Call for proposals: fundamental research in blockchain technology to advance the Cardano ecosystem

Summary:

• Input | Output Research (IOR) is pleased to announce the launch of its call for proposals under Cardano Vision – a multi-year research initiative advancing Cardano’s leadership in blockchain science.
• The program invites proposals from academics, research groups, and consortia across priority thematic areas, with a focus on rigorous, evidence-based research that strengthens decentralization, transparency, resilience, and global accessibility.
• Proposals should follow defined requirements, align with the thematic calls, and demonstrate clear scientific contribution and feasibility.
• Selected work will support Cardano’s long-term evolution through foundational research, applied engineering, and collaboration with leading institutions.

IOR's first call for 2026 proposals focuses on several thematic research areas that represent high-value opportunities for blockchain innovation. By expanding its world-class research portfolio, IOR aims to reinforce Cardano’s global and unique standing in the blockchain landscape. The team invites proposals for the following thematic areas, detailed in the respective sections of this document.

1. DSL for smart contracts: domain-specific languages (DSLs) enable domain experts to create smart contracts without extensive software development. Cardano’s Marlowe DSL has demonstrated the value of this approach in finance, and this research area aims to identify further domains – legal, tokenization, and supply chains – where new DSLs could support high-value applications.
2. Global identity: decentralized identity enables privacy-preserving, user-centric, and interoperable digital credentials. This research area focuses on defining the foundations of a global identity framework and integrating it seamlessly into the Cardano ecosystem.
3. Proof of useful work: proof of useful work is still underrepresented in consensus research, yet it holds significant potential to create more robust, inclusive protocols by rewarding meaningful computational effort. Advancing useful work-based consensus mechanisms is expected to create new opportunities to leverage existing hardware to solve useful problems, such as AI training or non-interactive zero-knowledge proofs (NIZK), while also securing a platform.
4. Effective TPS metrics: governance and decision-making in Cardano rely on the ability to quantify impact across dimensions such as decentralization, cost, utility, interoperability, and performance. This workstream refines the definition and measurement of ecosystem throughput, going beyond simple transaction per second (TPS) counts to reflect the actual utility of processing computations and data of varying complexity.

The call opens on  November 17, 2025, with proposal submissions due by December 16, 2025. Shortlisted applicants will be invited to interview in mid-January, and final evaluations will conclude in early 2026.

For further details, including information on how to submit an expression of interest, please view the call for proposals document.