20th Nov 24
Intros:
Kevin Hammond: TSC Voting Member - Chair of TSC - IOE
Neil Davies: TSC Voting Member - PN Solutions
Johnny Kelly: TSC Voting Member - IOE
Adam Dean: TSC Voting member
Markus Gufler: TSC Voting member - Cardano Foundation
Nicholas Clark: TSC Voting Member - Tweag/Modus
Ben Hart: TSC Voting member - MLabs
Duncan Soutar: Secretary of TSC - Intersect
Matt Davies - Head of Technical Operations - Intersect
Hwang Hongket - Secretary of Core Infrastructure Roadmap - Intersect
Lewis Mayne - Secretary of Hard Fork Working Group - Intersect
Ricky Rand - General Manager - IOE
Duncan Coutts - WellTyped
Christian Taylor: Head of Open Source Office, Intersect Staff
Tex McCutcheon: Open Source Program Manager, Intersect Staff, Open Source Committee Secretary
Agenda:
New proposal submission pages - Duncan
Showcasing input form and process guidance for adding new proposals for consideration to roadmap
Presentation of budget process to the community - Duncan/Matt
Well received in meeting on Tuesday - 1 more session booked
Youtube of session to be made available - https://www.youtube.com/@IntersectCBC/videos
Comms going our to build engagement
Budget Process & Guidance - Lawrence
Overall process walkthrough - key deliverables and time scales
Discuss cashflow scenarios
Total budget request
Average Day Rate
Estimated starting dates
“Must Have” Review
Confirming Scope of essential maintenance items - Adam/Neil
Vote on confirming “essential” scope
Concerns over utilization from Ricky
Update on Hard Fork - TBC
Feedback
Minutes:
Discussion Point
Notes
Actions: Responsible / Note
Introduction and Prioritization
Discussion on whether to address incoming requests responsively or batch them. Preference for quarterly reviews to align with budget planning and encourage timely submissions.
Determine batching frequency for request processing, considering quarterly review model.
Budget and Submissions
Challenges with handling small vs. large projects within the budget. Consensus on maintaining responsiveness while avoiding bureaucratic delays.
Establish thresholds for small project approvals and clarify processes for batching larger projects.
Quarterly Reviews
Proposal for quarterly updates to justify budget allocation without requiring formal re-votes. Concerns about administrative burdens and avoiding unnecessary delays.
Finalize the quarterly review framework and communicate expectations to committees and stakeholders.
Risk of Delays and Attrition
Discussion about maintaining job security for contractors and the risks of losing talent if funding processes are overly uncertain.
Explore mechanisms to ensure stable contracts and funding, e.g., maintaining six-month funding reserves.
Treasury Management
Addressing concerns over ADA-to-fiat conversions and centralized control of funds. Debate on holding funds in ADA to align with treasury management goals.
Collaborate with treasury management teams to optimize ADA holdings and ensure transparency.
Constitution and Budget Approval
Concerns over delays in ratifying the constitution and their impact on budget approvals. Contingency plans include leveraging existing funds and manual approval processes.
Continue discussions with DREPs on interim budget approval methods and ratification timelines.
Tendering and RFP Process
Need for clear tendering processes to avoid conflict of interest or appearance of cartels. Discussions on ensuring fair and competitive procurement practices.
Develop and publish a transparent tendering process, including criteria for fair vendor selection.
Project Continuity
Identifying ongoing projects that require prioritization to avoid losing progress or team members.
Draft a prioritized list of in-progress projects to ensure continuity into 2025.
Supplier Contracts
Challenges with delayed supplier contracts and ensuring readiness for 2025 projects.
Initiate early contract negotiations with suppliers to ensure seamless transitions into the next fiscal year.
Hard Fork Timeline
Technical readiness for the hard fork discussed, with emphasis on the need for timely execution to mitigate risks.
Set a firm hard fork date and communicate milestones to relevant teams and stakeholders.
Financial Reporting
Emphasis on transparency in financial reporting, leveraging tools like Zodia for tracking fund usage and ensuring accountability.
Implement enhanced financial reporting mechanisms, including wallet tracking and KYC integration.
Catalyst vs. Core Funding
Addressing overlaps between Catalyst and core funding, ensuring distinct scopes and processes for proposals.
Perform cross-checks on Catalyst and core-funded projects to prevent duplication and ensure alignment.
Community Engagement
Importance of communicating funding processes and updates to the community to maintain trust and transparency.
Share updates via community channels, including project submission guidelines and timelines.
