ELK Consortium — Original Proposal
Cover Letter - Vertical approach.pdf
**COVER LETTER **
To: The Intersect Product Committee From: ELK — Blockchain Consulting, Cardano Ecosystem Re: Research Grant Application — RFP 02 (Use Case Landscape & Competitive Positioning) / RFP 05 (Government & Emerging Markets Entry Strategy) Date: Q2 2026
The Intersect Product Committee,
We are pleased to submit this proposal on behalf of ELK and our research partners — Jess Fields / Precision Outreach LLC, Zengate, and Sundial Protocol — in response to the Product Research Initiatives Grant program.
ELK is a blockchain consulting firm with several years of active presence in the Cardano ecosystem, focused on onboarding companies and institutions into Cardano. Through that work, we have consistently encountered the same structural gap: vertical teams, DReps, and community stakeholders lack a shared, replicable methodology for connecting their execution activities to Cardano's 2030 KPIs. Decisions about where to invest, which verticals to prioritize, and how to measure progress are made without a common analytical language or a rigorous projection model.
This proposal is a direct response to that gap.
We are proposing a two-part research initiative: first, the design and community validation of a universal Vertical-to-KPI Impact Framework; second, the application of that framework across three of Cardano's most strategically relevant verticals — Governance, Agricultural Supply Chain, and Bitcoin DeFi. The three verticals were deliberately chosen for their diversity: different actor profiles, different on-chain mechanics, and different adoption dynamics. Proving the framework holds across all three is the strongest possible validation of its replicability and its long-term value to the ecosystem.
The total requested budget is 110,000 ADA over 5 months, distributed across ELK and three domain-specialist partners, each contributing primary research, competitive benchmarking, scenario modeling, and operator-level insight to their respective vertical.
We believe this initiative sits at the intersection of RFP 02 and RFP 05. The framework and vertical intelligence reports directly serve RFP 02's mandate — rigorous use case landscape analysis, competitive positioning, and adoption signal assessment across verticals. The Governance and Agricultural Supply Chain applications directly address RFP 05's focus on public-sector entry strategy and emerging market readiness. Rather than stretching the proposal to fit one RFP precisely, we have written it to address both honestly and to let the Committee assess fit accordingly.
Here is what the content that the proposal and extra documents are providing (according to RFP 02 and 05 requirements), the content might not be with the same title but the content is there:
Cover letter - Signed by all parties (Separated Document) Understanding of the brief (in the proposal) Proposed methodology (in the proposal) Decision gate mapping (in the proposal) Operator access plan (in the proposal) Competitive benchmark plan (in the proposal) Adoption-signal framework approach (in the proposal) Workplan (in the proposal) Team qualifications (in the proposal) Relevant experience (in the proposal) Data sources (in the proposal) Risk and bias mitigation plan (in the proposal) Confidentiality and data handling approach (in the proposal) Timeline (in the proposal) Budget breakdown (in the proposal) Conflicts declaration (in the proposal) Ethics approach (in the proposal) Prior work examples, if applicable (in the proposal) Use-case assessment plan (in the proposal)
We are committed to open publication of all research and framework materials on the Intersect platform, to structured community engagement at each phase, and to producing deliverables that remain useful to the ecosystem well beyond the duration of this grant.
We welcome any questions from the Committee and are available for a follow-up call at any stage of the review process.
Respectfully,
**______________________________ **
**Benjamin Ben Zvi (ELK) **
Date Signed: June 3rd, 2026__________
**______________________________ **
**Sam Lambert (Zengate) **
**Date Signed: __June 3rd, 2026__________ **
**______________________________ **
**Sheldon Hunt (Sundial) **
Date Signed: June 2nd, 2026___
**______________________________ **
**Jess Fields **
**Date Signed: __June 3rd, 2026__________ **
Vertical Approach - Intersect Grant (1).pdf
Verticals as a Driver for Cardano 2030 KPIs
Building and Applying a Replicable Vertical Impact Framework Across Governance, Agricultural Supply Chain & Bitcoin DeFi
Budget 110,000 ADA
Duration 5 Months
Submitted Q2 2026
Lead Organization ELK — Blockchain Consulting, Cardano Ecosystem
Alignment Cardano 2030 Vision • Intersect Product Committee
Committee Product Committee / Growth & Marketing Committee
Executive Summary
Cardano's 2030 Vision targets $3B TVL, 27M+ monthly transactions, and 1M active wallets. Closing the gap between today's figures and those targets requires more than infrastructure improvements — it requires a structured, replicable model for how real-world vertical industries translate their adoption activity into measurable ecosystem-wide KPI progress.
ELK, a blockchain consulting firm with hands-on experience onboarding companies into the Cardano ecosystem, proposes to lead a two-part research initiative:
Part 1 — Build the Framework. ELK will design, validate, and publish a complete Vertical-to-KPI Impact Framework: a universal methodology that any Cardano vertical team can use to map their business activities to Cardano's 2030 North Star KPIs, model adoption scenarios, and identify critical bottlenecks and enablers.
Part 2 — Apply the Framework. The completed framework will then be applied to three of Cardano's most strategically relevant verticals — Governance, Agricultural Supply Chain, and Bitcoin DeFi — each led by a specialized domain partner, validating the framework's replicability and generating deep, actionable intelligence for each vertical.
This structure ensures the ecosystem receives two compounding outputs: a long-term community asset in the form of a reusable methodology, and three immediate vertical intelligence reports that directly inform the Product Committee's 2026 roadmap.
Core Research Question
*"What is the right universal model for mapping any Cardano vertical's business activities to the ecosystem's 2030 KPIs — and does that model hold when applied to verticals as different as Governance, Agricultural Supply Chain, and Bitcoin DeFi?" *
Problem Statement
The Cardano ecosystem has identified multiple high-priority verticals for growth, yet a persistent and critical gap remains: **there is no structured, replicable methodology connecting vertical execution activities to the Cardano 2030 KPIs. **
Without this connection:
● Vertical investments are evaluated without projected KPI impact ● Cross-vertical comparisons remain subjective and inconsistent ● The community and DReps lack the data infrastructure to assess whether vertical bets are paying off ● Each vertical team independently reinvents its own reporting model — with no shared language or benchmark
This proposal addresses that gap at the root. Rather than producing a vertical report that happens to mention KPIs, it first builds the underlying model that makes rigorous vertical-to-KPI analysis possible — then stress-tests and validates that model across three fundamentally different verticals. The result is both a methodology that outlasts this grant and three vertical intelligence reports with immediate practical value.
Research Objectives
**Primary Objective **Design, validate, and publish a complete Vertical-to-KPI Impact Framework that is replicable across any Cardano vertical — and apply it to three strategic verticals (Governance, Agri Supply Chain, Bitcoin DeFi).
