How to complete the Intersect Proposal Submission form

This form allows individuals or organizations within the Cardano ecosystem to submit proposals for funding through Intersect.

• You do not need to be a member of Intersect to apply.

• All proposals, except private contact details, will be made public to facilitate community and DRep review and decision-making.

• If you have submitted or are already receiving funding for your proposal from Project Catalyst, you are not eligible to apply for funding through Intersect.

If you have made a prior proposal submission through an Intersect Committee, you will need to either;

• Resubmit your proposal through this new process, this ensures all proposals will have the same information, look and feel for DRep reconciliation;

• Or confirm if you would like Intersect to repurpose the information previously provided. Please note that we may not have enough details to complete the submission on your behalf, and any missing information will be shown as ‘not provided’. You can confirm this by contacting [e-mail] with the following information:

• Proposal Name

• Proposer Name

• Intersect Committee that it has been aligned / submitted to

• Submission Date (approximate)

• Intersect POC (if known)

• Brief Proposal Description

The more information you provide, the better we will be able to help you.

If you have any questions on the updated 2025 Cardano budget process look out for updates on Intersect X/Twitter or join one of the upcoming Cardano budget committee AMAs.

Navigating to the Proposal Form

Section 1: Contact Information

In this section, you must provide details for two roles:

1. The Beneficiary: The person responsible for signing the legal contract if the proposal is approved on-chain.

2. The Submission Lead: The person submitting the proposal.

How to Fill Out This Section

• Enter the Beneficiary's first and last name.

• Provide the Beneficiary’s email address.

• Select the Beneficiary's country of residence and nationality from the dropdown menu.

• Enter the Submission Lead's first and last name.

• Provide the Submission Lead’s email address.

• Specify whether this proposal is submitted on behalf of an individual, company, or group (choose from the dropdown).

If you are submitting on behalf of a committee, please follow the below instructions:

• The Committee Chair will be the beneficiary and the Committee Secretary will be the submission lead. Please submit the Intersect Committee’s email as the beneficiary email.

• Please select 'Group'. The Group Name would be the “Name of the Committee (e.g. MCC, TSC)”. The Type of Group would be “Intersect Committee”. The Key Information to Identify the Group would be the names of the Voting members of the Committee.

Note: The same person can act as both the Beneficiary and Submission Lead. In Section 2, you will select who you wish to be the proposal public champion and person responsible and contactable for providing further information on the proposal.

Intersect Committee Guidance: Section 1

If you are submitting a proposal on behalf of an Intersect Committee, please take a look at how to structure the first section in the video below.

Section 2: Proposal Ownership

This section helps define who will represent the proposal publicly.

How to Fill Out This Section

• Select a Proposal Public Champion: This person will advocate for the proposal, respond to questions, and engage the community. It must be the beneficiary or submission lead listed in this proposal.

• Provide social handles (e.g., GitHub, X/Twitter) for visibility.

Important: The Proposal Champion’s name and email will be made public to facilitate discussions with the Cardano community.

Section 3: Problem Statements and Proposal Benefits

Here, you must clearly define the problem your proposal aims to solve and how it benefits the community.

How to Fill Out This Section

• Problem Statement: Provide a clear and detailed problem statement, including specific areas and examples, to give the community the necessary context for understanding your proposal.

• Proposal Benefit: Explain the value it brings to the Cardano ecosystem. Describe what the return on investment will be and explain how this can benefit the community.

• Alignment with the Product Roadmap: Select whether your proposal aligns with Cardano’s Product Roadmap.

  • The product roadmap explains how your project fits into the wider Cardano vision - You can find the product roadmap information here 2025 Proposed Cardano Roadmap | Product Committee. Try to align your proposal where it suitably fits to encourage further endorsement from the community.

  • If it doesn’t directly align with the roadmap, please select ‘It supports the product roadmap’ and provide an explanation of how it does so. For example, the non-technical proposals may not align to the roadmap.

• Category Selection: Choose which category your proposal falls under. Try to align it where appropriate to encourage further endorsement from the community. This will also help to categorize proposals effectively.

• Committee Alignment: Select the Intersect Committee that aligns with your proposal. Try to align it to an Intersect committee to encourage further endorsement from the community. This will also enable you to seek expertise and support from that committee. If applicable, please include any details of existing endorsements for this proposal within the wider community (add links where available).

Tip: Providing a strong, data-backed case for why your proposal is needed will increase its chances of support and approval from the community.

Section 4: Proposal Details

This section captures specific details about your proposal.

How to Fill Out This Section

• Proposal Name: Choose a name that clearly reflects the work being proposed.

• Proposal Description: Provide an abstract (up to 2500 words) summarizing your proposal. Consider the following when writing; key requirements, objectives, scope, risk and mitigation strategies, background and context.

• Dependencies: List any dependencies that must be met before the proposal can be completed.

