Overview
Intersect Governance Documentation is the official knowledge base resource that explains how Intersect is run. Intersect is the member-based organization that coordinates much of Cardano's development, treasury work, and ecosystem support. The documentation lives on GitBook and walks readers through how Intersect's own board is structured, how members vote on board and committee elections, and how proposals from members move through the organization toward action1.
Intersect was incorporated in Wyoming as a mutual benefit nonprofit in 2023 and runs on a one-member-one-vote model2. It is the sole administrator of Cardano Development Holdings, which handles the legal agreements and on-chain payments for proposals the community approves. This governance documentation is the canonical reference for understanding those structures and how members can take part.
Intersect Governance Documentation is a reference, not a tutorial. It is written for people who want to know how decisions actually get made inside Intersect, whether they are existing members, prospective members, or anyone curious about how Cardano's community governance is organized.
Key Features
- Board composition and elections. Documents the seven-person governing board, including the four seats elected by the membership every year1.
- Committee structure. Covers the eight standing committees, including Technical Steering, Budget, Civics, and Open Source. Half of each committee is up for election every six months3.
- How decisions get made. Explains the path a member proposal takes from idea, through a working group, into a committee, and finally to the Board for action, with escalation rules based on the size of the change4.
- Working groups. Describes how any member can start a working group for hands-on collaboration, and how a successful working group can grow into a formal committee2.
- Professional staff. Outlines the interim leadership and operational team that carries out Board decisions and supports the committees5.
What to Expect
Intersect Governance Documentation sits inside the broader Intersect Knowledge Base, which also covers membership info, governance services, budget processes, and committee-specific documentation across several related sites. The governance section itself is short and focused on reference material, like board structure, election history, and organizational charts.
Navigation follows the standard GitBook layout, with a persistent sidebar linking related pages. Committee-specific documentation lives on its own dedicated subdomains, such as board.docs, committees.docs, and budgetcommittee.docs, each maintained by the relevant committee. So if you want to dig into what a specific committee is doing, you will need to navigate over to its own site rather than staying in the main Knowledge Base.
Readers looking for Cardano's on-chain governance, the votes that happen on the actual blockchain, should note that this resource is about Intersect's internal organization rather than the protocol's voting system. Related pages within the Knowledge Base address Cardano-level governance separately.
The documentation is actively maintained as the organization changes over time. Board meeting minutes are published on a dedicated subdomain, and the membership portal at members.intersectmbo.org is where new members sign up. People who want to get involved can read about the committees, learn how proposals get reviewed, and find direct contact details for the Board.
