Welcome to Intersect’s Development Update #77. Wow, what a week it has been here at Intersect. The first on-chain vendor smart contracts were signed, and the first milestone payment was successfully withdrawn. Candidate registration for the Intersect Board elections, and the governance action to transition from the Interim to the community-approved Constitutional Committee has passed the voting threshold. We’re also launching new working groups, rolling out the Intersect Incubation Program, and spotlighting INKUBA, one of our Enterprise Members.



The first on-chain vendor smart contracts have been signed, and the first vendor milestones have been successfully withdrawn! This is not just a win for Cardano, but for the entire ecosystem — a testament to the collective effort of hundreds of contributors. Thank you all for making this a reality.

Onboarding vendors to our administration is an ongoing process. All successful vendors where Intersect is the chosen administrator are completing KYB/KYC checks and signing traditional contracts. These steps meet constitutional requirements, ensure dispute resolution, and protect treasury funds. Work began in April to reduce delays, and 23 contracts are now signed. Extracts from their statements of work will be added to the knowledge base.

In parallel, Intersect is processing the associated smart contracts, which hold delivery schedules, milestones, and payments on-chain. While some early challenges with process and tooling arose, the contracts are secure and working as intended.

We are deploying smart contracts daily, prioritizing vendors with early milestones or specific needs. Once confirmed, each vendor contract is signed by the vendor, Intersect, and our Oversight Committee within a 36-hour window.

Our priority is to keep smart contracts moving and milestone payments flowing — though, as with any coordinated effort, there are dependencies beyond our control. For more on how this process works on-chain, read our latest blog: https://bit.ly/IntersectOnChain.

Intersect Board Election - candidate registration - your chance to stand for election!

From September 1 to 12, members can put themselves forward as candidates for the Intersect Board of Directors. This year brings something inspiring: the number of member-held seats doubles from two to four, giving our community unprecedented influence in shaping Intersect’s future.

Serving on the Board means helping to set Intersect’s strategic direction, ensuring accountability, and representing the Cardano community at the highest level of governance. Whether you’re a developer, entrepreneur, academic, or community builder, this is your chance to step forward and make an impact.

• Watch our new Meet the Board video for a closer look at what the Board does: https://youtu.be/sDsb7ldHDrE.
• Next week we’re hosting an XSpace focus on Board elections. Don’t miss it! Here’s the link https://luma.com/calendar/cal-l9w1wCbieHImxAa 
• Learn more about eligibility and how to apply in our blog: https://bit.ly/IntelectBoard.
• Or go straight to the application process in the Knowledge Base: Board Application Form.

Key dates:

• Applications open: September 1, noon UTC
• Applications close: September 12, noon UTC
• Voting: September 15–26
• Results announced: September 30

Don’t wait for someone else to represent your vision for Cardano. Step up, apply, and help lead Intersect into the future!

The governance action to transition from the Interim Constitutional Committee to a fully community-approved Constitutional Committee has passed the voting threshold and is now on track for enactment. An unexpected issue caused a brief delay, but it proved to be a valuable learning experience.

Note: Committee actions require support from 67% of the DRep stake and 51% of the SPO stake.

Voting results

Here are the most recent numbers from the node:

• Epoch 578
  • DRep: 69.21%
  • SPO: 38.77%

• Epoch 579

• DRep: 78.19%

• SPO: 53.71%

This indicates that the proposal officially met all voting ratification thresholds before the start of epoch 579.

The surprise at epoch 578/579

Typically, once a proposal hits the required support and crosses an epoch boundary, it is formally ratified (confirmed). After votes were tallied at epoch 578, many expected the action to be ratified at the 578/579 boundary, but it wasn't!

This unexpected delay triggered an investigation by both Intersect and IOG staff to figure out what was happening behind the scenes.

What we learned

The issue stemmed from the maximum allowed term length for Constitutional Committee (CC) members, which is currently set to 146 epochs (determined by the committeeMaxTermLength parameter).

At the time, this limit meant that no committee member could have a term lasting beyond epoch 725. The new proposal, however, included members with terms ending in epoch 726, just one epoch too far.

Because of this, the proposal couldn’t be ratified at 578/579 as expected. Instead, it moved one epoch later:

• Ratification will happen at the 579/580 boundary (September 1)
  
  
• Enactment (when it actually takes effect) will happen at the 580/581 boundary (September 6).

Once we reach epochs 580/581, epoch 726 falls within the allowed range, so the proposal will finally be approved.

Making things clearer

This case showed us that it’s not always obvious why a governance action occurs, or doesn’t occur, at a particular time. To address this, the node will be updated with a new query command that allows users to see exactly how it calculates ratification and enactment. This will make the process much more transparent.

This change will require some refactoring work so it won’t be available immediately.

Setting a standard

There are also plans to draft a Cardano Improvement Proposal (CIP) to standardize these calculations across the ecosystem. That way, dashboards, reporting tools, and other community projects will all be able to show governance timelines clearly and consistently.

Working groups thrive on diverse perspectives.
If you’re wondering how your skills and experience can contribute to Cardano, this may be an opportunity to make a valuable impact.

We invite community members to apply to join two of Intersect’s new governance-focused working groups, established under the remit of the Civics Committee.

