Intersect 2026 Goals

Intersect’s 2026 goals focus on the areas where the organization provides the most essential value to Cardano: coordinating critical governance processes, enabling member-led delivery, and acting as a transparent and reliable administrator of community funds.

These goals recognise the scale of what lies ahead, the many unknowns still emerging in Cardano’s decentralized governance model, and the need to pioneer solutions together with the community. They provide clear direction without assuming central authority, and they reflect Intersect’s commitment to service, transparency and predictable delivery as Cardano continues to mature.

1. Governance and technical coordination

Strengthening the processes, standards and technical coordination that enable Cardano to be effective and efficient as a decentralized ecosystem.

1.1 Budget, roadmap and vision cycles

• Through the Cardano Budget Committee coordinate the delivery of a fully standardised and clearly communicated 2026 budget cycle, and complete preparation for the 2027 budget

• Through the Cardano Product Committee coordinate the delivery of an refined 2030 long term strategy and refreshed 2027 tactical roadmap through open, committee-driven processes

• Administer Cardano budget info actions and Treasury withdrawals with transparent reporting, milestone verification and consistent delivery assurance

1.2 Critical upgrades, resilience and open source

• Through the Cardano Technical Steering Committee facilitate coordination for network-wide critical upgrades with predictable timelines and clear communication to SPOs, DReps, developers and members

• Collaborate closely with teams building different node implementations to increase alignment on upgrade pathways, development plans and long term maintainability

• Maintain a robust, well-tested incident response and disaster recovery process across testnets and mainnet

• Establish a stable contribution pipeline to core Cardano open source repos, improving documentation, review efficiency and onboarding

• Expand the open source office to help external projects building on Cardano adopt shared standards and integrate more easily

1.3 Governance standards and constitutional evolution

• Through the Cardano Civics Committee and connected working groups, support improvements to Cardano’s governance standards, including

  • Constitution amendment processes

  • Constitutional Committee election facilitation

  • Development of Cardano Problem Statements (CPS) or Improvement Proposals (CIPs)

• Maintain and publish a clear, living map of governance processes for transparency and onboarding

2. Membership experience and member-led delivery

Strengthening Intersect as an entry point to contributing to Cardano, and improving the structures that enable members to contribute easily, be recognized, and deliver value to the Cardano ecosystem.

2.1 Membership clarity and value

• Through the Membership and Community Committee deliver clearly differentiated membership offerings across individuals, enterprises, education, associates and key ecosystem actors Success looks like: New Academic and "Key stakeholder" tiers Enhanced Enterprise and Individual membership offer

• Launch a refreshed onboarding pathway so new members understand participation routes from day one. (At its core, members can surface challenges and problems, deliberate solutions with their peers, and propose changes to the broader Cardano community with sponsored Governance Actions.)

• Improve visibility of membership benefits, expectations and opportunities for contribution

2.2 Committees, working groups and elections

• Through the Intersect Steering Committee publish clear, consistent governance documentation covering committees, working groups. (Strengthen the pipeline from members → working groups → committees → board)

2.3 Member engagement and visibility

• Deliver a predictable cadence of member events, quarterly calls and open coordination sessions

• Through the Intersect Steering Committee establish a shared planning calendar for committees and working groups to align budget, roadmap and governance cycles

• Launch a publicly accessible Intersect roadmap showing active initiatives, responsible groups and timelines

• Introduce standardised guidance for working groups and committees to ensure consistency of documentation and delivery

3. Organisational excellence and delivery assurance

Ensuring Intersect remains lean, focused and capable of delivering on its responsibilities with absolute clarity.

3.1 Administration Services

• Strengthen the administration function to become a reliable, professional, self sustaining business function

• Provide transparent reporting and consistent milestone verification supported by on-chain reporting

• Provide immutable, objective record of delivery outputs from treasury funds. Building trust in administration, and vendor competencies and capability

• Improve support for vendors and funded teams through clearer templates, guidance and communication

• Efficient, procurement service which safeguards Intersect, the community and treasury funds, whilst fostering innovation.

3.2 Internal rhythm and ways of working

• Strengthen internal decision making, compliance and operational systems to support predictable delivery.

• Finalise a lightweight internal rhythm for planning, retrospectives and decision making. Having capacity to react to shifting landscapes and ecosystem needs.

• Reinforce an internal culture which reflects Intersect's principles anchored around integrity, collaborative ownership, purposeful delivery and an ecosystem-first approach.

3.3 Organisational sustainability

• Build upon a high-trust People & Culture vertical that provides clarity, cohesion, compliance and capability building across all departments, aligned to the Intersect's vision.

• Maintain a clear funding runway aligned with the 2026 budget request

• Keep Intersect lean effective and focused on its essential functions: member services, technical coordination and treasury administration

Summary: 2026 in one sentence

Intersect becomes a simpler, clearer and more effective coordination layer for Cardano, with stronger processes, empowered members and a reliable delivery assurance function.