**Secondary Objectives **
● Establish a shared analytical language for vertical leads, DReps, and the Product Committee to evaluate vertical KPI impact ● Produce a detailed Impact Vertical Chain analysis for each of the three application verticals ● Quantify each vertical's projected contribution to Cardano's 2030 KPIs across three adoption scenarios ● Identify the top bottlenecks and enablers for each vertical ● Deliver a cross-vertical KPI Contribution Matrix enabling side-by-side comparison of ecosystem impact ● Produce a Vertical Impact Scorecard usable by future vertical leads as a self-service planning tool
Project Structure
This proposal is organized into two sequential parts, each with its own phases, deliverables, and team responsibilities.
PART 1 — Framework Research & Design (Months 1–2) ELK ↓ PART 2 — Vertical Applications (Months 3–5) ELK + Domain Partners ├── Governance Jess Fields / Precision Outreach ├── Agricultural Supply Chain Zengate └── Bitcoin DeFi Sundial Protocol
PART 1 — The Vertical-to-KPI Impact Framework
*Lead: ELK | Duration: Months 1–2 | Budget: 35,000 ADA *
What We Are Building
Part 1 produces a fully documented, community-validated Vertical-to-KPI Impact Framework — a universal research methodology that any Cardano vertical team can use to:
1. Map their vertical's business activities to Cardano's 2030 North Star KPIs
2. Model adoption scenarios and their projected KPI contributions
3. Identify the critical bottlenecks and enablers that determine impact at scale
4. Report progress in a format that maps directly to Cardano's 2030 Vision metrics
The framework is designed to be self-replicating: by the end of Part 1, any prospective vertical lead should be able to pick up the methodology and apply it independently.
Competitive Benchmark Methodology
Competitive benchmarking across all three verticals will follow a consistent evaluation framework applied by each domain partner. For each vertical, Cardano will be assessed against the two to four most relevant competing platforms or protocols across the following criteria: tooling maturity (availability and quality of developer and operator tooling), adoption depth (number of active operators, real deployments, and on-chain activity), TVL and liquidity (where applicable), regulatory positioning (how each platform navigates the regulatory environment of the vertical), and narrative credibility (how the platform is perceived by operators and institutions outside the crypto space).** **
Framework Components
The Impact Framework is built around four core components:
**1. The Impact Vertical Chain Template ** A structured model tracing the journey from a single end-user or operator action to its aggregate contribution to Cardano's KPIs. For any vertical, the Impact Vertical chain defines:
● The key actors (end users, operators, institutions, dApps, bridges) ● The on-chain events each actor generates (identity, transactions, payments, votes, liquidity) ● The causal link between those events and each of Cardano's 7 North Star KPIs
**2. The Scenario Modeling Engine ** A standardized approach to modeling vertical adoption at three scales — conservative, moderate, and optimistic — with a shared set of assumptions, input variables, and KPI output metrics. This ensures all three vertical applications are genuinely comparable.
**3. The Bottleneck & Enabler Taxonomy ** A classification system for the factors that accelerate or constrain vertical adoption on Cardano — covering UX/tooling gaps, liquidity availability, regulatory friction, BD capacity, and ecosystem infrastructure. Applied consistently across verticals, this taxonomy enables cross-vertical diagnosis.
**4. The Vertical Impact Scorecard ** A one-page planning and reporting tool derived from the framework, designed for vertical leads to self-assess their KPI trajectory, set evidence-based targets, and report progress to the community in a standardized format.
Phase 1 — Analisys (Weeks 1–3)
● Review and synthesize all existing Cardano 2030 KPI definitions ● Audit existing vertical reporting approaches across Cardano ecosystem teams ● Benchmark methodologies from adjacent ecosystems (Polkadot, Ethereum ecosystem funds, Cosmos) to identify best practices ● Draft the initial Impact vertical template and scenario modeling structure ● Publish a public call for ecosystem input on Intersect forums
Phase 2 — Framework Design & Expert Validation (Weeks 4–8)
● Conduct 10–12 structured interviews with vertical leads, dApp builders, BD professionals, and DReps across the Cardano ecosystem ● Iterate the framework based on expert input, stress-testing the Impact Vertical Chain template against multiple hypothetical verticals ● Validate the Bottleneck & Enabler Taxonomy with practitioners from at least 3 different ecosystem domains ● Host a live community workshop (Week 7) presenting the draft framework to ~30 community members for open feedback ● Finalize and publish the complete framework documentation on Intersect platform
Part 1 Deliverables
# Deliverable Description
D1 Impact Vertical Chain
Template
Fully documented, reusable template for mapping any vertical's activities to Cardano 2030 KPIs
D2 Scenario Modeling
Engine
Standardized scenario modeling methodology with shared input variables and KPI output metrics
D3 Bottleneck & Enabler
Taxonomy
Classification system for vertical adoption constraints and accelerators, validated with ecosystem practitioners
D4 Vertical Impact
Scorecard (v1)
One-page self-service planning and reporting tool for vertical leads
D5 Framework Research
Report
Full documentation of framework design rationale, validation process, expert insights, and usage guide
PART 2 — Vertical Applications
*Duration: Months 2–4 | Budget: 75,000 ADA (25,000 ADA per vertical) *
With the framework completed and validated, Part 2 applies it in full to three strategic verticals — simultaneously proving the framework's replicability and delivering deep vertical intelligence across Governance, Agricultural Supply Chain, and Bitcoin DeFi.
Each vertical application follows the same structure: Impact Chain analysis → competitive benchmarking → scenario modeling → bottleneck identification → KPI projections. This structural consistency makes the three reports genuinely comparable and the findings aggregatable into the cross-vertical KPI matrix.
What an Impact Vertical Chain Is
An Impact Vertical Chain is a step-by-step causal map answering one question: **if one real participant uses Cardano within this vertical, exactly what happens on-chain, and how does that contribute to Cardano's 2030 KPIs? **
Each row represents one concrete action taken by a real actor in the vertical. The table reads left to right: the Stage names where we are in the adoption journey, the Activity describes what specifically happens on-chain, and the KPI Impact column identifies which of Cardano's North Star metrics that activity moves — and in which direction.
The power of the model is in what happens when you scale it: a single row might describe one farmer, one governance entity, or one Bitcoin user. When that action is repeated by 1,000, then 10,000, then 100,000 participants, the aggregate KPI contribution becomes quantifiable. That is
exactly what the scenario modeling in Part 2 does — it takes each Impact Chain and runs it through three adoption scales to produce concrete KPI projections.
These Impact Chains presented in this proposal are illustrative previews — they show the structure and logic of the model. The full, validated, data-backed Impact Chains are the core deliverable of Part 2.
Vertical 1 — Governance
*Research Lead: Jess Fields, Precision Outreach LLC | Budget: 25,000 ADA *
**Context **
Cardano is one of the few blockchain ecosystems with a live, on-chain governance system — Voltaire. Yet the adoption of that governance infrastructure by real-world institutions, public sector bodies, and civil organizations remains nascent. The governance vertical represents one of Cardano's highest-differentiation opportunities: no competitor has a credible, production-ready equivalent.