Coalition and Consortium Risks
Potential risks of perceived cartels within supplier coalitions discussed. Focus on maintaining fair and legal practices.
Monitor coalition structures to prevent legal and ethical issues and maintain competitive procurement practices.
Infrastructure Projects
Consensus on prioritizing critical infrastructure projects like Hydra, Mithril, and LSM to ensure smooth progress.
Begin discussions on prioritizing ongoing infrastructure projects and aligning resources.
Contingency Planning
Planning for alternative funding sources, including discussions with CF and potential treasury withdrawals.
Continue engaging stakeholders on alternative funding mechanisms and finalize contingency plans.
Supplier Day Rates
Discussion on realistic supplier day rates and cost negotiations to optimize budgets.
Benchmark day rates across suppliers and renegotiate where needed to align with budget constraints.
Ethics in Procurement
Emphasis on maintaining ethical standards in vendor selection to avoid conflicts of interest or perceptions of favoritism.
Establish ethics guidelines and oversight for procurement processes.
Hard Fork Dependencies
Discussion on dependencies between the hard fork and governance system activation, highlighting risks of delays.
Align hard fork and governance timelines to minimize impact on ecosystem stability.
Year-End Break
Confirmation of holiday schedule, with meetings paused during Christmas and New Year.
Plan for key updates before the holiday break and resume discussions in January.
Actions:
Batching Submissions:
Finalize the approach for batching project submissions, balancing responsiveness and efficiency (quarterly reviews suggested).
Set clear thresholds for small vs. large project approvals.
Quarterly Review Framework:
Develop a transparent quarterly review framework to justify budgets without re-voting each quarter.
Clarify the accountability and transparency mechanisms for quarterly reports.
Job Security and Funding Stability: Explore mechanisms to secure contracts for contractors, such as a six-month funding reserves
Address contractual uncertainties to avoid talent attrition.
Tendering and Procurement:
Publish a transparent RFP and tendering process.
Engage technical experts to evaluate tenders and avoid nepotism or cartel risks.
Ongoing Projects Prioritization:
Create a prioritized list of in-progress projects (e.g., Hydra, Mithril, LSM) to ensure continuity in 2025.
Supplier Contracts:
Begin early negotiations with suppliers to avoid delays in project starts for 2025.
Establish MSAs (Master Service Agreements) with key vendors.
Hard Fork Timeline:
Confirm and communicate a firm date for the hard fork to align ecosystem updates.
Emphasize urgency to reduce risks and improve governance system activation.
Catalyst and Core Funding Overlaps:
Perform cross-checks on Catalyst and core-funded projects to prevent duplication.
Clarify the distinction between submitting ideas for core funding vs. Catalyst funding.
Transparency and Community Engagement:
Publish updates on funding processes and invite community feedback through surveys and channels like GitHub.
Zodia Financial Tool:
Implement Zodia wallet tracking for transparency and KYC (Know Your Customer) integration.
Alternative Funding:
Continue contingency discussions with CF, IOG, and other stakeholders to ensure funding stability if treasury withdrawals are delayed.
Supplier Day Rate Review:
Benchmark supplier day rates and negotiate fair costs aligned with budget constraints.
Ethics and Fairness in Procurement:
Develop and implement ethics guidelines for procurement and tendering.
Governance Dependencies:
Address dependencies between the hard fork and governance system activation to minimize delays.
Year-End Scheduling:
Pause meetings over the Christmas and New Year period and ensure key updates are communicated before the break.
Decisions:
Quarterly Review:
Agreement on quarterly review of budgets to maintain transparency while avoiding unnecessary administrative burdens.
Treasury Withdrawal:
Mixed opinions on quarterly treasury withdrawals rather than a full year’s upfront allocation to address DREP concerns -may significantly impact delivery process
Prioritization of Projects:
Consensus to prioritize ongoing infrastructure projects (e.g., Hydra, Mithril, LSM) to prevent resource loss or delays.
Supplier Continuity:
Decision to prioritize MSAs for major suppliers to avoid delays and maintain readiness for 2025.
Tendering Approach:
Agreement to use an open and transparent tendering process with oversight to avoid conflict of interest or cartel risks.
Hard Fork Readiness:
Consensus that technical readiness has been achieved and that delaying further could increase risks.
Budget Process Post-Hard Fork:
Plan to align budget approvals with treasury withdrawal availability, targeting March as the earliest timeline.
Ethics in RFPs:
Decision to emphasize public procurement standards and ethical practices in contracting to maintain fairness.
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