🤝 Fellowship Steward Model
The steward is a Cantina-appointed, dedicated security researcher for a Cantina competition. They receive a fixed pay in addition to the competition rewards.
1. Researcher Responsibilities
Competition participation: Researchers must dedicate their full and best efforts to the assigned competition.
Fix Review: Researchers are required to conduct one (1) day of fix review for each full week that the competition runs (e.g., a three-week competition requires three days of fix review), up to a maximum of four (4) days. The exact duration will be determined before the competition begins.
Leaderboard Performance: Researchers are expected to perform well on the leaderboard (top x% based on competition size).
Judging Assistance: Researchers may assist in judging submissions if required.
2. Payment Structure
Researchers earn a percentage of the prize pot based on the size of the pot and their performance. The payment structure is tiered as follows:
Prize Pot Size
Researcher Share (Approx)
Performance Requirement
$500k+
Standard Weekly rates capped at 20% of the public pot
Top 25% of LB
$100k - $500k
10-15% of pot
Top 40% of LB
< $100k
Up to 40% of pot
Top 60% of LB
Final Discretion: All payments are subject to Cantina’s assessment. While this framework ensures fairness, adjustments may be made to reflect a researcher’s impact, competition complexity, or other valuable contributions.
3. Penalties for Underperformance
To ensure accountability, penalties are imposed if researchers fail to meet expectations:
Leaderboard penalties: Payment is reduced by 20% for every 10% below the required percentile, subject to a floor: no payment will be issued if the researcher falls below the 70th percentile.
Fix Review Failure: If a researcher fails to complete the fix review, their payment is withheld until the issues are resolved.
Lost Opportunity: If a researcher incurs penalties in more than three competitions, they will be temporarily barred from future dedicated researcher engagements until the Cantina team reviews their performance.
4. Minimum Findings Threshold
All payment/penalty terms apply only if the competition has > 3 total H/M findings.
If total findings is ≤ 3, Cantina evaluates performance case-by-case.
5. Example Scenario
Prize Pot: $300k
Researcher Share: 12% of pot = $36,000
Researcher Ranking: Top 40% of leaderboard
Total Payment: $36,000 (prize share)
If the researcher fails to meet the top 40% leaderboard requirement, their prize share is reduced by 20% for every 10% drop below the requirement. Ex. Top 50%: $36,000 → $28,800.
6. Additional Notes
Mandatory Participation: Researchers must commit to the full duration of the competition and fulfill all responsibilities to receive payment.
If a Fellowship Steward is assigned to a competition and meets both of the program’s conditions, they will receive whichever amount is higher: the fellowship bonus or the fixed pool allocation.
Cantina reserves the right to change the above rules and review on case by cases basis
Last updated