These groups are open to individuals from across the ecosystem to bring their experience. You could be a long-standing contributor or entirely new to Cardano, but eager to make a difference. Either can help shape the future of decentralized governance.

Governance Health Working Group: This group explores how we measure, understand, and improve the health of Cardano’s governance system. Members will help identify key indicators of success, challenges to participation, and ways to build trust, resilience, and transparency across the ecosystem. Apply here

Governance Education Working Group: This group focuses on making governance accessible and understandable to all. Members will review and propose educational materials, resources, and initiatives that support DReps, SPOs, and community members in navigating governance processes with clarity and confidence. Apply here

You can also reach out to us on X @IntersectCIVICS for more information. 

Announcing the Intersect Incubation Program

After more than a year of policy development and six months of trials, the Intersect Incubation Program is now live. The program supports projects within the Cardano ecosystem, guiding open-source hygiene, governance alignment, and community sustainability planning. Projects can benefit from mentorship, peer review, and greater ecosystem visibility. Learn more and apply here.

Open Source podcast — episode 7
The latest episode features Christian Grobmeier (VP of Data Privacy at the Apache Software Foundation), exploring open-source sustainability. Topics include the ASF’s approach to scale, lessons from the Log4j incident, ethics of AI, and data privacy challenges. Listen here: Open Source Cowboy Podcast — Episode 7 with Christian Grobmeier.

Enterprise Forum - Web3 in Focus
Mark your calendars — session three of our Enterprise Forum: Web3 in Focus takes place on September 24th.Following the success of Session 1 and Session 2, this discussion will bring together leading enterprises to explore real-world adoption pathways for Web3. The focus will be on transitioning from architecture to execution, addressing infrastructure, compliance, and user experience challenges that enterprises encounter when building at scale.

Stay tuned for the announcement of panelists and session details. This will be another opportunity to hear directly from Intersect’s Enterprise Members on how they are shaping the future of decentralized systems. Don’t miss it — join us on September 24th!

Have you renewed your membership yet?
Members may notice a renewal prompt in their Membership Area. This is a reminder to renew your Intersect membership and continue being part of Cardano’s journey.

By renewing, you’ll maintain access to:

• Voting rights — Influence Board Elections and governance decisions.
• Enterprise & Community forums — Dedicated spaces to showcase your voice and work.
• Exclusive benefits — Partner discounts, legal consults, Keystone wallets, and early access to new initiatives.
• Committees and working groups — Take part in shaping strategy and decision-making.
• Visibility and recognition — Opportunities for spotlights in reports and events.

Renewing ensures your voice remains active in shaping the future of Cardano.

Temporary Issue with ADA Payments
We are currently experiencing a temporary issue with ADA payments for memberships in the Member’s Area. Our provider, Anvil, is actively working with us to resolve this as quickly as possible.

In the meantime, all other payment options remain available, and your ability to access membership benefits is unaffected. We’ll provide an update as soon as ADA payments are fully restored. We appreciate your patience while this issue is being resolved.

Missed the August Town Hall?

No worries — you can catch the full recording here: Watch on YouTube. If you’d like to know what we spoke about in the July Town Hall, you can watch it here: Watch on YouTube.

Enterprise membership spotlight: INKUBA

INKUBA, one of Intersect’s valued Enterprise Members, is making a substantial impact in Bobo Dioulasso, Burkina Faso. Accredited by the Institute of Commercial Management (ICM) in London, INKUBA focuses on empowering African talent through English-language training, professional skill development, and career advancement programs.

Their work goes beyond classrooms — by equipping learners with globally recognized qualifications and practical skills, INKUBA is helping open doors to international opportunities while strengthening local communities.

As an Enterprise Member, INKUBA exemplifies the spirit of education, inclusion, and capacity-building that Intersect seeks to foster across the Cardano ecosystem and beyond. We’re proud to spotlight their contribution and look forward to continued collaboration.

The governance action search has been improved, addressing inconsistencies and preparing for a comprehensive overhaul of the browsing experience. The current category pages and carousel navigation will be replaced with a streamlined, filter-driven interface, similar to the Outcomes pillar, making it easier to find proposals, votes, and treasury actions.

DRep directory updates
Usability improvements are in QA testing. Search now supports CIP-105 and CIP-129 queries, while pagination logic has been refined to remove randomized listings. These updates enhance stability and predictability, enabling users to easily discover and select specific DReps.

Governance Tools WG progress
The Governance Tools Working Group has initiated discussions on the off-chain roadmap, following the approval of the GovTool Info Action and prior to submitting the Treasury Withdrawal. The first deep dive focused on expanding GovTool’s open APIs. The debate, supported by this Miro board summary, identified key gaps and set the direction for enabling wallets and community platforms to build governance features independently of the GovTool UI. This work will help lower barriers and encourage diverse, inclusive governance experiences across the Cardano ecosystem - Join the discussion on GovTool.
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That’s it for this week’s update. Thank you for reading. To learn more about Intersect’s work, explore our Knowledge Base, which provides detailed information on governance structures, committees, and funding. Additionally, visit the Intersect website for the latest news, updates, and roadmap information.

Join the conversation on Discord, and follow us on Twitter (X) and LinkedIn to engage with fellow members, working groups, and the broader community.

Your voice helps shape the future of Cardano governance.