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Founding Phase · Private Beta. The Institute is in private beta. Any example content is labelled as such and is never presented as real.

DSI
Guide

Governance Glossary

This tool has been retired

It stays online so existing links, version history and any work you already started against it still resolve. It is no longer maintained or reviewed.

Browse the current toolkit
Type
Guide
Difficulty
Foundation
Time
10 min
Version
v1.0.0
Updated
8/2/2026
governancetechnical

What this helps you do

The glossary is maintained as a teaching artefact, not an authority. Where a canonical definition exists in the Constitution or in a CIP, we link to it and mark our wording as a paraphrase.

Browse the full A-Z below on this page's own section of the library.

When to use this

  • You are new to Cardano governance and reading proposal text that assumes fluency.
  • You are writing for delegators and want to use terms consistently.
  • You need to check that a proposal uses a formal term in its formal sense.

When NOT to use this

  • As a legal or constitutional authority. Defer to the Constitution and the CIPs.
  • As a substitute for reading the governance action itself.

What you'll need

  • The governance text or discussion you are reading

Estimated completion time

10 minutes

Working time for one governance action, assuming the inputs listed here are already to hand.

How to use it

  1. 1Look up terms as you meet them rather than reading end to end.
  2. 2Where a proposal uses a term loosely, note the gap between its usage and the formal definition.
  3. 3Follow the linked canonical source before relying on a definition in public writing.

The tool

Full guide - v1.0.0

Sample entries

  • Governance Action - a formal on-chain proposal placed for a vote
  • Constitutional Committee - the body that checks actions for constitutionality
  • Info Action - a signalling action with no on-chain effect
  • Treasury Withdrawal - a request to move funds out of the treasury

How to interpret the result

  • Definitions are plain-language paraphrases meant to make primary documents readable.
  • Where a term is contested, treat the entry as an orientation, then read the cited source.

Limitations

  • It is not a legal or constitutional interpretation and carries no authority.
  • Terminology changes as the ledger and the Constitution evolve; check the last-updated date.

Sources and methodology

Learn this method

This tool records the work. The Training Lab teaches how to do it.

  • governance-foundations · Constitutional Basics for DReps

    Constitutional Basics for DReps

    Puts the vocabulary in the context of who decides what.

    Open lesson

Downloads

  • Markdown export: the complete tool, including metadata, instructions, the template, limitations, sources and version history.

No other file formats are published for this resource. We list a format only when the file exists.

Version and governance

Current version
v1.0.0
Published
8/9/2026
Last updated
8/2/2026
Next scheduled review
2/2/2027
Licence
CC BY 4.0
Editorial status
Not yet externally reviewed

No named reviewer is shown because no external review has been completed. Attribution appears only once a verified reviewer has signed off.

Changelog

  • v1.0.0 (2026-08-02) - Migrated from the static library into the resource register.
  • v1.0.0 (2026-08-10) - Retired. No direct replacement. Kept for version history and existing member workspaces.
Next in the workflow

Use these alongside it

The tools that usually come before or after this one.

TemplateFoundation30 min

DRep Decision Report Standard

A shared format for explaining DRep decisions clearly and consistently. Standardize the explanation, not the vote.

Workflow
Decide, Disclose & Publish
Formats
Markdown, plain text
Use ToolView Details
Use This Tool