Apereo Foundation Joins OSPO Alliance to Foster Open Source Collaboration and Best Practices

August 9, 2023
Michelle Hall, Apereo Communications

The Apereo Foundation, a global open source software community serving higher education institutions, is proud to announce its newest milestone in fostering open source collaboration and community growth within and for higher education. 

The Apereo Foundation has joined the OSPO Alliance, a collective of Open Source Program Offices (OSPOs), in an effort to promote best practices and advance the adoption of open source initiatives across industries.

The OSPO Alliance is a trusted network of organizations dedicated to creating and maintaining open source projects and supporting their communities. By joining this alliance, Apereo aims to enhance its capacity to develop robust open source solutions for higher education while actively contributing to the growth and sustainability of the broader ecosystem.

As a member of the OSPO Alliance, the Apereo Foundation will benefit from an extensive knowledge-sharing platform that enables collaboration with other renowned institutions and organizations that share a commitment to the principles of open source development. This collaboration will further streamline the Foundation's efforts to create innovative software and foster a thriving community of developers, contributors, and users within the higher education sector.

"The emergence of corporate-oriented OSPOs is significantly influencing education institutions. While this trend is advancing open source software within colleges and universities, a corporate model and value proposition may not be the best fit for higher ed," said Patrick Masson, Executive Director at Apereo Foundation. "Apereo's goal in working with OSPO Alliance is to better understand the potential of OSPOs to support the breadth of an academic institution's initiatives. Not just in information technology, but also open educational resources --  open textbooks, open access journals, open research and data, open courses and curriculum and areas where collaboration and co-creation yield greater innovation, broader access, and increased quality."

The OSPO Alliance is equally enthusiastic about the Apereo Foundation's membership. "We are thrilled to welcome the Apereo Foundation as our newest member. Apereo is a leading provider of open source software for the education sector, and their large network of educational institutions will be a valuable addition to the Alliance, reinforcing the weight of our academic members," said Boris Baldassari, