How The RFP Process Works - Network Engineering SPE

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An RFP — Request for Proposals — is how the the Network Engineering SPE funds focused, time-boxed work from external contributors. Anyone can apply. Funding is released in tranches tied to verifiable outcomes.

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Why we run RFPs

RFPs translate Livepeer project priorities into concrete, fundable work packages so the right contributor can self-select in. They keep scope tight, payment outcome-linked, and decisions transparent.

Key design principles

Five principles guide every initiative funded through this SPE:

Community-originated — ideas come from the ecosystem, not the Foundation.
Pre-agreed pricing — scope and payment locked before work begins. No surprises.
Impact-linked payment — 25% on signing, 50% on delivery, 25% only on confirmed sustained impact.
Transparent by default — every decision (approved, held, declined) published with written rationale.
Speed — target ≤14 days from RFP posted to team selected. Funding moves at the pace of the work.

Pilot priority areas

The committed floor is three Suggestions shipped via the RFP mechanism by end of July; the aspiration is five. Three priority Suggestions are already identified for the pilot, each owned by the Foundation and scoped with the community:

<aside> 1️⃣

Developer Portal & Discoverability

The demand-side interface for Livepeer’s network. From discovery to first inference call in under 5 minutes, from any MCP-compatible tool.

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<aside> 2️⃣

Explorer as Participation Portal

A retainer team owning the Explorer repo — staking, governance, observability, and delegator experience.

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<aside> 3️⃣

Payment Clearinghouse & Remote Signer

The foundational auth + billing infrastructure that unblocks SDK adoption and agentic tooling.

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The lifecycle

flowchart LR
	A["Stage 1<br>Suggestion &<br>Promotion"] --> B["Stage 2<br>RFP & Team Selection<br>+ Tranche 1 (25%)"]
	B --> C["Stage 3<br>Delivery<br>+ Tranche 2 (50%)"]
	C --> D["Stage 4<br>Impact Assessment<br>+ Tranche 3 (25%)"]
	C -. incomplete .-> R["Remediation"]
	R --> D

1. Suggestion & Promotion

Anyone can start one. The community validates it.