Intersect MBO (Cardano) — Open Source Office (OSPO) Case Study Proposal #579
Description
OSPO Case Study Proposal: Intersect’s Open Source Office (Cardano)
Organization: Intersect MBO (stewarding Cardano’s open-source governance and development)
Initiative: Open Source Program Office (OSO)
Primary contact: Christian Taylor, [email protected]
Website: https://www.intersectmbo.org
Docs hub for this case study: https://opensourcecommittee.docs.intersectmbo.org/
1) Short summary (≤150 words)
Intersect’s Open Source Office (OSO) is building a sustainable, governed, and data-driven open-source ecosystem for Cardano. Anchored in a Paid Open Source Model (POSM) that funds maintainers and critical tooling, OSO runs lifecycle policies (contribution ladder, incubation, maturity tiers), security and governance frameworks, and monthly analytics reviews. Results include a measured portfolio of 66 public repos with nearly half at “Mature,” a formal incubation path for new projects, standardized documentation & licensing, and working groups that fund and guide mission-critical tooling. This case study will show how a blockchain ecosystem can operate a modern OSPO that blends compliance, culture, and community funding to accelerate delivery while reducing risk.
2) Why this fits TODO’s OSPO Use Cases
- Compliance, legal, and developer education: Standardized docs + legal guidance across repos; onboarding guides.
- Evangelizing open source culture & usage: Public policies, working groups, community programs.
- Hosting open source projects & growing communities: Incubation → growth → maturity lifecycle; contributor ladder.
- Improving leadership & decision-making: Formal governance, TSC/OSC accountability, data-driven reports.
- Best practices (tooling, documentation, metrics): Templates, maturity scoring, monthly analytics, security policy.
3) Organizational structure
- OSO (Open Source Office): Strategy, policy, analytics, and program execution.
https://opensourcecommittee.docs.intersectmbo.org/about/open-source-office-oso - OSC (Open Source Committee) & TSC (Technical Steering Committee): Oversight & escalation per governance policy.
https://opensourcecommittee.docs.intersectmbo.org/policies/governance - Working Groups: Tooling WG, Developer Experience WG, Commercialization WG (charters, voting, deliverables).
Tooling WG: https://opensourcecommittee.docs.intersectmbo.org/working-groups/tooling-working-group
DX WG: https://opensourcecommittee.docs.intersectmbo.org/working-groups/developer-experience-working-group
Commercialization WG: https://opensourcecommittee.docs.intersectmbo.org/working-groups/commercialization-working-group - Security Working Group & policy: Roles, responder model, responsible disclosure.
https://opensourcecommittee.docs.intersectmbo.org/policies/security-policy
4) Goals
- Sustainable funding for critical open-source via POSM (Code-for-Us, Maintainer Retainer, Tooling Sustainability).
- Measurable repo health: incubation → growth → mature with objective acceptance criteria & maturity tiers.
- Standardized compliance (docs, licensing) and security across the portfolio.
- Better contributor & maintainer experience with clear roles, templates, and monthly telemetry.
- A repeatable operating model other ecosystems can adopt.
