A vision is not a timeline. It is a tale. And every tale begins with a world.

We do not begin with answers. We begin with questions: How might Cardano shape the way we understand ownership? Justice? Memory? Desire? What would it mean to live in a world where Cardano is not just a platform — but part of the fabric of everyday life?

To answer these questions, we turn to the most ancient technology of coordination: storytelling. And to the most forward-looking discipline of innovation: futures thinking. Cardano does not lack builders, thinkers, or tools. It lacks a shared, evolving direction — a vision that is not declared from above, but co-authored from below. Our approach to the Cardano 2030 Vision is built on the belief that futures are not predicted — they are created together. Through storytelling, imagination, and shared ritual, we transform the vision process from a planning exercise into a cultural movement. We call this collective storycraft. And we do it together in three phases.

Phase 1: Invite Imagination – Seeding Futures

We begin not with consensus, but with creativity. The first phase is about making space for the extraordinary range of perspectives that live within the Cardano ecosystem. This isn’t a strategy session or a whitepaper draft. It’s a guided act of world-building.

We recruit and equip community facilitators — local storytellers, organizers, SPOs, artists, builders, and dreamers — to host participatory sessions using a Futures World-Building Kit. This kit contains tools for speculative storytelling, prompts for imagining alternative futures, guidance for hosting inclusive gatherings, and templates for capturing output in various creative formats. Workshops explore how Cardano might shape lives in 2030. Topics include:

• Trust and identity
• Justice and value
• Freedom, love, belonging
• Movement, citizenship, education, memory

A girl voting through her wallet. A river with its own rights contract. A village creating public goods through bonding curves. These are not blueprints. They are vision fragments — glimpses of possible lives where Cardano is deeply embedded.

Outputs can be stories, poems, images, dialogues, speculative interfaces, or symbolic rituals. All are contributed to a shared Vision Archive.

Everyone is invited: developers and non-technical participants alike. You don’t need to know Plutus — only to imagine. The goal is a rich and plural ecosystem of imagined futures.

Phase 2: Share and Weave – Building the Constellation

After imagination comes synthesis. In this phase, we open the archive. Stories are no longer isolated fragments — they are stars in a constellation.

We host the Cardano Futures Showcase — a decentralized, participatory gathering where communities present their visions through art, sound, discussion, and presence. This is not a product demo. It’s a festival of futures.

Using participatory sensemaking techniques, we begin to identify patterns:

• Recurring themes, like "Programmable Public Goods" or "Borderless Identity"
• Archetypes, like "The Community Steward" or "The Transparent Healer"
• Emotional drivers: hope, fear, transformation

From these patterns we extract Vision Threads — long-term thematic directions grounded in what people care about. Threads represent ambitions Cardano could support, protect, or evolve toward.

We also begin sketching Eras — developmental arcs like “Foundation,” “Acceleration,” and “Maturation” that loosely group how the ecosystem could evolve to support these threads.

Importantly, we retain the raw originality of community submissions. We don’t standardize the output — we honor its plurality. The result is a narrative ecosystem, not a monolithic plan.

Phase 3: Translate and Align – From Dream to Direction

Here, the threads become strategy. We distill the shared narratives into a Cardano 2030 Vision Document — a flexible, modular framework structured around:

• Vision Threads: the core futures the community aspires to

• Eras: time-framed developmental arcs (e.g., 2025–2026, 2027–2028)

• Objectives per Era: broad outcomes to guide investment and attention

• Dependencies: what must exist to activate a thread

• Signals: how we might know we're on the right path

• Risks & Warnings: what could derail or undermine progress

• We ask practical questions:

• What use cases emerge from each thread?

• What infrastructure needs to be in place?

• How might this influence Catalyst, CIPs, onboarding?

We do not translate every story into a product. But we give every contributor a place in the larger weave.

Community Ratification and Vision as Living Process

The final Vision is:

• Released publicly (PDF + interactive map)
• Submitted as an on-chain Info Action — not as governance enforcement, but symbolic ratification
• Accompanied by a Vision Participation Kit, so builders, SPOs, dReps, and projects can trace their work into the vision

But the Vision does not end. It evolves. We build in an Annual Vision Re-Imagining Window, where community members revisit, challenge, and expand the threads. A Vision Canvas enables structured updates, new ideas, and course corrections. This means the Vision can adapt without losing coherence. It becomes a tool — a compass, not a commandment.

What This Enables:

• For builders: a way to explain and align their work to deeper community desires.
• For dReps: a lens to evaluate proposals and coordinate across terms.
• For the Product Committee: a narrative framework to translate features into futures.
• For communities: a space to imagine themselves into the protocol. This is how Cardano becomes not just a platform, but a story we co-author.

What We Deliver

• Cardano 2030 Vision Document, structured and ratified
• Interactive Eras & Threads Map
• Participation Kit for contributors and governance actors
• Vision Update Canvas for ongoing revisions
• Open-Source Archive of all vision fragments and story artifacts

Cardano is entering a decisive phase in its evolution — one where community governance is real, but long-term direction remains fragmented. While decentralized infrastructure has matured, there is no shared space where the ecosystem imagines its future together.