Jess Fields brings direct experience working with institutional stakeholders, with a focus on public sector use cases, governance tooling, and high-probability institutional entry points, and recognizes the potential for public-sector adoption of Cardano to solve numerous pain points in public policy and within stagnant institutional frameworks.
**Impact Vertical Chain: From One Governance Participant to 2030 KPIs - initial areas of evaluation **
Stage Activity KPI Impact
- Entity Onboards
Organization registers on Cardano, issues verifiable credentials or governance tokens
+Active Wallets, +Real-World Proof Point
- Vote Cast Member participates in on-chain vote (DRep delegation, governance action)
+Monthly Transactions, +Governance Activity
- Proposal Submitted
Entity submits or co-signs a governance proposal
+On-Chain Economic Activity, +Institutional Engagement
- Institutional Adoption
Multiple organizations integrate Cardano governance into their decision-making
+B2B Partnerships, +External Perception Index
- Policy Anchoring
Governance outcomes referenced in real-world policy or legal frameworks
Narrative Coherence, Ecosystem Legitimacy
**Reading this Vertical chain: **A single civic organization registering on Cardano contributes one active wallet and one real-world proof point — two of Cardano's tracked metrics. Every on-chain vote that organization casts generates a transaction. Every governance proposal it co-signs adds measurable on-chain economic activity. When this is replicated across hundreds of organizations, it begins to move Cardano's External Perception Index — a metric that tracks how credible and legitimate Cardano appears to outside institutions. At thousands of organizations, governance outcomes being referenced in real-world policy becomes a realistic scenario, directly contributing to narrative coherence and ecosystem legitimacy at a global level.
**Research Focus Areas **
●** Institutional readiness**: Which categories of public-sector and civic organizations are most viable for near-term Cardano governance adoption? ●** Tooling gaps**: What governance tooling exists today, what is missing, and what is blocking adoption? ●** Competitive landscape**: How does Cardano's governance infrastructure compare to alternatives (Ethereum DAOs, Polkadot OpenGov, traditional digital voting platforms)? ●** KPI modeling**: What does 100 / 1,000 / 10,000 participating governance entities mean for Cardano's 2030 KPIs?
**Deliverables (Governance) **
● Governance Vertical Impact Chain Report ● Institutional Readiness Map (target organizations, entry readiness, blockers) ● Competitive Governance Benchmark ● Governance scenario model (3 adoption tiers → KPI projections)
Vertical 2 — Agricultural Supply Chain
*Research Lead: Zengate | Budget: 25,000 ADA *
**Context **
Agricultural Supply Chains represent one of Cardano's most mature and validated vertical opportunities. The Syngenta pilot engaged 100,000+ farmers, relevant dApps are deployment-ready, and the use case — provenance tracking, fair payment rails, certification — directly leverages Cardano's core strengths. Zengate is a Cardano-native team building the infrastructure layer for supply chain applications on Cardano, with firsthand knowledge of the operational reality of this vertical.
**Impact Vertical Chain: From One Farmer to 2030 KPIs initial areas of evaluation **
Stage Activity KPI Impact
- Farmer Onboards
Farmer registers digital identity (DID), crop data hashed on-chain
+Monthly Active Wallet, +Real-World Proof Point
- Crop Certified
Certification body issues verifiable credential; 2–5 on-chain transactions per cycle
+Monthly Transactions, +On-Chain Economic Activity
- Paid via Stablecoin
Buyer settles via USDA/iUSD on Cardano; funds flow through DeFi rail
+TVL (stablecoin liquidity), +Protocol Revenue
- Data Aggregated
Cooperative aggregates 1,000 farmers; enterprise buyer accesses data dashboard
+B2B Partnerships, +Enterprise Pilots
- Vertical Scales
10 cooperatives onboarded; regional carbon market integration
Narrative Coherence, External Perception Index
**Reading this Vertical chain: **A single farmer registering on Cardano creates a digital identity on-chain — that is one new active wallet and one real-world proof point logged against Cardano's 2030 metrics. Each time that farmer's crop is certified, a verifiable credential is issued on-chain, generating 2 to 5 transactions per harvest cycle. When the buyer settles payment via a Cardano-native stablecoin, real liquidity flows through the chain — directly contributing to TVL and protocol revenue. Scale that to a cooperative of 1,000 farmers, and you have a measurable B2B partnership and an enterprise-grade pilot running on Cardano. Scale it to 10 cooperatives integrating carbon markets and cross-border payments, and Cardano gains a documented, replicable real-world use case that strengthens its External Perception Index and narrative coherence globally.
**Research Focus Areas **
●** Deployment readiness**: What is the current state of Cardano dApps serving the Agri vertical? What remains unbuilt?
●** Bottleneck analysis**: Where does the adoption chain break — UX friction, stablecoin availability, BD capacity, regulatory friction? ●** Scenario modeling**: Conservative (1K farmers), Moderate (10K), Optimistic (100K) — and corresponding KPI projections ●** Competitive benchmark**: How does Cardano's Agri supply chain stack compare to VeChain, OriginTrail, and other specialist chains?
**Deliverables (Agricultural Supply Chain) **
● Agri Vertical Impact Chain Report ● Deployment Readiness Assessment (dApp landscape, gaps, blockers) ● Competitive Agri-Chain Benchmark ● Agri scenario model (3 adoption tiers → KPI projections)
Vertical 3 — Bitcoin DeFi initial areas of evaluation
*Research Lead: Sundial Protocol | Budget: 25,000 ADA *
**Context **
The emergence of Bitcoin DeFi — driven by protocols like Lightning, Stacks, Rootstock, and others — represents a significant new competitive and collaborative landscape for Cardano. Cardano's Bitcoin bridge infrastructure and its EUTXO model position it as a uniquely credible partner for Bitcoin-native financial applications. Sundial Protocol operates at precisely this intersection, with ground-level insight into the technical, liquidity, and user-behavior dynamics of Bitcoin DeFi on Cardano.
**Impact Vertical Chain: From One Bitcoin DeFi User to 2030 KPIs **
Stage Activity KPI Impact
- Bitcoin User Bridges
User wraps BTC and bridges to Cardano via a trust-minimized bridge
+Active Wallet, +Bridge Transaction Volume
- Liquidity Deployed
User provides BTC-backed liquidity to a Cardano DEX or lending protocol
+TVL, +Protocol Revenue
- DeFi Activity User swaps, lends, or earns yield using BTC-backed assets on Cardano
+Monthly Transactions, +DeFi Activity Index
- Protocol Integrates
DeFi protocol integrates Bitcoin liquidity as a core product feature
+B2B Integrations, +Ecosystem Depth
- Bitcoin DeFi Narrative
Cardano positioned as a Bitcoin DeFi destination in broader market
External Perception Index, Narrative Coherence
**Reading this Vertical chain: **A single Bitcoin holder bridging their BTC to Cardano is not just a new user — it is new capital entering the ecosystem. That bridge transaction generates on-chain activity and immediately increases TVL the moment that user deploys their wrapped BTC into a Cardano lending protocol or DEX. Every swap, yield position, or liquidity provision they make from that point forward adds to monthly transaction volume and protocol revenue. When a DeFi protocol formally integrates Bitcoin liquidity as a core feature, it becomes a structural B2B integration — not a one-off user. At scale, with tens of thousands of Bitcoin DeFi users consistently choosing Cardano over alternatives like Stacks or Rootstock, Cardano earns a credible position as a Bitcoin DeFi destination — a narrative that directly shifts the External Perception Index and attracts the next wave of liquidity and builders.