5) What we built (programs & policies)
-
Paid Open Source Model (POSM): overview + three programs
Overview: https://opensourcecommittee.docs.intersectmbo.org/policies/posm
Maintainer Retainer: https://opensourcecommittee.docs.intersectmbo.org/policies/posm/maintainer-retainer
Code-for-Us: https://opensourcecommittee.docs.intersectmbo.org/policies/posm/code-for-us
Tooling Sustainability: https://opensourcecommittee.docs.intersectmbo.org/policies/posm/tooling-sustainability -
Project lifecycle & contribution mechanics
Contribution Ladder: https://opensourcecommittee.docs.intersectmbo.org/policies/contribution-ladder-framework
Incubation Process: https://opensourcecommittee.docs.intersectmbo.org/policies/project-incubation-process
Lifecycle Framework: https://opensourcecommittee.docs.intersectmbo.org/policies/project-incubation-process/project-incubation-lifecycle-framework
Acceptance Criteria (PDF included): https://opensourcecommittee.docs.intersectmbo.org/policies/project-incubation-process/project-incubation-acceptance-criteria
Maturity Tiers (2025): https://opensourcecommittee.docs.intersectmbo.org/policies/project-maturity-tiers-2025 -
Governance, documentation, legal, security
Governance Policy: https://opensourcecommittee.docs.intersectmbo.org/policies/governance
Documentation standards: https://opensourcecommittee.docs.intersectmbo.org/policies/governance/documentation
Legal (licensing: Apache-2.0 / CC): https://opensourcecommittee.docs.intersectmbo.org/policies/governance/legal
Security Policy: https://opensourcecommittee.docs.intersectmbo.org/policies/security-policy -
Roadmap & analytics
2025 OSO Roadmap (approved 12/19/24): https://opensourcecommittee.docs.intersectmbo.org/about/open-source-office-oso/2024-ospo-roadmap
Bitergia partnership: https://opensourcecommittee.docs.intersectmbo.org/about/open-source-office-oso/partnerships/bitergia-analytics
Current Monthly Maturity Report: https://opensourcecommittee.docs.intersectmbo.org/about/open-source-office-oso/current-monthly-maturity-report
6) Tangible business impact (highlights)
-
Portfolio visibility & quality: 66 public repositories assessed; ~48.5% “Mature”, ~19.7% “Growth”, ~21.2% “Maintenance”, ~10.6% “Incubation” (methodology + thresholds published).
Source: https://opensourcecommittee.docs.intersectmbo.org/policies/project-maturity-tiers-2025 -
Faster issue resolution & clearer throughput: In June 2025, average issue resolution time dropped from ~202.5 days to ~7.9 days with 259 PRs across 17 repos by 54 contributors (with broader context on organizational mix and repo hotspots).
Source: https://opensourcecommittee.docs.intersectmbo.org/about/open-source-office-oso/current-monthly-maturity-report -
Repeatable lifecycle & acceptance criteria: Public, documented acceptance gates for incubation → growth → maturity, including governance, documentation, security, and technical foundations; downloadable PDF for program.
Source: https://opensourcecommittee.docs.intersectmbo.org/policies/project-incubation-process/project-incubation-acceptance-criteria -
Sustainable funding mechanisms: POSM programs (Maintainer Retainer, Code-for-Us, Tooling Sustainability) created to reduce single-maintainer risk, pay down backlog, and sustain critical ecosystem tools.
Sources:
https://opensourcecommittee.docs.intersectmbo.org/policies/posm
https://opensourcecommittee.docs.intersectmbo.org/policies/posm/maintainer-retainer
https://opensourcecommittee.docs.intersectmbo.org/policies/posm/code-for-us
https://opensourcecommittee.docs.intersectmbo.org/policies/posm/tooling-sustainability -
Compliance & security at scale: Standard docs/licensing checklists, governance & escalation, Security WG/responder model, and responsible disclosure process.
Sources:
https://opensourcecommittee.docs.intersectmbo.org/policies/governance/documentation
https://opensourcecommittee.docs.intersectmbo.org/policies/governance/legal
https://opensourcecommittee.docs.intersectmbo.org/policies/security-policy
7) Success stories / examples we can expand in the case study
- Turning maturity tiers from a policy into a measured portfolio baseline for 66 repos (with thresholds and scoring).
- Monthly reporting that clearly shows cycle-time improvements, repo hotspots, and org mix to guide resourcing.
- Launching POSM tracks to fund maintainers and unblock ecosystem-critical tooling (with Tooling WG charter & budget proposal).
8) Assets & permissions
- We grant TODO Group & LF permission to edit for style and publish the final case study on todogroup.org and the OSPO Guide.
- Supporting PDFs (for editors):
POSM whitepaper: https://opensourcecommittee.docs.intersectmbo.org/about/open-source-office-oso/intersecting-open-source-and-sustainability-a-paid-open-source-model-for-ecosystems
Incubation Acceptance Criteria PDF: linked on the Acceptance Criteria page above
Latest Monthly Report PDF: linked on the Current Monthly Maturity Report page
9) Anything else the editors should know
- Intersect’s OSPO model is ecosystem-wide (Cardano) and intentionally public-by-default.
- We’re happy to include a short timeline graphic (Roadmap + Lifecycle) and a one-page “how to adopt” sidebar in the final piece.
Labels: use case