What is Intersect?

Intersect is a member-based organization for the Cardano ecosystem.

Intersect is a member-based organization tasked with ensuring the Cardano ecosystem's continuity and future development. Bringing members together behind a shared vision, Intersect enables a more resilient, secure, transparent, and innovative ecosystem that puts members in the driving seat of Cardano’s future.

Our values

Cardano first

We prioritize Cardano’s infrastructure and ecosystem in all our endeavors. This means Cardano’s core ethos remains very much at the heart of our DNA. It also means we advocate for and support Cardano projects, builders, founders, and all ecosystem participants ahead of alternatives. When opportunities arise—such as open positions or collaborations—we first look to our community members. We are committed to supporting the ecosystem first and foremost, and scaling through our members to ensure that Cardano thrives from within.

Transparency

Transparency is at the root of all our processes and decisions. We operate with both implicit and explicit consent from our members, ensuring that oversight and scrutiny are integral parts of our governance. By being open about our actions and decisions, we build trust within the community and enable members to be fully informed participants in shaping Cardano's future.

Servant leadership

We believe in leading by serving. Collaboration is key, and we work hand-in-hand with our members, committees, working groups, and all stakeholders. We actively listen to our members and our elected committees at every turn, making ourselves as approachable, open, and available as possible. Our internal ways of working are rooted in supporting others to achieve their goals, fostering a cooperative environment where everyone's contributions are valued.

Inform, not dictate

Our role is to inform and empower our members, not to dictate actions or decisions. We provide the resources, information, and support necessary to drive progress but recognize that progress is ultimately delivered by our members. By supporting members to make informed decisions, we aim to achieve better outcomes on-chain and ensure that the direction of Cardano is shaped by those who are most invested in its success.

Our focus

At its core, Intersect will focus on ensuring, through its members, the future maintenance and development of Cardano. As a community-governed blockchain, this means caring about both the technology and processes that enable technical progress and consensus through discourse and collaboration.

Our focus in 2024 has been:

1. Supporting the rollout of Cardano's on-chain governance through support services for the ICC and DReps, plus tooling (like Cardano GovTool) and hard fork facilitation.

2. Creating a shared Cardano product roadmap to take Cardano into 2025 and beyond.

3. Establishing an annual budget process for Cardano, utilizing Cardano's treasury to support key areas such as core infrastructure, research and development, community grants, marketing/growth. and more.