Traditional vision-setting methods often rely on planning, forecasts, or expert input. But these approaches fail to capture the creativity, emotional resonance, and collective intelligence of a truly global, diverse ecosystem like Cardano. To build a meaningful and resilient future, Cardano must embrace futures-thinking and world-building — a process where contributors, builders, and community members and possibly everyone can explore possible futures through stories, speculative design, and shared imagination. This vision is not a roadmap. It’s a living narrative anchor — a “flag planted five years out” (Jared Spool) — inviting teams across the ecosystem to align, adapt, and build in a shared direction.

Without such a process, Cardano risks misalignment, missed opportunities, and a community that moves without cohesion or clarity.

This proposal introduces a new model of vision creation for Cardano — one rooted in imagination, storytelling, and community-authored futures. It complements the ideas of the "https://gov.tools/budget_discussion/484". It delivers not just a vision, but a way of creating vision that’s participatory, emotional, and strategically generative. With our approach, we want to engage everyone in creating the vision, creating the world we want to be living in. Next, we include the bright minds that can build the tools to make this vision a reality.

Key Benefits: • A co-created 2030 Vision crafted from community-led world-building workshops across themes like justice, identity, and belonging • A global archive of stories, scenes, sketches, and speculative prototypes of Cardano in everyday life • A futures showcase to uplift and interconnect community imagination across geographies • A flexible vision framework that maps story into strategy through eras, threads, and emergent objectives • A regenerative ritual of vision — updated annually, remixable by anyone, alive like the community it serves

Why this team? We are pioneers in futures literacy, speculative design, and community-based storytelling, with over 20 years of experience building shared narratives in complex systems. We’ve worked across civic tech, education, blockchain, and global governance.

This is not just facilitation — it’s strategic foresight as community artform. And Cardano is ready for it.

The Vision Creation process delivers a suite of tangible, open-access outcomes designed for reuse, alignment, and long-term relevance. Each deliverable supports community coordination, narrative clarity, and ecosystem-wide engagement.

Futures Weaving Toolkit A complete set of materials to enable decentralized visioning workshops. Includes a facilitation guide, creative prompts, storytelling formats, feedback tools, and documentation templates — available in multiple languages for global accessibility.

20+ Community-led World-Building Sessions Facilitated by trained contributors across regions and themes. Each session yields one or more speculative “vision fragments” (stories, sketches, prototypes, rituals), all submitted to the Vision Archive.

Cardano Futures Showcase A celebratory, community-wide exhibition (virtual or hybrid) where vision fragments are presented through art, narrative, and discussion. Designed to uplift, connect, and inspire.

Vision Thread Synthesis A structured process of sensemaking, where recurring themes and motifs are clustered into Vision Threads — long-term thematic priorities that reflect the ecosystem’s aspirations.

Cardano 2030 Vision Document The final synthesis of threads and eras. Includes guiding objectives, development arcs, enabling conditions, early signals, and risks — published as a public, modular framework.

Participation Kit A set of tools and templates to help builders, SPOs, dReps, and other contributors align their work to the Vision Threads, or initiate future updates to the vision.

Open Vision Archive An open-source repository hosting all submitted vision fragments, workshop outputs, synthesis drafts, and template tools — transparent, remixable, and publicly maintained.

On-Chain Info Action Submission of the Cardano 2030 Vision as a symbolic on-chain proposal, allowing for transparent community recognition and anchoring the vision within Cardano’s governance record.

Definition of Done:

• All deliverables completed and published openly
• Vision Archive hosted and accessible
• Final Vision Document submitted on-chain as Info Action
• Toolkit and Participation Kit available for future iterations

The project is considered complete when the community has both a shared story of the future — and the tools to keep that story alive.

Total Requested Budget: $200,000 USD (to be converted to ADA; unused funds returned)

Cost Breakdown: • $30,000 – Toolkit creation and facilitator training • $25,000 – Global facilitator stipends and workshop microgrants • $15,000 – Archive setup and maintenance • $15,000 – Production of Futures Showcase event • $25,000 – Story synthesis and Vision Thread creation • $25,000 – Final 2030 Vision document and interactive map • $10,000 – Participation kit and annual update tools • $5,000 – On-chain Info Action and governance framing • $30,000 – Core project coordination and communication • $20,000 – Contingency, translation, and equitable access

The Vision Creation project is designed to run over a 6–7 month timeline, using a core facilitation team supported by regional facilitators and decentralized contributors. Our goal is to keep the core team lean, while enabling broad global engagement through training and toolkits.

