IO: Developer Experience Initiative
**Proposal as pdf: [https://ipnso-com.ipns.dweb.link/?cid=QmQPLwjTwZeGrzsgs2QiC6crJLcMg64fU2kDYZmPZ9o7wf](https://ipnso-com.ipns.dweb.link/?cid=QmQPLwjTwZeGrzsgs2QiC6crJLcMg64fU2kDYZmPZ9o7wf)** Cardano's long-term utility depends on attracting and retaining developers — and this proposal accelerates that by making it dramatically easier to build on the platform. The target: a 30%+ improvement in developer growth rate within 12 months. Why this matters: Cardano currently has roughly 550 active developers, with no signs of growth, whereas Ethereum added nearly 2,000 new developers per year on average over the last 6 years. Survey data from 109 Cardano builders points to a clear set of barriers — fragmented tooling, scattered documentation, lack of coordination, and a steep learning curve. These are solvable issues, and solving them unlocks the ecosystem flywheel: more builders lead to more DApps, which attract more users and generate more protocol revenue, which attracts more builders. The initiative delivers five practical outcomes. First, community alignment paired with a bounty program that incentivizes improvements to ecosystem tools and libraries where pain points are greatest. Second, a setup tool ("cardano-init") that lets a new developer go from zero to a working project in minutes, regardless of their preferred tech stack. Third, an OpenZeppelin-style collection of ready-to-use smart contracts that gives builders a solid starting point. Fourth, a unified, simplified onboarding experience in the Developer Portal, built in collaboration with Intersect and coordinated with the team responsible for the Developer Portal. Fifth, a measurement hackathon designed to quantify progress and identify the next priorities. IO is collaborating with Intersect's Developer Advocate Program and exploring a partnership with TxPipe to broaden delivery capacity. Intersect serves as the designated administrator, with milestone-based disbursement and independent third-party assurance. Unspent funds are returned to the Treasury. **Treasury Ask:** ₳3,601,926
Reasoning
Written after the vote was cast
What this asks for, and from whom
Input Output asked for 3,600,000 ADA for the Developer Experience Initiative.
What would have to be true for this to be a good use of treasury funds
Developer experience is a genuine Cardano weakness and always has been. Every friction point in getting started is a builder who goes elsewhere and never comes back.
What specifically concerns me
DX initiatives are easy to fund and hard to measure. Documentation and tooling improvements can absorb budget indefinitely without ever moving the number that matters, which is how many teams ship.
What I am asking of the proposer if this passes
It was enacted. Measure time to first working contract for a new developer, and report it. If that number does not fall, the initiative did not work, whatever else was produced.