**Research Focus Areas **
●** Bridge readiness**: What is the current state of Bitcoin-Cardano bridge infrastructure? What are the trust assumptions, limitations, and roadmaps? ●** Liquidity analysis**: What is the current and projected Bitcoin liquidity available to Cardano DeFi? Competitive dynamics vs. Stacks, Rootstock, Lightning? ●** User profile mapping**: Who are the Bitcoin DeFi users most likely to migrate to Cardano? What are their motivations, barriers, and expected on-chain behavior? ●** KPI modeling**: What does 1,000 / 10,000 / 100,000 Bitcoin DeFi users mean for Cardano's TVL, transaction volume, and protocol revenue?
**Deliverables (Bitcoin DeFi) **
● Bitcoin DeFi Vertical Impact Chain Report ● Bridge & Infrastructure Readiness Assessment ● Competitive Landscape Benchmark (Cardano vs. Stacks, Rootstock, Lightning DeFi) ● Bitcoin DeFi scenario model (3 adoption tiers → KPI projections)
Cross-Vertical Synthesis (ELK)
Upon completion of all three vertical applications, ELK will produce two final cross-vertical deliverables:
Cross-Vertical KPI Contribution Matrix — An aggregated projection table showing the combined impact of all three verticals on Cardano's 2030 KPIs (TVL, MAU, Transactions, Protocol Revenue, EPI, RWPP) across conservative, moderate, and optimistic scenarios.
Final Research Report & Public Presentation — A unified synthesis document drawing the key findings, patterns, and recommendations from all three vertical studies, delivered as both a written report and a public-ready slide deck presented at a Product Committee / GMC community session.
Full Deliverables Summary
# Deliverable Lead Part
D1 Impact Vertical Chain Template ELK Part 1
D2 Scenario Modeling Engine ELK Part 1
D3 Bottleneck & Enabler Taxonomy ELK Part 1
D4 Vertical Impact Scorecard (v1) ELK Part 1
D5 Framework Research Report ELK Part 1
D6 Governance Impact Chain Report Jess / Precision Outreach
Part 2
D7 Agri Supply Chain Impact Chain Report Zengate Part 2
D8 Bitcoin DeFi Impact Chain Report Sundial Protocol Part 2
D9 Cross-Vertical KPI Contribution Matrix ELK Part 2
D10 Final Research Report & Presentation ELK Part 2
Budget Breakdown
**Total Budget: 110,000 ADA • Duration: 5 Months **
Team Role **Budget **
(ADA)
ELK Framework research & design (Part 1), cross-vertical synthesis, expert interviews, community engagement, Intersect reporting (Part 2)
35,000
Jess Fields / Precision Outreach
Governance vertical application — Impact Vertical Chain, institutional mapping, competitive benchmark, scenario modeling
25,000
Zengate Agri Supply Chain vertical application — deployment readiness, Impact Vertical Chain, competitive benchmark, scenario modeling
25,000
Sundial Protocol Bitcoin DeFi vertical application — bridge assessment, liquidity landscape, Impact Vertical Chain, scenario modeling
25,000
TOTAL 10 deliverables • 5 months • 3 verticals • 15+ expert consultations
110,000 ADA
Timeline
Phase Months Key Activities Deliverables
Part 1 — Phase 1
Month 1 Analysis, ecosystem audit, benchmarking, community intake, initial interviews
Foundation docs
Part 1 — Phase 2
Month 2 Framework design, expert validation (10–12 interviews), community workshop, framework finalization
D1, D2, D3, D4, D5
Part 2 — Application
Months 3–4
Three vertical deep-dives run in parallel; Impact Vertical Chains, competitive benchmarks, scenario models
D6, D7, D8 Drafts
Part 2 — Synthesis
Month 5 Cross-vertical validation, KPI matrix assembly, final report, community presentation
D9, D10 Final
Decision Gate Mapping
Gate Timing Question Being Asked Evidence Required to Proceed
Gate 1
End of Month 1
Is the framework foundation solid enough to build on?
Literature review complete, ecosystem audit done, 5+ interviews conducted
Gate 2
End of Month 2
Is the framework validated and ready for vertical application?
D1–D5 delivered, community workshop held, 10+ interviews done
Gate 3
End of Month 4
Are the three vertical reports substantive and consistent?
D6, D7, D8 drafts submitted for review
Gate 4
End of Month 5
Is the final synthesis complete and publicly useful?
D9, D10 delivered, public presentation given
Success Metrics
Metric Target
All 10 deliverables completed on time
100% on-time delivery
Cardano 2030 KPIs mapped per vertical
All 7 North Star KPIs addressed across all 3 verticals
Expert interviews completed 15+ across framework design and vertical applications
Community engagement 30+ participants across workshops and forum reviews
Framework validation Reviewed and stress-tested by at least 5 external practitioners before vertical application
Scorecard adoption Adopted by at least 2 future vertical leads post-publication
Open publication All research and framework materials published openly on Intersect platform
Strategic Alignment
This proposal directly supports the Product Committee's 2026 mandate by addressing the ecosystem's most critical analytical gap: the absence of a shared methodology for projecting and tracking vertical KPI impact. By building the framework first and applying it second, this research produces two compounding outputs — a permanent community tool and three immediate vertical intelligence reports — from a single, coherent research investment.
The three verticals chosen — Governance, Agricultural Supply Chain, and Bitcoin DeFi — are deliberately distinct in their actor profiles, on-chain mechanics, and adoption dynamics. Proving the framework holds across all three is the strongest possible validation of its universality and its value to the ecosystem long-term.
Risk & Mitigation Plan
Partner Delivery Risk This research involves four independent teams working in parallel. To ensure consistency and on-time delivery, ELK will maintain a shared coordination rhythm across all partners throughout the project, with monthly check-ins and a shared delivery tracker. Each partner's scope and deliverables are clearly defined and contractually agreed prior to project start.
Data Availability Risk On-chain data for emerging verticals on Cardano may be limited or inconsistent in some areas. Where verified data is unavailable, assumptions underpinning scenario models will be clearly documented, sourced, and distinguished from data-backed projections.
Interview Access Risk Securing 15+ substantive operator interviews across three verticals within a five-month window carries scheduling risk. Outreach will begin in Month 1 — before the framework is finalized — to ensure the interview pipeline is active well ahead of the vertical application phase.
