> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://ixoworld-canonical.mintlify.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Outcomes-based financing (OBF)

> Tie funding, incentives, and settlement to verified claims and outcomes using governed workflows on the IXO stack.

## Build outcomes-based financing

**Outcomes-based financing (OBF)** connects value movement to proof: funds, incentives, or governance steps advance only when agreed outcomes are evidenced, reviewed, and accepted under clear rules.

Build this when value should move only after agreed outcomes are verified—not on schedules or trust alone.

<Card title="Financing workflow builder" icon="wand-magic-sparkles" href="#add-financing-workflow-builder-url" cta="Build with AI" arrow={true}>
  Use an Agentic Oracle in qi.space to turn your outcome definitions, verification rules, settlement actions, and dispute paths into a concrete OBF workflow design.
</Card>

### What you will create

* One or more **outcome definitions** tied to program or project entities
* **Claim types** and **evidence** required before settlement can fire
* **Verifier and approver** roles, including optional agent-assisted review
* A **Flow** (or flows) from claim submission through verification to settlement
* **Settlement actions**: release funds, rewards, credentials, governance state, or escalations
* **Dispute and audit** expectations for funders, auditors, and governance
* Links to **assets or token logic** where on-chain settlement applies

### Quick start

<Steps>
  <Step title="Name the outcome that unlocks value">
    Write the outcome in operational terms (for example: milestone delivered, metric threshold met, verification complete). Tie it to a specific entity in the IXO graph such as a project, program, or asset.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Define the claim and evidence package">
    Specify which claim type represents the outcome and what evidence must be present, in what format, and from which sources. Decide what “complete” means before review starts.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Assign verification authority">
    Decide who may attest, approve, dispute, or escalate: humans, organizations, services, or Agentic Oracles. Record which actions require a human decision.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Map verification to settlement">
    For each terminal verification state (accepted, rejected, disputed), define the exact settlement or governance action: transfer, unlock, record-only, hold, or route to dispute resolution.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add safeguards">
    Include time bounds, duplicate-claim handling, partial outcomes, clawbacks or holds if your model needs them, and the audit trail funders or regulators must be able to replay.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Pilot one payment or incentive path">
    Run a single outcome through the full path: submit claim, attach evidence, verify, settle. Confirm logs, notifications, and graph state match what stakeholders expect.
  </Step>
</Steps>

### Useful first scope

Start with one **settlement condition** and one **funder or payer** role:

* one verified outcome type
* one claim and evidence template
* one verifier path (with optional agent pre-check)
* one automated or human-gated settlement action
* one dispute or appeal step

### Why OBF fails without a shared workflow

Funding, incentives, and resource allocation are often disconnected from proof of delivery or impact. Contracts may describe outcomes, but verification, evidence, payment, and governance usually happen in separate systems.

That creates delays, disputes, weak accountability, and high transaction costs.

### What you are wiring together

A workflow where **verified claims or outcomes trigger settlement actions**. Settlement may mean:

* releasing funds
* issuing rewards
* unlocking incentives
* approving a milestone
* changing governance state
* updating a program record
* issuing or updating a credential
* routing a dispute or escalation

### Example

A project submits an outcome claim. Evidence is linked. An agent checks rules and flags exceptions. A verifier attests the result. The accepted outcome triggers a funding release or next governance step.

### Design checklist: first settlement condition

Before you scale, capture this in one place:

* the outcome that must be verified
* the claim and evidence required
* who can verify it
* the approval or dispute path
* the settlement action
* the audit trail needed for funders and governance

### IXO and Qi roles

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Verified outcomes" icon="badge-check" href="/guides/digital-mrv">
    Claims and evidence establish whether agreed outcomes have been achieved.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Assets and transactions" icon="coins" href="/guides/dev/tokens">
    Token and asset patterns can connect verified state to value movement.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Program rules" icon="scale-balanced" href="/protocols/ixo-protocol">
    Protocol and workflow rules define what must be true before settlement occurs.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Qi cooperation" icon="people-arrows" href="/articles/qi-intelligent-cooperating-system">
    Humans, agents, services, and funders coordinate around review, approval, dispute, and settlement.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

### Next steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Managing tokens" icon="coins" href="/guides/dev/tokens">
    Token domains and on-chain asset patterns.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Digital MRV" icon="chart-line" href="/guides/digital-mrv">
    Measurement and verification patterns for outcome-linked workflows.
  </Card>

  <Card title="IXO Protocol" icon="cube" href="/protocols/ixo-protocol">
    State and coordination primitives beneath financing workflows.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Core concepts" icon="lightbulb-exclamation-on" href="/core-concepts">
    Understand claims, evidence, credentials, state, and workflow authority.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

For more build paths and stack context, see [What you can build](/guides/what-you-can-build#outcomes-based-financing).

<Note>
  Outcomes-based financing may involve legal, regulatory, accounting, tax, and governance requirements. Use IXO and Qi to build verifiable workflow infrastructure; involve the appropriate professional review for regulated financial products or contractual commitments.
</Note>