Case study

The first blockchain to embrace decentralised governance

Financial Services, PMO & Project Controls

Cardano is one of the world's largest blockchain networks, built on a bold promise: to eventually be owned and operated entirely by its users, rather than a central authority.

In 2023, Intersect was founded to lead that transition, a member-based, not-for-profit organisation created to hand governance of the network to its global Community. MIGSO-PCUBED (MP) was chosen as their delivery partner, brought in to build Intersect from the ground up and prepare it for one of the most significant handovers in technology history.

With no staff, no legal entity, and no processes in place, and a hard deadline that couldn't move, MP had a short amount of time to build an organisation capable of governing a global network used by millions of people.

For years, three organisations managed the "cryptographic keys", essentially the digital master keys, that controlled the Cardano network. These organisations were Input Output Group (IOG), EMURGO, and the Cardano Foundation.

To fulfil the promise of true decentralisation, these founders needed to hand those keys to the Cardano Community. The Community recognised that the development and growth of the platform would require a unique governance model to manage and prioritise investments across the community’s stakeholders. In September 2023 the members-based organisation Intersect was founded to address this unique governance challenge. MIGSO-PCUBED was chosen as their delivery partner to help Intersect both transition Cardano to their Community and support operational governance.

The challenge: Decentralising governance by promoting active participation

When MP began, Intersect was a concept with a mission but no company infrastructure. We faced a "blank page" scenario: no staff, no legal entity, no, and no established processes.

The challenge was threefold:

A hard deadline: By 30 January 2025, the Cardano network would automatically transfer control of its finances and decision-making to the Community, whether Intersect was ready or not. If the organisation wasn't in place and functioning, the entire network would be left without anyone to coordinate it.
A new type of leadership: Unlike a traditional company where a CEO has the final say, Intersect was designed to be a ‘Coordination Layer’. It doesn't "rule" the blockchain; instead, it acts an enabler for thousands of community members to talk to each other, vote on ideas, and reach agreements. MP worked with Intersect to build a system that could harmonise thousands of different voices into a single, clear direction.
Leadership through participation: In this decentralised world, leadership is about facilitating participation. Every process had to be transparent by default. If the community couldn't see how decisions were made or how money was spent, they would lose trust, potentially devaluing the entire ecosystem.

The solution: Rapid start-up & scale-up

MP deployed a senior team embedded directly within Intersect from day one. Our approach was deliberately hands-on and operational, rather than advisory. Working alongside Intersect’s incoming leadership, the team built the organisation from the ground up.

1. Establishing the organisation, rapidly

The Intersect organisation needed to be set-up at pace including its legal entity, operating vision, and governance structure. MP supported setting up the Target Operating Model, defining how the organisation would be structured and governed. We supported the legal incorporation in Wyoming, USA, opening bank accounts, and ensured the organisation met its obligations under US law.

These are the foundations that every organisation needs and getting them right quickly was critical. This played on our core strength's: establishing clear structures, roles, and controls quickly, so the delivery teams can focus on what matters.

2. Architecting a decentralised governance framework

With the legal entity established, Intersect needed a way for thousands of people to work together. We designed a layered governance structure that allowed the Community's voice to be heard without creating chaos:

Working committees: We established committees made up of member volunteers to represent the wider Community to decide on critical processes.
Election systems: To ensure these committees were picked fairly, we created a transparent election process allowing members to vote for the representatives they trusted. In the first cycle, 7,000 votes were cast to fill 31 key leadership seats.
Software migration: We managed the transfer of 85 core software projects into community-owned hands, giving members full access to the network they now governed.

3. Global engagement at scale

For decentralised governance to be sustainable, the community needed agreed rules - a constitution that set out how the network would be governed and protected the rights of its users.

Instead of a quick online vote that could be easily ignored or misunderstood, we managed a global programme to ensure every voice was heard:

63 in-person workshops across 52 countries and 6 continents.
By meeting in person, we helped ~1,400 people from different cultures find common ground on how the network should be governed.
This resulted in one of the first-ever digital constitutions approved by 85% of the community.

By mid-2024, these frameworks were fully operational. Membership had grown to more than 4,500 people across 110 countries.

"MP were instrumental in getting Intersect off the ground in 2024. There was a need to move very, very quickly, and MP had the ability to sprint. They built robust processes that are really important."

Jack Briggs, Executive Director at Intersect

The impact: Decentralised governance up and running

In under two years, and against a fixed, non-negotiable deadline, Intersect went from a blank page to a functioning governance institution at global scale.

A successful "Handover"

In January 2025, the three founding organisations permanently deleted their ‘digital keys’ that gave them control of the Cardano network. There is no recovering those keys. There is no reverting to how things were. The governance infrastructure MP helped build was put to the test immediately, and it held.

Community in control of Its own finances

For the first time, the people who use and build on the network have the final say on where its money goes. MP worked with Intersect to design and implement the framework that allowed the community to evaluate 200 proposals and successfully allocate $190 million (USD) to fund future development.

Proven resilience

When a technical fault temporarily split the Cardano network in two in late 2025, Intersect had to coordinate a global response with no single person in authority. Instead, the relationships, protocols, and coordination frameworks MP had built allowed independent teams across the world to work together, diagnose the fault, and restore the network, all within a day.

It was the clearest possible proof that the governance infrastructure worked not just on paper, but under real pressure.

“MP have played a really important role in introducing programme discipline and structured coordination. The programme management layer they provided has acted almost like connective tissue. Some of the consultants are the best I’ve worked with.”

Rosie Graham, Head of People & Organisational Dynamics at Intersect

Setting the standard for future Decentralised Governance

What was once a vision is now a working system. Cardano has become one of the first blockchains in the world to be run, financed, and governed entirely by its own Community, without any single person or company in charge.

This engagement is proof that rigorous programme management we can make even the most ambitious transitions of power work. The same expertise MP brings to delivering complex transformation programmes and PMO set ups, and building organisations was put to test here and it delivered.

We are proud to have been part of building such a unique organisation, that is now at the heart of a self-sustaining global community.

“I believe we have now established decentralised governance for our global Community and provided the platform for sustainable growth of truly unique open-source digital infrastructure that is Cardano today.”

Jack Briggs, Executive Director at Intersect

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