Scope Creep Risk The framework design phase (Part 1) could expand beyond its two-month window if validation cycles are not tightly managed. ELK will set a hard finalization date for the framework at the end of Month 2, with community feedback consolidated into a single iteration round rather than open-ended revision cycles.
About the Teams
ELK is a blockchain consulting company specializing in onboarding companies into the Cardano ecosystem. With several years of active ecosystem presence and a strong network across builders, operators, and institutional partners, ELK brings both the methodological rigor and ground-level BD knowledge required to design a universal vertical research framework and lead a multi-partner research initiative of this scope.
Jess Fields / Precision Outreach LLC brings nearly 20 years of hands-on experience in public-sector engagement and strategy. Fields was a city councilman in Texas representing 100,000 people (2010-2013) before helping start a local government think tank with the Texas Public Policy Foundation. He has worked on public policy in 35 states and with hundreds of local governments, and successfully spearheaded policy reform in numerous jurisdictions. As a consultant, he has consulted for startups and nonprofits on strategy, communication, and market entry. In the past year, he has produced meaningful business research for Cardano and assisted in refining its vision and strategy documents.
Zengate is a Cardano-native team building supply chain infrastructure. With hands-on experience in Cardano-based provenance, certification, and payment applications for agricultural contexts, Zengate brings the deployment-level knowledge required to make the Agri vertical Impact Chain analysis both accurate and actionable.
Sundial Protocol operates at the intersection of Bitcoin and Cardano, with direct experience in Bitcoin-backed liquidity and cross-chain financial applications on Cardano. Sundial Protocol is building institutional-grade Bitcoin DeFi infrastructure on Cardano, enabling Bitcoin holders to generate sustainable yield without giving up custody. Through UTXO-native rollup technology, Sundial connects Bitcoin's deep liquidity with Cardano's scalable, energy-efficient blockchain — unlocking lending, yield strategies, and cross-chain DeFi opportunities previously unavailable to native Bitcoin holders. Sheldon Hunt is the Founder and CEO of Sundial Protocol, leading the project's vision to bring institutional Bitcoin liquidity to Cardano. A Cardano ecosystem veteran, Sheldon has driven Sundial from concept through its first cross-chain BTC transfer between Bitcoin and Cardano. Prior to founding Sundial, he worked at IOG, Intersect, and EMURGO, and is a member of the Cardano Curia constitutional consortium. He has been active across all levels of the Cardano
ecosystem — from core infrastructure and governance to community building and enterprise partnerships — giving him a deep understanding of the network's technical architecture, institutional pathways, and decentralized governance landscape.
Operator Access Plan
ELK, Jess Fields / Precision Outreach LLC, Zengate, and Sundial Protocol each bring established networks that extend well beyond the Cardano ecosystem. Collectively, the team has direct access to governance bodies, public sector organizations, agricultural cooperatives, certification authorities, Bitcoin DeFi protocol teams, and cross-chain liquidity providers — built through years of active BD, partnerships, and deployment work in and around Cardano.
Primary operator engagement will take the form of structured interviews (10–15 per vertical), supplemented by targeted surveys where broader data collection is needed. Outreach will leverage existing relationships first, minimizing cold contact and ensuring a higher rate of substantive engagement. Where relevant, partners will also draw on their existing operator relationships to facilitate introductions to non-Cardano stakeholders — ensuring the research reflects real-world adoption dynamics rather than ecosystem-internal perspectives alone.
Confidentiality & Data Handling
All individuals and organizations participating in interviews or surveys as part of this research will be informed of the purpose of the study prior to engagement and will provide consent before any information is recorded. Interview data will be anonymized by default — findings and quotes included in published reports will not be attributed to named individuals or organizations without explicit written consent. Raw interview notes and data will be stored securely and accessed only by the relevant vertical research lead. All published research outputs will be made openly available on the Intersect platform in line with the grant's open publication requirements. No commercially sensitive or confidential operator information will be published without the explicit approval of the party concerned.
Conflict Declaration:
Yoram Ben Zvi, is part of ELK organization, and he is also in the Intersect Product Committee. ELK in general supports the 5am.earth treasury proposal. Yoram will not vote for this proposal to ensure a fair vote.
Ethics Approach
This research will be conducted in accordance with standard research ethics principles. All interview participants will engage voluntarily, with the right to withdraw at any time and without consequence. Findings will be reported honestly and in full, including where results are
unfavorable or inconclusive. No individual, organization, or platform will be misrepresented in any published output.
Problem Statement
The Cardano ecosystem has identified multiple high-priority verticals for growth, yet a persistent and critical gap remains: there is no structured, replicable methodology connecting vertical execution activities to the Cardano 2030 KPIs.
Without this connection:
- Vertical investments are evaluated without projected KPI impact
- Cross-vertical comparisons remain subjective and inconsistent
- The community and DReps lack the data infrastructure to assess whether vertical bets are paying off
- Each vertical team independently reinvents its own reporting model — with no shared language or benchmark
This proposal addresses that gap at the root. Rather than producing a vertical report that happens to mention KPIs, it builds the underlying model that makes rigorous vertical-to-KPI analysis possible — then stress-tests and validates that model across three fundamentally different verticals. The result is both a methodology that outlast this grant and three vertical intelligence reports with immediate practical value.
Research Objectives
Primary Objective
Design, validate, and publish a complete Vertical-to-KPI Impact Framework that is replicable across any Cardano vertical — and apply it to three strategic verticals (Governance, Agri Supply Chain, Bitcoin DeFi).
Secondary Objectives
- Establish a shared analytical language for vertical leads, DReps, and the Product Committee to evaluate vertical KPI impact
- Produce a detailed Impact Vertical Chain analysis for each of the three application verticals
- Quantify each vertical's projected projected contribution to Cardano's 2030 KPIs across three adoption scenarios
- Identify the top bottlenecks and enablers for each vertical
- Deliver a cross-vertical KPI Contribution Matrix enabling side-by-side comparison of ecosystem impact
- Produce a Vertical Impact Scorecard usable by future vertical leads as a self-service planning tool
Project Structure
This proposal is organized into two sequential parts, each with its own phases, deliverables and team responsibilities.
- PART 1 — Framework Research & Design (Months 1–2) ELK
- PART 2 — Vertical Applications (Months 3–5) ELK + Domain Partners
- Governance Jess Fields / Precision Outreach
- Agricultural Supply Chain Zengate
- Bitcoin DeFi Sundial Protocol
PART 1 — The Vertical-to-KPI Impact Framework
Lead: ELK | Duration: Months 1–2 | Budget: 35,000 ADA
What We Are Building
Part 1 produces a fully documented, community-validated Vertical-to-KPI Impact Framework — a universal research methodology that any Cardano vertical team can use to:
- Map their vertical's business activities to Cardano's 2030 North Star KPIs
- Model adoption scenarios and their projected KPI contributions
- Identify the critical bottlenecks and enablers that determine impact at scale
- Report progress in a format that maps directly to Cardano's 2030 Vision metrics
The framework is designed to be self-replicating: by the end of Part 1, any prospective vertical lead should be able to pick up the methodology and apply it independently.
