Cardano GovTool Budget - 12 months full active maintenance and development
7 of 7 committee members voted
- Cardano Atlantic Council07e0eb70…5bdeYesResigned · term ends epoch 580Rationale
We find this governance action, as proposed, to be constitutional.
The proposal titled "Cardano GovTool Budget - 12 months full active maintenance and development" is constitutional. Per our constitutionality review, all relevant articles, guardrails, and other requirements of constitutionality were met.
- Cardano Foundation6796d87d…c280YesExpired · term ends epoch 580Rationale
The proposed Info Governance Action “Cardano GovTool Budget - 12 months full active maintenance and development” is constitutional.
A PDF version of this rationale is also made available.
This Info Governance Action (`gov_action1n5s...xwm88m`) proposes a budget of 1,150,000 ada to fund the maintenance and development of the GovTool platform (https://gov.tools/) for a period of 12 months.
Constitutional Alignment
This proposal aligns with the constitutional framework:
- Article IV, Section 1 (Budget Purpose & Period): This section states that one or more budgets may be proposed for the "ongoing operation, maintenance and future development of the Cardano Blockchain ecosystem," including costs related to maintaining "decentralized, on-chain governance processes." It also expects budgets to cover a defined time period. The proposal's purpose, to fund governance tooling, supports the maintenance of governance processes. It specifies a clear duration of 73 epochs (12 months). The proposal's purpose and its defined period are compliant with the requirements of Article IV, Section 1.
- Article III, Section 5 (Procedural Requirements): This section mandates that all governance actions follow a standardized format and include a verifiable "URL and hash of all documented off-chain content" along with "Sufficient rationale... and relevant supporting materials." The proposal provides a detailed rationale linked via an immutable IPFS address with a verified hash. It includes sections for Abstract, Motivation, Rationale, and supporting links to further documentation. The proposal meets the requirements of Article III, Section 5, providing a verifiable anchor to its main off-chain document.
- Article IV, Section 2 (Administrator & Oversight): This section requires that budgets "specify a process for overseeing use of funds... including designating one or more administrators." The proposal designates "Intersect" as the administrator and outlines a process where funds are distributed via smart contracts to the various builders in the GovTool consortium, with direction from the Governance Tools Working Group. The proposal specifies an administrator and a process for fund management, thereby meeting the basic requirements of Article IV, Section 2.
- Article IV, Section 4 & 5 (Audit & Fund Handling): These sections mandate that funding requests make provisions for independent audits (Sec 4), dispute resolution (Sec 4), and that ada held by a budget administrator be delegated to the auto-abstain option (Sec 5). The proposal states an intent to use an external commitment from Intersect for audits. It is silent on dispute resolution and the auto-abstain delegation rule. The requirements of Art. IV(4) and (5) do not specify whether these requirements apply at the budget info actions stage in the process or at the treasury withdrawal stage, and as such this budget info action does not contravene these provisions by containing little information in relation thereto. However, it is better practice to cover these points sufficiently at an early stage in budget Info Actions.
This “Cardano GovTool Budget - 12 months full active maintenance and development” Info Governance Action aligns with the constitutional requirements for a budget proposal.
- Cardano Japan Council (ICC)4012cab5…0755YesExpired · term ends epoch 580Rationale
GovTool Info Action 2025 → Constitutional
[Constitutional] We conclude that this Governance Action is constitutional and merits a 'Yes' vote. This Info Action does not involve immediate treasury spending but serves as a signaling mechanism ahead of a planned withdrawal. The proposal centers on maintaining and enhancing GovTool, a public good crucial for decentralized governance on Cardano. It furthers inclusive participation, consistent with the Constitution. The documentation presents a four-phase withdrawal plan with transparent scopes, stakeholder roles, and a defined auditing strategy involving Intersect. While the auditor is not yet selected, its planned inclusion meets the intent of Article IV, Section 4. Funds are earmarked for 2025 only, with excess expected to be returned, ensuring periodic financial scrutiny. Overall, the proposal demonstrates a strong alignment with the Cardano Constitution, especially Articles IV and V, and supports effective, transparent governance.
- Eastern Cardano Council2ea7a78e…10ecYesExpired · term ends epoch 580Rationale
We have determined that this budget Info governance action is constitutional.
Article IV, Section 2 of the Cardano Constitution states "Cardano Blockchain budgets shall specify a process for overseeing use of funds from Cardano Blockchain treasury withdrawals including designating one or more administrators who shall be responsible for such oversight."
The governance action with ID "gov_action1n5s...xwm88m" and title "Cardano GovTool Budget - 12 months full active maintenance and development", as a budget Info governance action, designates “Intersect” as the administrator responsible for overseeing the use of funds. It also specifies a process for overseeing the use of funds from the Cardano Blockchain treasury withdrawals using their smart contract framework.
We therefore find this governance action Constitutional.
This governance action sufficiently fulfils the criteria specified for budgets in the Cardano Constitution, so is deemed constitutional.
- Emurgodc2b0706…89b8YesExpired · term ends epoch 580Rationale
After reviewing the proposal in light of the Cardano Blockchain Ecosystem Constitution, EMURGO finds it compliant with the constitutional requirements:
Article II, Section 4: The Govtools proposal supports the constitutional principle of promoting resilient, open infrastructure for the Cardano ecosystem. GovTool, as a governance interface built for community use and participation, directly contributes to the long-term sustainability and decentralization of the blockchain.
