Whitepaper
The Contribio model in brief: what it does, who pays, how it is governed and how the blockchain fits in. It replaces versions 1 to 4, which described a token-based design.
1. Summary
Contribio, formerly HtS Agora, is a participation co-operative for universities and the first platform of the Hack the System movement. Students earn points for the contribution they already make, such as team projects, lessons, events and helping other students. Every point is worth 10p and counts towards both Reputation, which can never be bought, and Balance, which students spend with campus vendors.
Departments, employers and vendors fund the rewards, and every funded reward adds 5% to a shared Opportunity Fund that students govern. Contribio is a project of Crystalisr Co-operative Society Ltd, and students never pay to take part.
A free pilot runs from November 2026, starting with London South Bank University. University membership opens in August 2027. A blockchain stage, adding public proof of Reputation, credentials and the Opportunity Fund, follows once the pilot and a security audit are complete, with September 2027 as the target.
2. The problem
Students create a great deal of value outside their degrees, and almost none of it is recorded, rewarded or shared fairly.
- Students. Effort outside the degree goes unrecorded, CV claims are hard to trust, and the cost of living leaves little time for unpaid contribution.
- Universities. They face pressure on engagement, retention and employability, and verifying extracurricular activity is manual work.
- Employers. Graduate hiring is costly, and grades are a blunt filter for the skills they need.
- Local businesses. Campus vendors live with seasonal footfall and rely on untargeted discounts.
3. The model
Two rules hold the system together: nothing pays out without funding, and nothing pays out without validation. A reward is only listed once its money is set aside, and it is only paid once a staff mentor signs off the work, a lesson is completed or an event check-in is recorded.
- Reputation is a student's earned standing. It sets their tier (Bronze, Silver, Gold or Platinum), which unlocks team projects, voting, leadership and an employer credential, and raises their reward multiplier from 1.0 to 2.0.
- Balance is spending money, used with campus vendors through one-time pay codes. Vendors are paid weekly and can fund a bonus that brings students back. During the pilot, points can't be cashed out.
- The Opportunity Fund receives an extra 5% on every funded reward. It pays for things like scholarships, hardship support and match-funding for projects, and members vote on proposals: one member, one vote.
- The skills passport scores nine skills from 0 to 100, each backed by validated evidence. At Platinum, students can export a signed credential that employers can check for tampering.
4. Economics
Contribio is a co-operative hybrid. Member universities pay a membership that covers the co-op's costs at scale, sponsors and vendors pay small fees, and any surplus goes back to members and the Opportunity Fund.
- Co-op revenue pays the co-op's costs: university membership (from August 2027, after a free pilot), a programme fee on sponsor challenge budgets, a small settlement fee from vendors, promoted listings and, later, licences for employers to verify credentials in volume.
- Money held for others belongs to students and partners: reward pools, sponsor budgets, vendor bonuses and student balances. It is held 1:1 in a separate account, reconciled daily, and is never co-op income.
- Funding bridges the gap until revenue covers costs: university pilot contributions, grants and a planned community share offer.
Prices are set at cost and agreed each year by members. Once past losses are recovered, the proposed surplus policy is half to reserves, a quarter to the Opportunity Fund and a quarter rebated to member universities in proportion to their fees.
5. Governance
- The co-operative. Crystalisr Co-operative Society Ltd is the legal entity and steward of the platform.
- The Consortium Council. Member universities each hold a seat and agree prices and policy together.
- Student votes. From Silver tier, students vote on how the Opportunity Fund is used. Gold students vote on fund grants, and Platinum students can join the fund's council. Other students never see how anyone voted, and results are published when a vote closes.
6. Technology and privacy
The pilot runs on a tested web app with an append-only ledger that is reconciled daily. Students and staff sign in with their university login or a one-time email link, and nobody needs a crypto wallet.
Privacy is part of the design. Staff see summaries, and opening a student's full record needs a stated reason that the student can see. Nothing outside the app is tracked, sponsors see outcomes rather than individuals, and credentials show scores, not activities.
The blockchain stage uses EVM smart contracts on Polkadot to record soulbound Reputation, anchor credentials and make the Opportunity Fund transparent. The app's ledger remains the record of balances. More on the technology →
7. Risks and safeguards
| Risk | How we manage it |
|---|---|
| Money held for others | A separate account held 1:1 and reconciled daily. Withdrawals stay off until legal sign-off. |
| Payments regulation | We track student spending against regulatory thresholds and plan notifications and licensing well before they are reached. |
| Data protection | An impact assessment and data agreements with each university before launch, and a named data protection officer as we grow. |
| Reward gaming | Daily limits, staff validation and daily integrity checks. |
| Blockchain delay | The app never waits on the chain, and the chain goes live only after a clean audit. |
8. Roadmap
- October 2026: from demo to pilot.
- November 2026 to January 2027: friendly pilot, aiming for 100 students.
- February to August 2027: full pilot, aiming for 500 students.
- September 2027: blockchain stage live, after a clean audit.
- From August 2028: consortium growth and verified credentials.
9. Earlier versions
Versions 1 to 4 of this whitepaper described a consortium blockchain, then Aztec and Radix designs, and finally a four-layer architecture with four tokens, including a tradeable equity token and automated yield strategies. That design has been retired. Contribio keeps value in points and pounds, nothing is traded, and the blockchain adds public proof rather than a token.
The full whitepaper is being updated to match this summary. Ask us for the latest version, or for an earlier one if you need it for reference.
Questions about the model?
We are happy to talk it through with universities, employers, funders and students.