Competitive Benchmark Methodology
Competitive benchmarking across all three verticals will follow a consistent evaluation framework applied by each domain partner. For any vertical, Cardano will be assessed against the two to four most relevant competing platforms or protocols across the following criteria: tooling maturity (availability and quality of developer and operator tooling), adoption depth (number of active operators, real deployments, and on-chain activity), TVL and liquidity (where applicable), regulatory positioning (how each platform navigates the regulatory environment of the vertical), and narrative credibility (how the platform is perceived by operators and institutions outside the crypto space).
Framework Components
The Impact Framework is built around four core components:
1. The Impact Vertical Chain Template
A structured model tracing the journey from a single end-user or operator action to its aggregate contribution to Cardano's KPIs. For any vertical, the Impact vertical chain defines:
- The key actors (end users, operators, institutions, dApps, bridges)
- The on-chain events each actor generates (identity, transactions, payments, votes, liquidity)
- The causal link between those events and each of Cardano's 7 North Star KPIs
2. The Scenario Modeling Engine
A standardized approach to modeling vertical adoption at three scales — conservative, moderate, and optimistic — with a shared set of assumptions, input variables, and KPI output metrics. This ensures all three vertical applications are genuinely comparable.
3. The Bottleneck & Enabler Taxonomy
A classification system for the factors that accelerate or constrain vertical adoption on Cardano — covering UX/tooling gaps, liquidity availability, regulatory friction, BD capacity, and ecosystem infrastructure. Applied consistently across verticals, this taxonomy enables cross-vertical diagnosis.
4. The Vertical Impact Scorecard
A one-page planning and reporting tool derived from the framework, designed for vertical leads to self-assess their KPI trajectory, set evidence-based targets, and report progress to the community in a standardized format.
Phase 1 — Analysis (Weeks 1–3)
- Review and synthesize all existing Cardano 2030 KPI definitions
- Audit existing vertical reporting approaches across Cardano ecosystem teams
- Benchmark methodologies from adjacent ecosystems (Polkadot, Ethereum ecosystem funds, Cosmos) to identify best practices
- Draft the initial Impact vertical template and scenario modeling structure
- Publish a public call for ecosystem input on Intersect forums
Phase 2 — Framework Design & Expert Validation (Weeks 4–8)
- Conduct 10–12 structured interviews with vertical leads, dApp builders, BD professionals, and DREps across the Cardano ecosystem
- Iterate the framework based on expert input, stress-testing the Impact Vertical Chain template against multiple hypothetical verticals
- Validate the Bottleneck & Enabler Taxonomy with practitioners from at least 3 different ecosystem domains
- Host a live community workshop (Week 7) presenting the draft framework to ~30 community members for open feedback
- Finalize and publish the complete framework documentation on Intersect platform
Part 1 Deliverables
| # | Deliverable | Description |
|---|---|---|
| D1 | Impact Vertical Chain Template | Fully documented, reusable template for mapping any vertical's activities to Cardano 2030 KPIs |
| D2 | Scenario Modeling Engine | Standardized scenario modeling methodology with shared input variables and KPI output metrics |
| D3 | Bottleneck & Enabler Taxonomy | Classification system for vertical adoption constraints and accelerators, validated with ecosystem practitioners |
| D4 | Vertical Impact Scorecard (v1) | One-page self-service planning and reporting tool for vertical leads |
| D5 | Framework Research Report | Full documentation of framework design rationale, validation process, expert insights, and usage guide |
PART 2 — Vertical Applications
Duration: Months 2–4 | Budget: 75,000 ADA (25,000 ADA per vertical)
With the framework completed and validated, Part 2 applies it in full to three strategic verticals — simultaneously providing the framework's replicability and delivering deep vertical intelligence across Governance, Agricultural Supply Chain, and Bitcoin DeFi.
Each vertical application follows the same structure: Impact Chain analysis $\rightarrow$ competitive benchmarking $\rightarrow$ scenario modeling $\rightarrow$ bottleneck identification $\rightarrow$ KPI projections. This structural consistency makes the three reports genuinely comparable and the findings aggregatable into the cross-vertical KPI matrix.
What an Impact Vertical Chain Is
An Impact Vertical Chain is a step-by-step causal map answering one question: if one real participant uses Cardano within this vertical, exactly what happens on-chain, and how does that contribute to Cardano's 2030 KPIs?
Each row represents one concrete action taken by a real actor in the vertical. The table reads left to right: the Stage names where we are in the adoption journey, the Activity describes what specifically happens on-chain, and the KPI Impact column identifies which of Cardano's North Star metrics that activity moves — and in which direction.
The power of the model is what happens when you scale it: a single row might describe one farmer, one governance entity, or one Bitcoin user. When that action is repeated by 1,000, then 10,000, then 100,000 participants, the aggregate KPI contribution becomes quantifiable. That is
exactly what the scenario modeling in Part 2 does — it takes each Impact Chain and runs it through three adoption scales to produce concrete KPI projections.
These Impact Chains presented in this proposal are illustrative previews — they show the structure and logic of the model. The full, validated, data-backed Impact Chains are the core deliverable of Part 2.
Vertical 1 — Governance
Research Lead: Jess Fields, Precision Outreach LLC | Budget: 25,000 ADA
Context
Cardano is one of the few blockchain ecosystems with a live, on-chain governance system — Voltaire. Yet the adoption of that governance infrastructure by real-world institutions, public sector bodies, and civil organizations remains nascent. The governance vertical represents one of Cardano's highest-differentiation opportunities: no competitor has a credible, production-ready equivalent.
Jess Fields brings direct experience working with institutional stakeholders, with a focus on public sector use cases, governance tooling, and high-probability institutional entry points, and recognizes the potential for public-sector adoption of Cardano to solve numerous pain points in public policy and within stagnant institutional frameworks.
Impact Vertical Chain: From One Governance Participant to 2030 KPIs - initial areas of evaluation
| Stage | Activity | KPI Impact |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Entity Onboards | Organization registers on Cardano, issues verifiable credentials or governance tokens | +Active Wallets, +Real-World Proof Point |
| 2. Vote Cast | Member participates in on-chain vote (DRep delegation, governance action) | +Monthly Transactions, +Governance Activity |
| 3. Proposal Submitted | Entity submits or co-signs a governance proposal | +On-Chain Economic Activity, +Institutional Engagement |
| 4. Institutional Adoption | Multiple organizations integrate Cardano governance into their decision-making | +B2B Partnerships, +External Perception Index |
Agricultural Supply Chains represent one of Cardano's most mature and validated vertical opportunities. The Syngenta pilot engaged 100,000+ farmers, relevant dApps are deployment-ready, and the use case — provenance tracking, fair payment rails, certification — directly leverages Cardano's core strengths. Zengate is a Cardano-native team building the infrastructure layer for supply chain applications on Cardano, with firsthand knowledge of the operational reality of this vertical.