Article III, Section 5: The proposal is presented in a standardized and legible format, including rationale, budget explanation, supporting documents, and relevant URLs. It clearly outlines the motivation, goals, and intended public good outcomes.
Article IV, Section 1: This proposal relates to the ongoing development and maintenance of governance infrastructure within Cardano. As such, it qualifies under the constitutional provision for ecosystem budgets that serve the long-term operation of the Cardano Blockchain.
Article IV, Section 2: The governance action designates Intersect as the administrator responsible for overseeing fund usage, with implementation delivered via smart contracts and milestone-based disbursement. This structure satisfies the constitutional requirement for clear oversight of treasury resources.
Article IV, Section: The proposal includes provisions for periodic independent audits and oversight, facilitated through Intersect, thereby complying with the requirements for accountability and dispute.
EMURGO concludes that this governance action is constitutional. It satisfies the structural and oversight requirements of the Cardano Constitution, and supports the principles of decentralized governance, treasury management, and ecosystem sustainability.
- Input | Output3c9ebce6…1e4cYesExpired · term ends epoch 580Rationale
Input Output finds “Cardano GovTool Budget - 12 months full active maintenance and development” constitutional.
Article VII, Section 4 of the Cardano Constitution mandates that for "Info actions that propose a Cardano Blockchain ecosystem budget, Constitutional Committee members shall record a vote on-chain that sets forth their opinion as to whether the proposed budget, if it were to be implemented in the form contained in the 'Info' action, would violate this Constitution."
The procedure and aims described in this Info Action for the Cardano 2025 budget do not violate constitutional standards as stated in Article IV, the tenets, or elsewhere in the Constitution. It is, therefore, constitutional.
The proposal aligns with the requirements for Cardano Blockchain ecosystem budgets as laid out in Article IV of the Constitution:
It proposes a budget for the "ongoing operation, maintenance and future development of the Cardano Blockchain ecosystem" and related governance costs, as encouraged by Article IV, Section 1.
The budget covers a defined period (73 epochs), which is consistent with the guidance in Article IV, Section 1.
The proposal clearly designates an administrator (Intersect) for the funds coming from the Cardano treasury and while it does not directly outline a process for overseeing the use of these funds, we understand that in selecting Intersect as the administrator, the same processes apply as specified in the previously approved budget info action “Cardano Blockchain Ecosystem Budget - 275M ada Administered by Intersect” with the on-chain governance action id of: gov_action1u9x...k2phgh. The contained fund management strategy, including planned use of smart contracts, to the extent possible and beneficial, for disbursements; multi-sig oversight involving independent third parties public reporting; and contractual terms that include milestone acceptance criteria as conditions to periodic payments, independent audit oversight and dispute resolution provisions; all collectively address the principles of transparency, auditing, and accountability expected under Article IV, Sections 2, 4, and 5.
The proposal explicitly states that subsequent Treasury Withdrawals must comply with an approved and active Net Change Limit, aligning with Article IV, Section 3 and Guardrail TREASURY-02a.
The process described for arriving at this budget (The activities of the Governance Tools Working Group) reflects the spirit of community participation and decentralized decision-making encouraged throughout the Constitution (e.g., Preamble and Article IV, Section 1).
We encourage DReps to scrutinize the decision and its rationale, and weigh its strength in their votes for subsequent treasury withdrawal actions, recognizing that Article VII, Section 4 of the Constitution requires us to assess budget info actions for constitutionality. The proposal also demonstrates commendable procedural rigor by including its own "Constitutionality checklist." This proactive self-assessment against the Constitution governance actions is a practice we hope to see continue.
- Intersect Constitutional Council85c47dd4…bf64YesExpired · term ends epoch 580Rationale
The Intersect Constitutional Council votes that the budget info action, “9d213a57684d7d...3e7b#0”, to be constitutional.
In accordance with Article III Section 4, this budget info action is in connection with a proposed ecosystem budget and as permitted in Article IV Section 1, this proposal relates to the maintenance and future development of the Cardano blockchain ecosystem, in particular, the continued maintenance and development of Cardano governance tooling.
The proposal is submitted by the newly formed Cardano GovTool Consortium, a group of community builders currently actively developing GovTool and those who utilise GovTool infrastructure for their associated projects. It proposes a budget for 12 months of maintenance and development with a value of 1.15 million ada. This proposal supports the article for participatory and decentralized governance as outlined in the constitution (Article III).
The proposal meets the standardized and legible format requirements as outlined in Article III Section 5. The rationale contains a title, abstract, reason for the proposal and relevant supporting materials.
The proposal outlines a proposed budget breakdown and administration process, meeting Article IV Section 2 requirements and is proposed in advance of any potential treasury withdrawal request, as per Article IV Section 3 “No withdrawals from the Cardano Blockchain treasury shall be permitted unless such withdrawals have been authorized and are being made pursuant to a budget for the Cardano Blockchain that is then in effect”. The budget proposal also accounts for an allocation of funds to cover independent audits as mandated by Article IV Section 4.
Upon reviewing this proposal, the Council could find no reason to consider this proposal to be unconstitutional and this is reflected in the unanimous decision to pass it as constitutional.