May 2, 2025 Budget Comm Minutes
Last updated
Last updated
Name
Attendance
Role
Voting Seat (Y/N)
Lloyd Duhon
Yes
Budget Secretary
Dave Dionisio
Observer
Jack Briggs
Interim Executive Director, Intersect
Mercy
Voting Member, WADA
Gerard Moroney
Board Member, IOG Staff, Budget Task Force
Andreas Pletscher
Observer, COO of Cardano Foundation. (Temporary Voting member while Rita Mistry was on sabbatical.)
Kriss Baird
Voting Member, IOG, Catalyst
Marc Gorman
Program Manager Budget Task Force
Kristijan Kowalsky
Voting Member, Tweag
Adam Rusch
Intersect Board Member
Prof. Steven
Former Voting Member, Mentor, Chairman of Intersect Board.
Transcript:
Deep dive into contracting processes.
Discussed communication strategies for the upcoming info actions and planned future process improvements.
Focused on clarifying audit requirements for proposals and addressing the critical issue of proposal versioning between Ecclesia and Gov tool.
Topic
Discussion
Action Items
Audit Provisions and Proposals
The discussion focused on audit provisions for proposals, distinguishing between financial and technical audits. Financial audits are constitutionally required for ADA allocation. Technical audits are generally only required for specific protocol changes (mainnet deployment, parameter changes, hard fork initiation) and are not broadly mandated by the constitution.
Reconcile proposed audit recommendations with constitutional requirements and Intersect's website on delivery assurance. Get legal counsel to confirm constitutional requirements for audits.
Budget Committee Member Access
A concern was raised regarding a budget committee member's continued access to documents, given their stated intention to resign. Lloyd Duhon preferred to address this directly with the member present.
Dave Dionisio will raise the access concern directly with Jack Briggs.
Ecclesia vs. Gov Tool as Source of Truth
A major discussion point was the discrepancy between Ecclesia (snapshot on April 26th) and Gov tool (editable). The current plan was to use Gov tool as the authoritative source for the final info action, but this creates confusion and potential integrity issues as DREPs voted on Ecclesia.
Jack Briggs to remove reference to Gov tool as the final source in communications, focusing on Ecclesia as the voting platform. Proposals can be amended based on DREP feedback, but no increases from Ecclesia-approved amounts.
Proposal Edit Transparency
It was acknowledged that DREPs need an easy way to understand what changes have been made to proposals since the April 26th snapshot. Extracting this data from Gov tool is difficult but deemed "doable."
Publish a "diff" (colorized version of changes) for every proposal from April 26th to the current version for full transparency.
Community Communication Strategy (Info Action)
Jack Briggs presented a draft communication plan to clarify the process for proposal submission and the two-stage info action. Feedback suggested highlighting the two-stage process early and acknowledging the use of different tools with humility.
Jack Briggs to make edits to the communications: highlight two-stage process early, frame tool use as a test/opportunity, and remove specific reference to Gov tool as the final source.
Integrity of Proposal Edits
Concern that allowing edits in Gov tool after Ecclesia voting could undermine DREP trust. The current process relies on proposers' integrity not to make substantial changes post-vote.
Emphasize in communications that Ecclesia is an informal temperature check and the on-chain vote is the formal step, relying on proposer integrity for non-material changes.
Second Info Action Opportunity
A second signaling window is planned for mid-May, with a new snapshot from Gov tool, for proposals that didn't meet the 50% threshold in the first round.
Work out exact dates for the second signaling window and snapshot.
Technical Audits Inclusion in Proposals
Clarification that technical audits are not generally required unless a proposal involves a protocol change. Intersect will provide financial and chain analysis auditing, not code audits, due to unknown costs and limited constitutional mandate.
Proposers are not required to include technical audits unless their proposal mandates a protocol change.
Andreas Pletscher's Departure
Andreas Pletscher announced this was his last call in his committee role as he is honorably dismissed and Rita will replace him. He will continue to support as a DREP.
N/A (Acknowledge and thank Andreas).
Cardano Foundation Support
Andreas indicated that the Cardano Foundation's support for Intersect's proposal is conditional on adjustments, which may be addressed through the proposed change log mechanism.
Continue to clarify Intersect's proposal changes to gain Cardano Foundation support.
Back Office Administration & Contracting Process
Mark Gorman proposed hijacking the upcoming Wednesday session for a deep dive into the back office administration and contracting processes, as the team has many questions requiring feedback.
Wednesday's session will be dedicated to a deep dive into back office administration and contracting processes.
IO Leadership Support for Intersect
IO leadership has offered more support to Intersect. Adam Rusch suggested a statement/package from the board highlighting Intersect's operational reforms and that their request is for an allocation, not guaranteed disbursement, of funds.
Jack Briggs to discuss IO's board mandate changes with Dave Dionisio (IO's board seat on Intersect) to leverage their support in communications. Dave Dionisio to share his historical document on roles and responsibilities with Jack.