Impact Vertical Chain: From One Farmer to 20 KPIs initial areas of evaluation
| Stage | Activity | KPI Impact |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Farmer Onboards | Farmer registers digital identity (DID), crop data hashed on-chain | +Monthly Active Wallet, +Real-World Proof |
| 2. Crop Certified | Certification body issues verifiable credential; 2-5 on-chain transactions per cycle | +Monthly Transactions, +On-Chain Economic Activity |
| 3. Paid via Stablecoin | Buyer settles via USD/cardano; funds flow through DeFi rail | +TVL (stablecoin liquidity), +Protocol Revenue |
| 4. Data Aggregated | Cooperative aggregates 1,000 farmers; enterprise buyer accesses data dashboard | +B2B Partnerships, +Enterprise Pilots |
| 5. Vertical Scales | 10 cooperatives onboarded; regional carbon market integration | Narrative Coherence, External Perception Index |
Reading this Vertical chain: A single farmer registering on Cardano creates a digital identity on-chain — that is one new active wallet and one real-world proof logged against Cardano's 2030 metrics. Each time that farmer's crop is certified, a verifiable credential is issued on-chain, generating 2 to 5 transactions per harvest cycle. When the buyer settles payment via a Cardano-native stablecoin, real liquidity flows through the chain — directly contributing to TVL and protocol revenue. Scale that to a cooperative of 1,000 farmers, and you have a measurable B2B partnership and an enterprise-grade pilot running on Cardano. Scale it to 10 cooperatives integrating carbon markets and cross-border payments, and Cardano gains a documented, replicable real-world use case that strengthens its External Perception Index and narrative coherence globally.
Research Focus Areas
-
Deployment readiness: What is the current state of Cardano dApps serving the Agri vertical? What remains unbuilt?
-
Bottleneck analysis: Where does the adoption chain break — UX friction, stablecoin availability, BD capacity, regulatory friction?
-
Scenario modeling: Conservative (1K farmers), Moderate (10K), Optimistic (100K) — and corresponding KPI projections
-
Competitive benchmark: How does Cardano's Agri supply chain stack compare to VeChain, OriginTrail, and other specialist chains?
Deliverables (Agricultural Supply Chain)
- Agri Vertical Impact Chain Report
- Deployment Readiness Assessment (dApp landscape, gaps, blockers)
- Competitive Agri-Chain Benchmark
- Agri scenario model (3 adoption tiers $\rightarrow$ KPI projections)
Vertical 3 — Bitcoin DeFi initial areas of evaluation
Research Lead: Sundial Protocol | Budget: 25,000 ADA
Context
The emergence of Bitcoin DeFi — driven by protocols like Lightning, Stacks, Rootstock, and others — represents a significant new competitive and collaborative landscape for Cardano. Cardano's Bitcoin bridge infrastructure and its EUTXO model position it as a uniquely credible partner for Bitcoin-native financial applications. Sundial Protocol operates at precisely this intersection, with ground-level insight into the technical, liquidity, and user-behavior dynamics of Bitcoin DeFi on Cardano.
Impact Vertical Chain: From One Bitcoin DeFi to 2030 KPIs
| Stage | Activity | KPI Impact |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Bitcoin User Bridges | User wraps BTC and bridges to Cardano via a trust-minimized bridge | +Active Wallet, +Bridge Transaction Volume |
| 2. Liquidity Deployed | User provides BTC-backed liquidity to a Cardano DEX or lending protocol | +TVL, +Protocol Revenue |
Cross-Vertical Synthesis (ELK)
Upon completion of all three vertical applications, ELK will produce two final cross-vertical deliverables:
Cross-Vertical KPI Contribution Matrix — An aggregated projection table showing the combined impact of all three verticals on Cardano's 2030 KPIs (TVL, MAU, Transactions, Protocol Revenue, EPI, RWPP) across conservative, moderate, and optimistic scenarios.
Final Research Report & Public Presentation — A unified synthesis document drawing the key findings, patterns, and recommendations from all three vertical studies, delivered as both a written report and a public-ready slide deck presented at a Product Committee / GMC community session.
Full Deliverables Summary
| # | Deliverable | Lead | Part |
|---|---|---|---|
| D1 | Impact Vertical Chain Template | ELK | Part 1 |
| D2 | Scenario Modeling Engine | ELK | Part 1 |
| D3 | Bottleneck & Enabler Taxonomy | ELK | Part 1 |
| D4 | Vertical Impact Scorecard (v1) | ELK | Part 1 |
| D5 | Framework Research Report | ELK | Part 1 |
| D6 | Governance Impact Chain Report | Jess / Precision Outreach | Part 2 |
| D7 | Agri Supply Chain Impact Chain Report | Zengate | Part 2 |
| D8 | Bitcoin DeFi Impact Chain Report | Sundial Protocol | Part 2 |
D9 Cross-Vertical KPI Contribution Matrix ELK Part 2 D10 Final Research Report & Presentation ELK Part 2
Budget Breakdown
Total Budget: 110,000 ADA • Duration: 5 Months
| Team | Role | Budget (ADA) |
|---|---|---|
| ELK | Framework research & design (Part 1), cross-vertical synthesis, expert interviews, community engagement, Intersect reporting (Part 2) | 35,000 |
| Jess Fields / Precision Outreach | Governance vertical application — Impact Vertical Chain, institutional mapping, competitive benchmark, scenario modeling | 25,000 |
| Zengate | Agri Supply Chain vertical application — deployment readiness, Impact Vertical Chain, competitive benchmark, scenario modeling | 25,000 |
| Sundial Protocol | Bitcoin DeFi vertical application — bridge assessment, liquidity landscape, Impact Vertical Chain, scenario modeling | 25,000 |
| TOTAL | 10 deliverables • 5 months • 3 verticals • 15+ expert consultations | 110,000 ADA |
Timeline
| Phase | Months | Key Activities | Deliverables |
|---|---|---|---|
| Part 1 — Phase 1 | Month 1 | Analysis, ecosystem audit, benchmarking, community intake, initial interviews | Foundation docs |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Part 1 — Phase 2 | Month 2 | Framework design, expert validation (10–12 interviews), community workshop, framework finalization | D1, D2, D 3, D4, D5 | | Part 2 — Application | Months 3–4 | Three vertical deep-dives run in parallel; Impact Vertical Chains, competitive benchmarks, scenario models | D6, D7, D8 Drafts | | Part 2 — Synthesis | Month 5 | Cross-vertical validation, KPI matrix assembly, final report, community presentation | D9, D10 Final |
Decision Gate Mapping
| Gate | Timing | Question Being Asked | Evidence Required to Proceed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gate 1 | End of Month 1 | Is the framework foundation solid enough to build on? | Literature review complete, ecosystem audit done, 5+ interviews conducted |
| Gate 2 | End of Month 2 | Is the framework validated and ready for vertical application? | D1–D5 delivered, community workshop held, 10+ interviews done |
| Gate 3 | End of Month 4 | Are the three vertical reports substantive and consistent? | D6, D7, D8 drafts submitted for review |
| Gate 4 | End of Month 5 | Is the final synthesis complete and publicly useful? | D9, D10 delivered, public presentation given |
Success Metrics
| Metric | Target |
|---|---|
| All 10 deliverables completed on time | 100% on-time delivery |
| Cardano 2030 KPIs mapped per vertical | All 7 North Star KPIs addressed across all 3 verticals |
| Expert interviews completed | 15+ across framework design and vertical applications |
| :--- | :--- | | Community engagement | 30+ participants across workshops and forum reviews | | Framework validation | Reviewed and stress-tested by at least 5 external practitioners before vertical application | | Scorecard adoption | Adopted by at least 2 future verticals leads post-publication | | Open publication | All research and framework materials published openly on Intersect platform |
Strategic Alignment
This proposal directly supports the Product Committee's 2026 mandate by addressing the ecosystem's most critical analytical gap: the absence of a shared methodology for projecting and tracking vertical KPI impact. By building the framework first and applying it second, this research produces two compounding outputs — a community tool and three immediate vertical reports — from a single, coherent research investment.
