🤝 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