenge to overcome. The real challenge will be to always design and improve the features and supporting documentation so that it can be used enjoyably even by someone with no love lost for mathematics. Budgeting isn’t rocket science and shouldn’t be treated as such.

Describe the ecosystem of the project, and how you will engage with relevant actors and promote the outcomes?

I’m currently the main contributor to this project. The current users are also contributing mainly to the roadmap, documentation and user support. One of them designed the logo and style guide, another is currently developping a feature that was identified by the community. My goal is to promote the project by creating engaging tutorials and guides following the diataxis approach both in text and video. I’m also currently working on improving the robustness of the system administration in order to start a collaboration with local charities and public services. During my period of volunteering, I collaborated with the Restos du Coeur of course but also with the Red Cross and the local social workers who expressed their interest in an experimentation for their beneficiaries.