Looking back at Funding the Commons x APAC DAO: Design Jam 2024

Design Jam Recap: Bridging Builders, Thinkers & Public Goods Innovators

In a time when funding models, digital infrastructure, and global coordination are being reimagined, Funding the Commons (FtC) x APAC DAO Design Jam emerged as a powerful and timely intervention.

Over the course of two dynamic days, we welcomed 150 hackers and builders, alongside an extended audience of 300+ thinkers, leaders, and ecosystem supporters from across sectors. The result? A vibrant, collaborative ecosystem where technical talent met interdisciplinary insight — and new solutions for public goods were born.

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Reimagining Public Goods Through Design & Collaboration

The FtC Design Jam wasn’t a typical hackathon — it was a purpose-driven experiment in co-creation.

From technical developers and systems designers to policy experts, academics, creatives, and philanthropists, this space was intentionally crafted to foster deep collaboration between worlds that rarely collide. The shared goal: to create scalable, sustainable mechanisms for supporting global commons and open-source public infrastructure.

Participants came together to explore critical challenges in areas like:

• Open science funding

• Climate impact infrastructure

• Blockchain-based governance and transparency

• Global education access

• Digital identity and inclusion

Whether coding smart contracts or mapping out economic models, each team was encouraged to connect, iterate, and prototype in real time, with mentorship and inspiration provided by some of the field’s most impactful contributors.

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A Truly Interdisciplinary Moment

What made this Design Jam so powerful was its intersectional nature. Public goods exist at the crossroads of policy, law, science, technology, and culture, and the event honored that complexity by convening voices across those fields.

We were proud to welcome experts and representatives from:

• UNICEF – sharing on equitable infrastructure for global child welfare

• Stellar Development Foundation – exploring payment rails and digital equity

• KX VC by KASIKORNBANK – offering venture insight into responsible innovation

• SCB 10X – supporting the bridge between financial capital and impact tech dozens of other contributors from Web3, academia, and the public sector

• This cross-sector dialogue laid the groundwork for more informed, holistic, and future-ready public goods funding strategies — something that no single discipline can build alone.

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Building Beyond the Event

The impact of the FtC Design Jam goes far beyond its two-day agenda. It signaled a shift in how we think about Web3 infrastructure, capital allocation, and civic collaboration.

 

Participants left with not only early-stage prototypes, but also new alliances, broader perspectives, and a sense of shared responsibility for building systems that serve more than just markets — they serve humanity.

 

From decentralized grant tools and quadratic funding layers to participatory science networks, we were inspired by the creativity and ambition that emerged from the jam. The ideas are promising — and many are already on track to evolve into real-world pilot projects.

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Gratitude & What Comes Next

To everyone who joined us — from hackers and designers to speakers, mentors, and institutional partners — thank you. Your time, energy, and willingness to engage beyond the boundaries of your usual domains made this event extraordinary.

 

And to our partners at Funding the Commons: thank you for co-creating this platform with us. Together, we’ve shown what’s possible when we gather with intention, openness, and urgency around public good challenges.

 

As APAC DAO continues our mission to support builder communities and civic tech across Asia, the momentum from this Design Jam fuels what comes next:

• More regional engagements

• Deeper builder support for public goods initiatives

• Cross-disciplinary activations with local and global partners

 

We believe that the future of public infrastructure lies in open, participatory systems, and we’re here to help shape that future — one jam, one prototype, one partnership at a time.