Open Source Program Office
An Open Source Program Office (OSPO) is a department formed by subject-matter experts involved in free and open software. This team may also oversee the operation of open standards and Digital public goods. It often includes an understanding of legal compliance issues and risk management, but is not limited to this. OSPOs can also play a role in culture change within an organization.
Details
Numerous companies have OSPOs, such as Yahoo!,{{Cite web|url=https://yahoo.github.io/oss-guide/docs/resources/the-ospo.html|title=The Open Source Program Office|website=Open Source Guide|access-date=2023-05-17|archive-date=2023-05-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230517165008/https://yahoo.github.io/oss-guide/docs/resources/the-ospo.html|url-status=live}} Goldman Sachs,[https://developer.gs.com/blog/posts/goldmansachs-ospo-one-year-in Goldman Sachs' Open Source Program Office, One Year In] Bloomberg L.P., Comcast or Porsche,{{Cite web|url=https://www.linuxfoundation.org/research/the-evolution-of-the-open-source-program-office-ospo|title=The Evolution of the Open Source Program Office (OSPO)|website=www.linuxfoundation.org|access-date=2023-05-17|archive-date=2023-04-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230429183954/https://www.linuxfoundation.org/research/the-evolution-of-the-open-source-program-office-ospo|url-status=live}} and universities like Trinity College Dublin,{{Cite web|url=https://www.tcd.ie/innovation/OSPO/|title=Open Source Program Office - Trinity Innovation - Trinity College Dublin|website=www.tcd.ie}} the University of Vermont,{{Cite web |title=About |url=https://verso.w3.uvm.edu/about/ |access-date=2025-01-16 |website=VERSO |language=en-US}} or Johns Hopkins University.{{Cite web|url=https://drcc.library.jhu.edu/open-source-programs-office/|title=Open Source Programs Office (OSPO)|access-date=2023-05-17|archive-date=2023-05-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230529125348/https://drcc.library.jhu.edu/open-source-programs-office/|url-status=live}} The US Government's Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has also established an OSPO to help them improve organizational effectiveness.{{Cite web |title=Open Source Program Office {{!}} CMS |url=https://www.cms.gov/digital-service/open-source-program-office |access-date=2025-01-22 |website=www.cms.gov}}{{Cite web |title=How one federal agency worked to release open source software responsibly |url=https://www.usdigitalresponse.org/resources/cms-open-source-software |access-date=2025-01-22 |website=www.usdigitalresponse.org |language=en}}
The tasks of an OSPO include both business oriented goals:
- Advocacy for free software within the organization{{Cite web|url=https://www.redhat.com/en/resources/open-source-program-office-brief|title=Why have an open source program office?|website=www.redhat.com|access-date=2023-05-17|archive-date=2023-05-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230504233004/https://www.redhat.com/en/resources/open-source-program-office-brief|url-status=live}}{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34LQnyB3ydQ&ab_channel=ExecutiveMosaic |title=Inside CMS’s Ground-Breaking Open Source Program Office [e-session] |date=2023-10-26 |last=Executive Mosaic |access-date=2025-01-22 |via=YouTube}}
- Internal and external community management and support of the respective maintainer of the software projects
- Development of Business models for open-source software
- Corporate communication to the open source strategy inside and outside the organization and contact with other OSPOs
And technical and legal compliance issues such as:
- Technical support of projects
- Maintenance of public and private repositories on GitHub and GitLab for version control.{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpVNSAj9eDg&ab_channel=TheLinuxFoundation |title=Repository Cohorts: How OSPOs... - James Siri, Natalia Luzuriaga, Remy DeCausemaker & Isaac Milarsky |date=2024-04-26 |last=The Linux Foundation |access-date=2025-01-22 |via=YouTube}}{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0aaVBicOjI&ab_channel=TheLinuxFoundation |title=Establishing a Baseline: Repo Metrics, Ma... - Natalia Luzuriaga, Remy DeCausemaker & Isaac Milarsky |date=2024-04-26 |last=The Linux Foundation |access-date=2025-01-22 |via=YouTube}}
- Release for use of free software
- Documentation of dependencies in used or included free software to prevent vulnerability or software license violations from third-party software.
- Creation and monitoring of license compliance policies of free-software licenses in deployed applications or published products[https://github.com/todogroup/ospodefinition.org github.com/todogroup/ospodefinition.org] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230430143228/https://github.com/todogroup/ospodefinition.org |date=2023-04-30 }} Open Source Program Office (OSPO) definition of todogroup{{Cite web |last=Project |first=CHAOSS |title=Managing Federal CHAOSS at CMS.gov |url=https://podcast.chaoss.community/81 |access-date=2025-01-22 |website=CHAOSScast}}{{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230430143228/https://github.com/todogroup/ospodefinition.org |date=2023-04-30}}
External links
- [https://ospo-alliance.org OSPO Alliance] Association of OSPOs, including the Eclipse Foundation
- [https://todogroup.org/ TODO Group] OSPO community of practice formed by member organizations and individual contributors; TODO is a Linux Foundation project
- [https://curioss.org/ CURIOSS] OSPO community for those working in University and Research Institution OSPOs
- [https://chaoss.community/ Community Health Analytics in Open Source Software (CHAOSS)] CHAOSS is a Linux Foundation project
- [https://opensource.com/article/20/5/open-source-program-office A guide to setting up your Open Source Program Office (OSPO) for success - opensource.com]
- [https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/collection/open-source-observatory-osor/document/rise-open-source-program-offices-ospo The Rise of the Open Source Program Offices (OSPO) - joinup.ec.europa.eu]