# Civics Meeting Minutes 5th Feb 2026

Feb 5, 2026 | Civics Committee

## Attendees: 

<table data-header-hidden><thead><tr><th width="177.1640625"></th><th></th><th width="115.0234375"></th><th width="96.44140625"></th><th></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Name</td><td>Attendance</td><td>Role</td><td>Voting</td><td>Election Term</td></tr><tr><td>Nicolas Cerny, </td><td>Apologies</td><td>Chair</td><td>Y</td><td>April 2026</td></tr><tr><td>Larisa Mcfarlane</td><td>Yes</td><td>Secretary</td><td>N</td><td>N/A</td></tr><tr><td>Thomas Lindseth</td><td>Apologies</td><td>Intersect</td><td>N</td><td>N/A</td></tr><tr><td>Ken-Erik O</td><td>Yes</td><td>Member</td><td>Y</td><td>April 2026</td></tr><tr><td>Nana Safo</td><td>Apologies</td><td>Member</td><td>Y</td><td>April 2026</td></tr><tr><td>Alex Seregin</td><td>Yes</td><td>Member</td><td>Y</td><td>April 2026</td></tr><tr><td>Randy</td><td>Yes</td><td>Member</td><td>Y</td><td>April 2026</td></tr><tr><td>Dzubang Mermoz</td><td>Part</td><td>Member</td><td>Y</td><td>April 2026</td></tr><tr><td>Ian Hartwell</td><td>Yes</td><td>Member</td><td>Y</td><td>October 2026</td></tr><tr><td>Megan Dyamond</td><td>Yes</td><td>Member</td><td>Y</td><td>October 2026</td></tr><tr><td>Musa Ridwan Itopa</td><td>Yes</td><td>Member</td><td>Y</td><td>October 2026</td></tr><tr><td>Simon Fleck</td><td>No</td><td>Member</td><td>Y</td><td>October 2026</td></tr></tbody></table>

Recording: [CIVICS Committee (Intersect) Meeting - 2026/02/05 12:59 GMT - Recording](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yvXEto4IVh2qPipuqUtR-Yr5WwF_uFHq/view?usp=sharing)

#### Meeting Agenda: CIVICS Committee&#x20;

1. Welcome, Chair Updates & Housekeeping
2. Committee Budget Framework  Update & Feedback
3. Committee & CC Elections – Timelines
4. Working Group Updates
5. Governance Action Awareness & Updates

#### Key Decisions Made

* Budget Framework Feedback: The committee decided to provide immediate feedback (within 24–48 hours) on the Intersect draft budget guidance to identify any unconstitutional issues or civics-specific suggestions.
* Establishment of Budget Working Group: A formal active workstream was established to develop the 2026–2027 Civics Committee budget.
* Delegate Inclusion: The committee decided to open the budget working group to Constitutional Convention delegates, encouraging them to participate in the planning process.
* Amendment Categorization: The CAP Working Group decided to resume the task of categorizing constitutional amendment types (e.g., grammatical vs. substantive) to better tailor review processes and community feedback loops.
* Nairobi Meeting Status: Due to the "Governance Day" in Nairobi, it was decided that next week’s session will be an informal, non-formal space as a quorum is unlikely.

#### Actions

<table data-header-hidden><thead><tr><th width="119.5703125"></th><th width="376.07421875"></th><th></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Owner</td><td>Task Description</td><td>Status/Deadline</td></tr><tr><td>All Members</td><td>Review the draft Intersect budget guidance document and submit comments via Discord.</td><td>ASAP (Today/Tomorrow)</td></tr><tr><td>LM</td><td>Establish the active budget workstream and organize meeting times/dates in the Discord channel.</td><td>Immediate</td></tr><tr><td>MI, MD, IH</td><td>Join the newly formed Budget Working Group as the primary volunteer members.</td><td>Confirmed</td></tr><tr><td>MD &#x26; CAP WG</td><td>Finalize the categorization list for amendment types and re-evaluate the review process based on these types.</td><td>Next WG Meeting</td></tr><tr><td>KØ</td><td>Prepare for and host the "informal space" next week in place of the regular formal meeting.</td><td>Feb 12, 2026</td></tr><tr><td>NS</td><td>Complete the analysis of the Google form survey for the Governance Education Working Group once returned.</td><td>Pending Return</td></tr><tr><td>LM</td><td>Space reschedule for a later date.</td><td>To be Scheduled</td></tr></tbody></table>

#### Notes

<table data-header-hidden><thead><tr><th width="138.7109375"></th><th width="302.078125"></th><th></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Topic</td><td>Discussion</td><td>Notes</td></tr><tr><td>Meeting Opening &#x26; Updates</td><td>KØ chaired the meeting with support from LM. Agenda included housekeeping, budget frameworks, CC election timelines, and governance actions. LM confirmed observer admission.</td><td>ISC update: Budget process has commenced; discussions on extending committee terms are underway.</td></tr><tr><td>Committee Budget Framework</td><td>LM introduced a draft guidance document for the upcoming budget season. Committees are advised to target budget requests below 1 million ADA.</td><td>Civics had no 2025 budget; the new process aims for consistency across all Intersect committees and alignment with Cardano goals.</td></tr><tr><td>Budget Constraints &#x26; Compliance</td><td>Discussion on exclusions from the budget: operating costs, member programs, travel, and direct delivery payments to maintain independence.</td><td>New constitutional requirements: Must declare funding from previous 24 months and include funds for third-party audits.</td></tr><tr><td>Budget Timeline</td><td>MI inquired about the schedule. Submissions are due by end of February. Treasury withdrawal is expected Aug/Sept. First payments anticipated late July.</td><td>Submission window: late March to mid-April. The current draft document remains subject to revision.</td></tr><tr><td>Budget Working Group</td><td>KØ called for volunteers to draft the 2026-2027 budget. MI, MD, and IH expressed interest. LM will facilitate the workstream via Discord.</td><td>Constitutional Convention delegates will be invited to participate in this working group to ensure broad representation.</td></tr><tr><td>Election Overlap Management</td><td>LM presented timelines for CC and committee elections. Off-chain CC voting and the treasury withdrawal action will occur as new civics members are seated.</td><td>Goal: Manage overlaps to prevent DREP "vote fatigue." Current members are encouraged to stand for re-election for continuity.</td></tr><tr><td>CAP Working Group Update</td><td>MD reported on the Constitutional Amendment Proposal (CAP) group. Reviewed forms for amendment submissions and feedback loops for authors.</td><td>Key Action: Resuming categorization of amendment types to tailor the specific review and community feedback processes.</td></tr><tr><td>Governance Education &#x26; Events</td><td>RR noted the Education WG is on hold pending survey analysis by NS.</td><td>Members (including LM) are attending a Governance Day in Nairobi next week for in-person community engagement.</td></tr><tr><td>Governance Actions Tracker</td><td>KØ reviewed actions via cv.io, including DeFi liquidity budget, hard fork naming, and protocol parameter changes (memory increase).</td><td>IH reported the protocol parameter DREP vote rose to 39% following votes from Eternal and CFD. High optimism for meeting thresholds.</td></tr><tr><td>Critical Action Status</td><td>Treasury withdrawal needs 67% DREP approval; currently low CC participation. The hard fork naming action has successfully reached its threshold.</td><td>The Net Chain Limit (NCL) proposal is identified as critical for the budget process. Voting trends show a one-week lag before DREP activity.</td></tr></tbody></table>

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