• Maintenance Plan: Explain how the project will be supported after initial development. Consider whether the project will require any maintenance or support once the project has completed. If so, please explain how the maintenance will be managed, who will be responsible for it and provide maintenance durations and costs.

• Deliverables & Definition of Done: Provide a list of specific deliverables and milestones for your proposal, each with clearly defined, measurable outcomes. Remember, if your proposal is approved, these deliverables will be subject to community/DReps review and approval. Therefore, ensure each item is tangible and clearly described. If your proposal is part of a multi-phase project, explicitly state the target state for this specific funding tranche.

• Resourcing & Duration Estimates: Clearly state the estimated team size and project timeframe. Provide a detailed resource allocation plan, including the number of Full-Time Equivalents (FTEs) and man-days required, where applicable. When estimating project duration, factor in potential contingencies to ensure the most accurate and realistic timeline.

• Experience: Please provide any relevant experience of previous projects or initiatives completed by your organization, your team or yourself, which will support this proposal.

Note: This section should be as detailed as possible to give reviewers a clear understanding of your project.

Contracting Type: Choose how you expect to be contracted. If you are unsure, please provide an indicative response. This is to help understand the type of arrangement you are looking to be contracted for.

• Milestone Based Fixed Price - divides a project into distinct, measurable stages. Payments are released only upon successful completion and verification of each predetermined milestone. Best suited for complex, long-term projects.

• Time and Materials - is a type of agreement used when the scope of work cannot be precisely defined at the outset or when projects may evolve during execution. Under this contract type, the client agrees to pay the contractor for the actual time spent working on a project (labour costs) and any materials or expenses used (provided such is agreed in advance and evidenced with third party invoices).

• Service Level Agreement - this is typically a standalone contract that covers both the general terms of the relationship and the specific details of the services being provided in one document. Best used for ongoing, measurable services where consistent performance is critical.

• Reimbursement - If you have already completed the work and wish to be reimbursed for the work and such was agreed in writing in .

• Intersect Procurement Process -

  • If you are submitting on behalf of an Intersect Committee, please choose this option;

  • If you do not have a vendor in mind, please select this option and Intersect will support you in the procurement process to find a suitable vendor.

• Other - If you wish to use another contract type, please select ‘other’.

Intersect Committee Guidance: Section 4

If you are submitting on behalf of an Intersect Committee, please choose 'Intersect Procurement Process' when you reach the dropdown for Contracting Type.

Currency & Budget:

• Select your preferred currency.

• Enter the amount requested in preferred currency.

• Enter the equivalent amount in USD and provide the conversion rate used.

• Enter the equivalent amount in ada and provide the conversion rate used.

• Enter a cost breakdown in both USD and ada.

• When providing a cost breakdown, consider categorising it into line items / cost components (such as labour costs or materials). Show both the USD and ada amounts for every budget line item. Use the same ada/USD conversion rate for all calculations.

Tip: Be transparent with costs—this increases the likelihood of approval.

You can upload any relevant documents to support your proposal.

• Provide links to specifications, videos, or other supporting materials. Please provide a description of what the links are and/or how they are relevant to your proposal.

• Upload your proposal file - please upload any further information that you think may be relevant to support your proposal - this is optional but recommended. You can upload multiple files if you wish.

Tip: Including additional documents can strengthen your proposal’s credibility.

Intersect plays a role in managing approved proposals, including contract management, auditing, and fund management. It is required that you have an administrator for administering your contract (if successful) as they ensure compliance, financial integrity, and effective project execution by overseeing contractual obligations, fund distribution, and performance auditing, reducing risk and enhancing transparency.

• Would you like Intersect to be your Administrator? Choose Yes or No. Intersect will be able to provide the following services; Contract management, Delivery assurance and Communications, Fund management, Fiat conversion, Legal, KYC / KYB, Dispute resolution, Technical and Financial auditing.

• If you do not select Intersect as your administrator, you must explain who will conduct the listed services on your behalf, whether that be your organization or another vendor.

• Confidentiality: If your proposal contains information that should not be publicly disclosed, such as for security or intellectual property reasons, please indicate this clearly.

Before submitting, you must agree to Intersect’s privacy policies.

• Tick the box to receive Intersect communications.

• Tick the box to allow Intersect to store and process your data.

Click "Submit" to finalize your proposal.

Next Steps:

• Once you submit your proposal you will receive an email to verify your email address. If you do not confirm your email address, we will not be able to process your application.

• All proposals, except private contact details, will be made public to facilitate community and DRep review and decision-making. We will notify you with details regarding where and when these will be published.

• The Proposal Champion will need to be the main POC for any comms, and will also be responsible for public engagement - so please ensure they are responsive to any public questions or concerns.

• Public discussion and endorsements increase credibility amongst the community.

• Please ensure that all your responses directly answer the questions.

• If your proposal aligns with the Cardano Roadmap and supports Cardano’s growth they will have a higher chance of approval.

Thank you for your continued support to Intersect and Cardano - Good Luck!