Welcome to Intersect’s update #109

With April drawing to a close, we round it up with our updates. This last week has seen the Intersect facilitation of the ongoing Budget 2026 process, the close of Intersect Committee elections 2026, and preparation for the upcoming Constitutional Committee election process in May is up next.

As progress continues towards the van Rossem hard fork, Intersect has continued to fulfil its position of technical stewardship and coordination. The hard fork working group has increased cadence to twice-weekly meetings as the phased rollout across Preview, PreProd and Mainnet gathers pace.

Contributors: Bosko M, Kevin H, Hard Fork Working Group, Parameter Committee, Intersect Technical Steering Committee  

Cardano Upgrades 

Readiness is converging across nodes, infrastructure, and ecosystem as the program moves into the final integration phase ahead of the planned hard fork. The working group has reached agreement on execution strategy, while continuing to close tooling gaps and confirm operational readiness.

Node v10.7.1: Released as of April 20, including a fix for the previously observed performance regression related to heap size. SPOs are encouraged to update.

Node v11.0: Testnet fix is complete, and the node is now in a stable holding pattern pending the working group’s signal for the final release push. It is expected to be released soon.

DB-Sync: Version 13.7.0.4 is released and it resolves issues with static binaries and is a critical blocker for testnet upgrades.

Indicative dates: The group has formally adopted “Plan A,” targeting May 29, 2026, for Mainnet hard fork submission. Preview is planned to fork next week, followed by PreProd approximately two weeks later, allowing sufficient soak time before Mainnet enactment. Hard fork initiation governance action is expected to be submitted to Preview on May 5, and on PreProd on May 12.

Plutus cost models: Issues observed on Preview were traced to tooling (eg, Lucid and Evolution SDK) relying on hardcoded parameters, with fixes already in progress via submitted PRs. Protocol v11 introduces a key “self-healing” capability by returning expected cost models during predicate failures, enabling DApps to dynamically adapt.

Operational changes: The working group has moved to a twice-weekly meeting cadence (Tuesdays and Thursdays) to maintain delivery momentum, and the Hard Fork Discord channel is now publicly viewable in read-only mode via invite link, improving transparency and external visibility.

Ecosystem readiness is being updated on a daily basis, and you can track it here . There's also the van Rossem Upgrade Update slide deck where you can get familiar with current status, timeline, checklist, what's included in the van Rossem upgrade and why it matters.

Contributors: Civics committee, Thomas L, Ian H, Intersect, 

Constitutional Committee elections 

The scheduled start for the upcoming Constitutional Committee (CC) election process (facilitated by Intersect) will open one week later than previously communicated, on May 8 2026. This change has two benefits; it creates breathing room between the CC election process and the Intersect Committee election process (completed, May 1 2026) and also allows uninterrupted focus on budget proposal submissions taking place on the Hydra-voting platform which close May 8 2026.

In the meantime, you can find more information on the CC Election 2026 overview page.

Civics Committee updates

This week we take a closer look at the Constitutional Amendment Process (CAP) Working Group

How does a global community change its own foundation without breaking it? When the first Cardano Constitution was ratified, it established our rights, but did not yet provide the roadmap for how to evolve them. After six months of intensive collaboration, the CAP Working Group has unveiled its blueprint for Cardano’s Constitutional Amendment Process.

This article provides a plain English look at the journey from a blank page to a tool ready for public testing. It explores the "Front Door" philosophy, which is the decision to use GitHub as a transparent backbone while building a simple, guided website so that any single community member can participate regardless of technical skill.

The breakdown covers the essential pillars of the new process including the nine core principles that ensure resilience and legitimacy are baked into the requirements from day zero. You can also learn about the distinction between Constitutional Amendment Proposals and Constitution Issue Statements, which allows the community to either propose specific changes or simply flag problems that need solving.

The article also explores the role of the CAP Editors. Editors would act as process guardians rather than content gatekeepers, ensuring every proposal is clear and consistent while the author retains full ownership of the ideas. Finally, the piece introduces an Amendment Wizard, a new portal designed to walk users through the drafting and consultation phases step by step.

This community built framework is being designed collaboratively to ensure the evolution of Cardano remains transparent, evidence-based, and open to all.

Recently closed governance actions 

1. Pebble + Gerolamo - HLabs 2026 Budget

Type: Treasury Withdrawal 💰 Expired: 29th Apr 2026 (Epoch 628) 

Progress Report:

• CC votes: 6 🟢 | 1 🔴 | 0 ⚪️
• DRep votes: 66.78% / 67%

Status: Expired | Vote Result

Live governance actions* 

*data from 2026-05-01 at 1000 UTC

Budget Process

The 2026 Budget Process is now live and actively underway. An important reminder for this week is that the submission window remains open until May 8, after this date no new proposals can be submitted but - there will be time until May 22 for submitted proposals to gather feedback and be edited before the voting phase begins on May 26.

The end-to-end budget tool supports the full process in one place, from submission and feedback through to voting - enabling a more structured and transparent experience for all participants. DReps are encouraged to continue engaging by reviewing proposals and providing feedback, as this is the phase where proposals are shaped and improved ahead of voting.

