Parameter committee (PC)
This page is written on behalf of the Parameters Committee, the information contained is subject to change and amendment by the committee chairs at any time and should be used at your own risk
What is the Parameter Committee?
The Parameter Committee is a subcommittee of the Technical Steering Committee (TSC) that ensures the Cardano protocol parameters are set based on sound technical awareness and best practices. This subcommittee includes four working groups:
Economic Parameters Advisory Group
Network Parameters Advisory Group
Technical Parameters Advisory Group
Governance Parameters Advisory Group
Why is this committee important?
The purpose of this committee is to provide technical advice and recommendations relating to updating protocol parameters, taking into account economic, security, network, and other technical considerations as appropriate to protect the long-term sustainability of the Cardano blockchain.
Which topics does this committee cover?
The committee meets every three weeks to discuss all Cardano protocol parameters, including network, technical, and economic parameters, providing technical advice and recommendations based on updated parameter settings. They also consider community proposals to update parameters.
Criteria for committee roles
Chair/Vice-Chairs
Detailed knowledge of the Cardano ecosystem and node implementation, understanding of the effect of each protocol parameter on the operation of Cardano, technical understanding across all areas: technical/security, network, economic and governance, proven ability to lead and manage complex technical discussions, to resolve technical conflicts, and ensure consensus
Advisory Group Chairs
Expert understanding of Cardano, expert knowledge of the relevant area: technical/security, network, economic or governance, ability to lead the advisory group, collect and distill technical discussions within the group, and represent the area in open discussion with other members of the parameter committee
Domain Experts
Strong engagement within and knowledge of the relevant domain (SPO, DApp, …), ability to represent the concerns of the domain in technical discussions of protocol parameters, and to follow and engage in technical discussions across different areas
Committee Composition
1 Chair
29 Members (Which consists of Contributing Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) and Communication roles)
1 Secretary
About our key committee members
| Name | Brief summary and experience |
|---|---|
Kevin Hammond | Kevin is Head of Engineering (Cardano Core) at IO Engineering. He has a background in (distributed) performance analysis, safety and security. He has led the Cardano Core Development team through 8 hard forks (from Shelley to Chang), and has a detailed knowledge of the Cardano node and its on-chain operation. |
Markus Gufler | Markus has 25 years of experience in ISP business, IT infrastructure, networking and monitoring. He has been and is active in many areas of the Cardano ecosystem, as a developer, facilitator, consultant and stake pool operator. In the Cardano Foundation, he helps to mediate between the technically oriented community and the various teams and projects in the Foundation. |
Alexander Moser | Alex is the Associate Head of Infrastructure at Cardano Foundation. Previously, he set up custodial and non-custodial security systems for banks across 19 different blockchains and led the institutionalization of staking as a financial instrument in Switzerland. His knowledge of and insights into various ecosystems eventually brought him to Cardano. |
Vijayanath Bhuvanagiri | Vijay is the CTO at EMURGO, he led the revamp of Yoroi wallet architecture. Vijay is currently leading the technical effort for launching USDA stable coin on Cardano blockchain. |
Neil Davies | Neil consults on system performance, networking and design-for-maintenance. He has a background in large scale distributed systems and systems deployed in adversarial settings. He has been advising Cardano since 2017 contributing to the networking, node architecture and deployment. |
Samuel Leathers | Sam is Head of Product for IO Engineering. He has been involved in Cardano since the Byron days and led the way through multiple hard forks wearing many hats. He now works directly with the development teams on prioritizing features going into cardano-node. While not having an economic background, he has lots of experience with the economic parameters of Cardano and the contention between them from working with pools since the Shelley era. |
Adam Rusch | Adam is a Teaching Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), where he instructs courses on information systems and delves into the social impact of IT. His PhD work, coupled with over ten years of experience, guides his research in blockchain and decentralized governance. He has played a pivotal role in establishing the ADAO on the Cardano blockchain and in developing the Summon Platform for DAO management. He is committed to clarifying decentralized technology and its implications for society and organizations. |
Committee Process & Flow
How to join?
As this is a highly technical subcommittee, members can only join at the invitation of current members.
Anybody can submit Parameter Change Proposals (PCP) on the Cardano Forum to request a technical recommendation from the committee.
Committee members participate in monthly SPO Calls to provide updates and answer questions from the SPO community.
Extra info or links
Parameter Committee updates on Cardano Forum can be found here
Parameter Committee parameter change proposals on Cardano Forum can be found here
The Parameters Committee is a mature and highly effective group that plays a crucial role in the Cardano ecosystem. It is a subcommittee of the Technical Steering Committee. At this time, subcommittees and working groups are not subject to formal elections. However, they are to be held accountable by their elected steering committees and ultimately the Intersect membership. Wherever practically possible, they should provide opportunities for all to participate, and to align with what we hope are seen as fair and transparent democratic processes used by Intersect steering committees. As Intersect grows or should the capacity and purpose of subcommittees and working groups change, at the request of the membership, this decision may be reviewed in the future. The members of the Parameters Committee are vetted individuals who meet specific criteria and possess the necessary technical expertise for effective decision-making. This structure ensures that the committee operates efficiently and makes informed decisions for the Cardano ecosystem.
To find out more details about this committee view the committee space
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