September 22, ISC Meeting
Agenda:
Committees Update
ISC Actions/Update from last week
ISC Committee Elections criteria to join and questions
AMM/ISC member survey
AOB & Meeting Close
Attendees:
Name
Attendance
Role
Voting Seat (Y/N)
Jack Briggs
Yes
Interim Executive Director
Y
Nick Cook
No
Director - Operations (Interim)
Y
YUTA
Yes
Community Member Seat
Y
Phil Lewis
Yes
Community Member Seat
Y
Sheldon Hunt
Yes
Community Member Seat
Y
Fred Tanaka
Yes
Community Member Seat
Y
Elaine Cardenas
Yes
OSC Chair
Y
Samuel Leathers
Yes
Product Chair
Y
Darlington Welsh
Yes
MCC Chair
Y
Kristijan Kowalsky
Yes
CBC Chair
Y
Kevin Hammond
No
TSC Chair
Y
Wes Parkison
Yes
GMC Chair
Y
Nicolas Cerny
Yes
CCC Chair
Y
Christian Taylor
Yes
Head of OSO
N
Lorenzo Bruno
No
Head of Product
N
Matt Davis
No
Head of Tech Operation
N
Tim Richmond
No
Head of Comms
N
Duncan Soutar
No
Secretary of TSC
N
Lloyd Duhon
Yes
Secretary of Budget Committee
N
Larisa Mcfarlane
Yes
Secretary of CCC
N
Terence McCutcheon
Yes
Secretary of OSC
N
Additional Attendees:
Adam Dean - Vice Chair of TSC
Thiago Nunes - Observer
Discussion/Action:
1. Committee Updates
Product Committee The committee is progressing with regional workshops (Osaka, Tokyo, Singapore, Barcelona) and surveys, including outreach to the Japanese community. Data suggests a growing consensus around Cardano’s vision and strategy. A revised draft, with more accessible language, is expected by early November for on-chain voting.
Open Source Committee (OSC) Developer contracts are being finalized, and the maintainer retainer program is advancing, with interview questions prepared. The next step is to begin matching maintainers with projects that applied.
Civics Committee A new Constitutional Amendments Working Group has been created to facilitate—not decide—proposals on constitutional change. The scope of the optional DRep compensation grant has been widened to cover not only wallets but also dApps and SDK providers.
Budget Committee A draft budget framework was presented, stressing inclusivity and transparency. The goal is to launch the 2026 budget process in February, with voting in March and payouts by April/May (to avoid long funding gaps). Multi-year budgets are under consideration for certain proposals. The draft will be translated into Japanese for upcoming community events.
Technical Steering Committee (TSC) Work continues on hiring a security incident manager (in collaboration with the OSC) and re-establishing the Hard Fork Working Group as a standing body. The TSC is exploring fixed April/October windows for future hard forks to align ecosystem updates and support intra-era upgrades.
Growth & Marketing Committee (GMC) Preparations for Token 2049 are ahead of expectations, with over 1,400 sign-ups (well above the 900 KPI). More than 20 projects will showcase at side events. Positive sentiment from VCs highlights potential for Cardano-focused venture funds, complementing treasury and Catalyst mechanisms.
2. Updates From Last Week
The committee reward policy, which was approved by ISC last week, is currently under legal review. If changes are required, a revised version will be re-shared with ISC. If no major changes are needed, the policy will stand as approved and can move forward to implementation.
3. Committee Elections (October)
Criteria and updated candidate questions have been drafted and circulated. Slides for election decks are being compiled, with small edits suggested (e.g., using “member sentiment” instead of “community sentiment”). Final reviews are still required from the Product, GMC, and MCC committees. ISC slides are finalized, and ISC members gave a thumbs up to the final version.
4. ISC Survey
The final draft of the ISC Survey was shared for review. Launch is scheduled for the end of September, with the survey open for six weeks and results to be published at the November AMM. The survey includes tailored sections for different membership categories and questions covering both past and future experiences. A target of 150+ responses has been set, with GMC assisting on promotion and communications.
5. Other Business
A demonstration was provided of the smart contract–based treasury disbursement dashboard, which shows milestone tracking, evidence submission, and contract status for funded projects. Remaining contracts are undergoing legal review.
Board elections have already reached quorum (10% of active members) with four days left. Members agreed on the need for neutral, unified communications encouraging broader participation, to be coordinated through committee secretaries and official channels.
6. Next Steps & Actions
AMM/ISC Survey: Finalize the survey this week and publish it.
Rewards Policy: Await legal review. If changes are required, a revised version will be re-shared with ISC. If no major changes, the policy will stand as approved and move to implementation.
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