The three verticals chosen — Governance, Agricultural Supply Chain, and Bitcoin DeFi — are deliberately distinct in their actor profiles, on-chain mechanics, and adoption dynamics. Proving the framework holds across all three is the strongest possible validation of its universality and its value to the ecosystem long-term.
Risk & Mitigation Plan
Partner Delivery Risk
This research involves four independent teams working in parallel. To ensure consistency and on-time delivery, ELK will maintain a shared coordination rhythm across all partners throughout the project, with monthly check-ins and a shared delivery tracker. Each partner's scope and deliverables are clearly defined and contractually agreed prior to project start.
Data Availability Risk
On-chain data for emerging verticals on Cardano can be limited or inconsistent in some areas. Where verified data is unavailable, assumptions underpinning scenario models will be clearly documented, sourced, and distinguished from data-backed projections.
Interview Access Risk
Securing 15+ substantive operator interviews across three verticals within a five-month window carries scheduling risk. Outreach will begin in Month 1 — before the framework is finalized — to ensure the interview pipeline is active ahead of the vertical application phase.
Scope Creep Risk
The framework design phase (Part 1) could expand beyond its two-month window if validation cycles are not tightly managed. ELK will set a hard finalization date for the framework at the end of Month 2, with community feedback consolidated into a single iteration round rather than open-ended revision cycles.
About the Teams
ELK is a blockchain consulting company specializing in onboarding companies into the Cardano ecosystem. With several years of active ecosystem presence and a strong network across builders, operators, and instrumental partners, ELK brings both the methodological rigor and ground-level BD knowledge required to design a universal vertical research and lead a multi-partner research initiative of this scope.
Jess Fields / Precision Outreach LLC brings nearly 20 years of hands-on experience in public-sector engagement and strategy. Fields was a city councilman in Texas representing 100,000 people (2010-2013) before helping start a local government think tank with the Texas Public Policy Foundation. He has worked on public policy in 35 states and with hundreds of local governments, has successfully spearheaded policy reform in numerous jurisdictions. As a consultant, he has consulted for startups and nonprofits on strategy, communication, and market entry. In the past year, he has produced meaningful business research for Cardano and assisted in refining its strategy and document strategies.
Zengate is a Cardano-native team building supply chain infrastructure. With hands-on experience in Cardano-based provenance, certification, and payment applications for agricultural contexts, Zengate brings the deployment-level knowledge required to make the Agri vertical Impact Chain analysis both accurate and actionable.
Sundial Protocol operates at the intersection of Bitcoin and Cardano, with direct experience in Bitcoin-backed liquidity and cross-chain financial applications on Cardano. Sundial Protocol is building institutional-grade Bitcoin DeFi infrastructure on Cardano, enabling Bitcoin holders to generate sustainable yield without giving up custody. Through UTXO-native rollup technology, Sundial connects Bitcoin's deep liquidity with Cardano's scalable, energy-efficient blockchain — unlocking lending, yield strategies, and cross-chain DeFi opportunities previously unavailable to native Bitcoin holders.
Sheldon Hunt is the Founder and CEO of Sundial Protocol, leading the project's vision to bring institutional Bitcoin liquidity to Cardano. A Cardano ecosystem veteran, Sheldon has driven Sundial from concept through its first cross-chain BTC transfer between Bitcoin and Cardano. Prior to founding Sundial, he worked at IOG, Intersect, and EMURGO, and is a member of the Cardano Curia constitutional consortium. He has been active across all levels of the Cardano
ecosystem — from core infrastructure and governance to community building and enterprise partnerships — giving him a deep understanding of the network's technical architecture, institutional pathways, and decentralized governance landscape.
Operator Access Plan
ELK, Jess Fields / Precision Outreach LLC, Zengate, and Sundial Protocol each bring established networks that extend well beyond the Cardano ecosystem. Collectively, the team has direct access to governance bodies, public sector organizations, agricultural cooperatives, certification authorities, Bitocin DeFi protocol teams, and cross-chain liquidity providers — built through years of active BD, partnerships, and deployment work in and around Cardano.
Primary operator engagement will take the form of structured interviews (10–15 per vertical), supplemented by targeted surveys where broader data collection is needed. Outreach will leverage existing relationships first, minimizing cold contact and ensuring a higher rate of substantive engagement. Where relevant, partners will also draw on their existing operator relationships to facilitate introductions to non-Cardano stakeholders — ensuring the research reflects real-world adoption dynamics rather than ecosystem-internal perspectives alone.
Confidentiality & Data Handling
All individuals and organizations participating in interviews or surveys as part of this research will be informed of the purpose of the study prior to engagement and will provide consent before any information is recorded. Interview data will be anonymized by default — findings and quotes included in published reports will not be attributed to named individuals or organizations without explicit written consent. Raw interview notes and data will be stored securely and accessed only by the relevant vertical research lead. All published research outputs will be made openly available on the Intersect platform in line with the grant's open publication requirements. No commercially sensitive or confidential operator information will be published without the explicit approval of the party concerned.
Conflict Declaration:
Yoram Ben Zvi, is part of ELK organization, and he is also in the Intersect Product Committee. ELK in general supports the 5am.earth treasury proposal. Yoram will not vote for this proposal to ensure a fair vote.
Ethics Approach
This research will be conducted in accordance with standard research ethics principles. All interview participants will engage voluntarily, with the right to withdraw at any time and without consequence. Findings will be reported honestly and in full, including where results are
unfavorable or inconclusive. No individual, organization, or platform will be misrepresented in any published output.