If you’re planning to submit a proposal, there is still time to participate. We recommend reviewing the process overview, timeline, guides, and FAQs in the Knowledge Base, and preparing to engage with feedback once your proposal is live.

Intersect Administration Services

Intersect recently unveiled the new Administration Services Hub. This is a new dedicated section of the Knowledge Base, utilizing the feature set provided by GitBook to create a more intuitive, interactive and engaging experience. Covering themes such as Services, Guides, Public Reporting, Resources and Governance.

We would like to highlight the publication of the Mid Year Report, which provides a consolidated overview of treasury-funded vendor projects administered by Intersect between August 2025 and March 2026.

Intersect's Administration service is run by our Operational Services team, combining experience in Project Management, Finance, Technical, IT, Procurement and Commercial.

Serving as an administrator in Cardano's funding process, Intersect helps turn community-approved projects into reality by handling the behind-the-scenes work; due-diligence, contracting, checking credentials, setting up contracts, and ensuring funds are spent in line with the contract.

Contributors: Larisa McF, Intersect

Across our ecosystem, there was less focus on announcements and more on understanding this week, and energy in creating space for people to engage with what’s happening, ask questions, verify information and form their own view.

As well as the monthly members' meet, and Virtual Hub get togethers, Intersect hosted two X Spaces. The first space of the week was a platform to candidates standing in recent Intersect Committee elections and offered a chance for anyone to hear directly from those stepping forward to contribute, put voices and stories to the names on forms and enable us to better understand the range of experience and perspectives across the community. Thank you to everyone who applied, regardless of outcome - standing for election is a signal of willingness to participate in the long-term work of governance.

On May 1, a second X Space was held with Intersect Executive Director Jack Briggs covering the Intersect role in the ecosystem and the Intersect 2026 budget proposal. Listen back here. The discussion was complex: slowing down the conversation around our proposal and rather than presenting conclusions, we talked through the structure, what sits behind it and where questions or concerns are valid. The discussion touched on useful tension around how a single number can obscure a broad set of functions across coordination, technical stewardship, and operational delivery.

Of course, ecosystem activity continues in more than just social media channels. At the Tech For Impact Summit in Tokyo, Intersect participated as a sponsor, with Jack Briggs and Fred Tanaka representing the organisation alongside a wide range of global partners. The event brought investors, builders, and organisations together to debate how technology can be applied to real-world challenges.

A keynote from Charles Hoskinson set a reflective tone, reframing blockchain from rapid disruption, to long-term infrastructure that requires patience, responsibility, and a willingness to design systems that outlast their creators. It’s a perspective that does align with what we see across Cardano more broadly: progress that may appear gradual, frustrating even, but is intentionally building toward resilience at scale.

 

Monthly Member Meeting

Our April Monthly Member Meeting took place on April 30. We showcased a rebranded format to convey the purpose of each segment in a clearer way. The first hour, previously “Town Hall” is now called “Intersect Insights”, to provide a chance for members to tune in and hear updates from Intersect staff and members. The second hour (previously “Town Square” now rebranded as “Intersect Connect”), moved to the Intersect Virtual Hub where members had a chance to connect and network with Intersect staff and fellow members. With the Intersect Committee elections coming to an end this week, candidates were able to take this opportunity to campaign and answer questions from their peers in the Virtual Hub.

Intersect’s 2026 Budget Roundtable - Tech 4 Impact Tokyo 

In partnership with enterprise member Socious, and as part of the broader Tech 4 Impact Summit program, Executive Director, Jack Briggs, and Fred Tanaka, hosted a roundtable focussed on the 2026 budget process - opening the floor for attendees to share feedback on what's working, what isn’t, and what would make Cardano governance participation easier. Facilitated both in Japanese and English we extend our thanks to the local community for their enthusiasm and participation in this fantastic event. 

Intersect Committee elections 2026

Intersect Committee elections voting closed May 1 2026 at 1200 UTC. Data will now undergo an audit over the coming days before results are announced. A reminder that you can find all the relevant Committee X accounts here:

Budget, Civics, Growth & Marketing, Membership & Community, Open Source, Product, Technical Steering

What’s on next week? Get ready for:

Constitutional Committee elections 2026 - Regular CC Election Process AMA sessions scheduled every Tuesday throughout the upcoming CC elections. Times alternate weekly to accommodate different time zones. These sessions are open for anyone with questions about the role or needs help with technical resources. Subscribe to the Luma Calendar

Intersect Virtual Hub - Reminder the Intersect Virtual Hub is open 24/7 for members to use and organise their own meetings and events. If you would like to utilise the screen sharing features for presentations, an Intersect staff moderator can assist.
How to join the Virtual Hub guide on X - get in touch though support@intersectmbo.org if you need any help.

van Rossem hard fork - Now that progress towards the hard fork is in full swing, the Hard Fork Working Group meets every Tuesday and Thursday. Subscribe to the Luma calendar

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.

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.