Core Team Structure • Project Lead & Strategist (1 FTE): Coordinates overall timeline, strategy, and synthesis • Facilitation & Narrative Designer (1 FTE): Designs storytelling formats, workshops, and co-creation experiences • Community & Facilitator Coordinator (1 FTE): Supports regional partners, onboarding, and communication • Archivist & Synthesis Lead (0.5–1 FTE): Gathers outputs, runs thematic clustering, and leads narrative distillation • Technical & Visual Support (0.5 FTE): Publishes outputs, builds the interactive map, maintains the archive • Admin & Reporting Support (0.25 FTE): Tracks milestones, budget, and reporting deliverables

Estimated Average Core Team Load: ~4–5 FTE over 6–7 months

Decentralized Contributors • 15–25 Community Facilitators: Trained using the Vision Toolkit, each hosts 1+ local or themed workshop • Advisors & Reviewers: Experts, dReps, or researchers providing feedback during synthesis phases • Open Contributors: Anyone in the community can submit stories, comments, or refinements

Facilitators are compensated via microgrants or light stipends included in the project budget. Their coordination is supported, not controlled, by the core team.

Disruptive Elements GmbH https://disruptive-elements.com/

Disruptive Elements GmbH is a digital agency and venture builder at the forefront of AI, ED-TECH, Web 3 and blockchain technologies. We thrive on collaborating with NGOs, leveraging our expertise to drive impactful initiatives in this realm.

Composed of visionaries, researchers, developers, and project implementers, we empower decision-makers and businesses to navigate the digital landscape by providing comprehensive (IT) methodologies and implementation expertise, leading to market-ready solutions.

• 20+ years of experience in multi-method, user-centered research and strategic foresight
• 20+ years of experience in digital product development
• Led international public service design, open-source product strategy, and blockchain ecosystem development
• A network of regional research partners on 4 continents, ready to support local insight collection
• 5+ years of experience in Blockchain development with a wide range of projects realized
• Lecturer for Blockchain at the HKW University Berlin

When it comes to experience with Cardano

• Direct experience with Cardano dReps, SPOs, and builders through previous participation in Catalyst, Intersect, and independent projects
• Hosting the SmartFutures event with UNDP, funded by Project Catalyst, during the Berlin Blockchain Week, bringing together high-profile experts to collaborate in onboarding more UNDP and supply chain use cases to Cardano.
• Hosted two Masterclass Workshops with UNDP and UNHCR at the Cardano Summit in Dubai 2024
• Spoke as Keynote Speakers at the Cardano Summit 2024 in Dubai and Cardano Summit in Berlin 2023 and 2022
• Advising Cardano-based projects like SmartPlaces

We are also the author of the Proposal "Complement to the community proposal: Understanding Cardano’s Users, Opportunities, and Obstacles - A Holistic Product Research Program", ensuring seamless alignment between insight generation and strategic visioning.

Disruptive Elements delivers pioneering projects in blockchain, AI, and digital innovation. Highlights include:

• Stahlo Stahlservice: Developed a blockchain-based CO₂ tracking system for green steel supply chains.
• DiBooq: Implemented a notarial layer for real-time blockchain booking calendars in the vacation rental market.
• SmartPlaces: Strategic consulting and whitepaper for a Connect2Earn ecosystem, monetizing social interactions in a decentralized, data-sovereign environment.
• Welthungerhilfe #innolab: Co-created a peer-to-peer price oracle prototype to combat hunger, in collaboration with the Cardano Foundation.

Other notable clients: Volkswagen AG, HERE Technologies, ADAC, Continental, Roland Berger, Condé Nast, United Soft Media, Sparwelt AG, UBS AG, Hamburger Volksbank.

A vision is not a relic — it is a living, evolving artifact. Its power lies not in being finished, but in being continually revisited and renewed. After its initial creation, the Cardano 2030 Vision will remain open, adaptive, and community-driven through a lightweight yet resilient maintenance system.

Key elements of the maintenance plan include:

• A publicly available Vision Canvas — a modular template enabling anyone in the community to propose updates, refinements, or new threads based on emerging needs or new insights.

• An annual Vision Reweaving Window — a set time each year for the community to come together to reflect, adapt, and extend the vision. This may be hosted by Intersect, delegated to a working group, or coordinated by regional hubs and contributors.

• Open hosting of all vision artifacts — including the Vision Archive, Threads, Participation Kit, and update tools. These will be accessible via open infrastructure (e.g., GitHub, Intersect repositories, IPFS).

• Minimal but essential coordination — including documentation, facilitation of the annual check-in, and technical upkeep. Estimated long-term support cost: <$10,000 per year.

• Most importantly, the vision belongs to the community. Our role is not to control it, but to craft the tools and rhythms that allow it to breathe — and be breathed into — again and again.

Endorsed by the Cardano Foundation. It complements the ideas of the Intersect Product committee’s proposal"https://gov.tools/budget_discussion/484".

This vision-weaving process stands on the shoulders of many threads already being spun across Cardano. It depends on:

• Access to outputs from the Product Research Proposal, including personas, CPSs, and community pain points
• Collaboration with the Intersect Product Committee, especially around roadmap integration and feedback cycles
• Coordination with existing community spaces (Catalyst, SPO groups, Intersect Hubs) to promote participation and recruit facilitators
• Technical support for hosting the Vision Archive and interactive map
• Availability of an on-chain Info Action mechanism for vision ratification