Program areas at Open Source Initiative
Open Source Initiative acts as fiscal sponsoree for four active projects in 2023 with all revenue from donations. Clearlydefined is an Open Source project to crowd-source the gathering, curation, and upstreaming of licensing and security (and more) data about free and Open Source projects. The ultimate goal being to help projects thrive by more clearly defining their license and status. All revenue was from donations. Snowdrift.coop is a crowdmatching, Open Source program that matches donors to projects; during 2021, snowdrift left Open Source Initiative's fiscal sponsorship program to become a standalone legal entity. The floss desktops for kids project teaches students computing by doing; students learn to break-down and repair computer hardware components and install Open Source software. Seagl is a grassroots technical summit dedicated to spreading awareness and knowledge about free / libre / Open Source software, hardware, and culture.
Open Source Initiative is actively involved in community building, education, and public advocacy to promote awareness and the importance of non-proprietary software. Osi staff and board members use virtual resources or travel the world to attend Open Source conferences and events, meet with Open Source developers and users, and to discuss with executives from the public and private sectors about how Open Source technologies, licenses, and models of development can provide economic and strategic advantages.
THE OPEN SOURCE AND STANDARDS WORKING GROUP: 1. EXPLORES CURRENT STANDARDS SETTING ORGANIZATIONS (SSOs) UNDERSTANDING OF OSI APPROVED LICENSES, AND MORE GENERALLY, OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE, DEVELOPMENT, AND PROJECTS; 2. EDUCATE SSOs IN CURRENT PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES WIDELY ACCEPTED BY OPEN SOURCE COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE; 3. SUPPORTS AUTHENTIC ENGAGEMENT ACROSS OPEN SOURCE COMMUNITIES (I.E. IMPLEMENTERS, CONTRIBUTORS, PROJECTS, FOUNDATIONS) TO ENSURE ALIGNMENT WITH BEST PRACTICES IN OPEN SOURCE LICENSING, DEVELOPMENT AND DISTRIBUTION; 4. PRODUCES REFERENCE RESOURCES (EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES, EXPERT OPINIONS, CONSULTING SERVICES, ETC.) TO ADDRESS GAPS IN UNDERSTANDING, SUPPORT CURRENT PRACTICES, AND INCREASE THE RECOGNITION OF OSI APPROVED LICENSING AND THE OSI LICENSE REVIEW PROCESS, AND; 5. ENCOURAGES SSOs TO REQUEST AND MAINTAIN FORMAL PEER RELATIONSHIPS WITH OSI. THE WORKING GROUP WILL ACT AS THE FORMAL CORRESPONDENT.