Which Way Do We Go? Understanding Sustainable Pathways for Academic Open Source
329 | Fri 01 Aug 4:30 p.m.–5:15 p.m.
Presented by
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Stephanie Lieggi
https://ucsc-ospo.github.io/
Stephanie Lieggi is the Executive Director of the Center for Research in Open Source Software (CROSS) at University of California, Santa Cruz. She supports academic-based open source projects and aims to create a sustainable contributor base through the establishment of hands-on mentorship programs, including the Open Source Research Experience (OSRE) Programs. Since 2022 her role has also helped lead the UCSC newly formed Open Source Program Office (OSPO), supported by a grant from the Alfred P Sloan Foundation. Most recently, Stephanie led the effort to build a system-wide network of OSPOs at the University of California, securing financial support for building the network from the Sloan Foundation in Spring 2024. Stephanie co-chairs the CHAOSS University Working Group and is the co-PI on UCSC’s first US National Science Foundation's Pathways to Enable Open Source Ecosystem (POSE) grant, which has enabled exploration into successful models for building sustainable open source projects at universities.
Prior to starting at CROSS, Stephanie was a senior researcher and adjunct professor at the Center for Nonproliferation Studies, part of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, where she researched the intersection of national security and global trade.
Stephanie Lieggi
https://ucsc-ospo.github.io/
Abstract
Many impactful open source projects begin as ideas in academic research labs, as highlighted by the wide adoption of projects like Ceph, RISC-V and Jupyter. However, so much of what is created in universities doesn’t find broader adoption and struggles to be sustainable in the long-term. This is a lost opportunity that can have a broad impact on scientific communities, industry and society at large. This BoF session aims to explore the different pathways for academic open source projects to find their way to sustainability and adoption. As with most things open source – there is no one-size-fits-all. This session will provide those with experience in building and maintaining academic open source projects an opportunity to share that experience with those looking for the right pathway for their own project. It will also provide those working or supporting academic Open Source Program Offices (OSPOs) an opportunity to highlight how they are helping projects on their campus become sustainable and best serve the research and educational goals of their institutions.
Many impactful open source projects begin as ideas in academic research labs, as highlighted by the wide adoption of projects like Ceph, RISC-V and Jupyter. However, so much of what is created in universities doesn’t find broader adoption and struggles to be sustainable in the long-term. This is a lost opportunity that can have a broad impact on scientific communities, industry and society at large. This BoF session aims to explore the different pathways for academic open source projects to find their way to sustainability and adoption. As with most things open source – there is no one-size-fits-all. This session will provide those with experience in building and maintaining academic open source projects an opportunity to share that experience with those looking for the right pathway for their own project. It will also provide those working or supporting academic Open Source Program Offices (OSPOs) an opportunity to highlight how they are helping projects on their campus become sustainable and best serve the research and educational goals of their institutions.