The suggestion to launch a Steem's Best Open Source Incubator didn't receive as much feedback as I might have hoped, and there haven't been any volunteers to help develop it, so... I still think it's a good idea

I think it's a great idea and you shouldn't give up without implementing it. Here at Steem, the stage of organizing people is the hardest. It is very difficult to get someone interested in something, let alone motivate them to take action. This is a disadvantage of decentralization that you are well aware of.

Perhaps the approach can be adjusted. Perhaps within the framework of a decentralized system, it is worth creating a centralized group of people, a kind of brain center and, at the same time, a driving force. This coincides with your planning circle. I think it is possible to organize people who care about the fate of the blockchain and who have ideas for this development. It's easy, most of them are often expressed in Suggestions Club. This circle must include you and someone else who understands programming and how the blockchain works. After that, the planning circle, through long thorough discussions, should decide on the project that is most worth implementing. It is worth starting with the simplest and smallest, as you described it.

The next stage is the most difficult, it is attracting resources.

Since we do not have many programmers, after determining which project will be implemented, it is possible to attract executors through freelance exchanges. You know programming and blockchain and will be able to clearly articulate tasks to executors, as well as provide them with hints. Under such conditions, the cost of the works will also be clearly understood and it will be clear where the money is being spent.

Since the planning circle will include well-known members of the community, it will be necessary to write a proposal to attract resources for each specific, even small, project. A clear vision of the end result, an understanding of what this particular project is for, and trusted members of the planning circle give the proposal a chance to be approved. I believe that SPS is the most realistic way to raise funding for blockchain development.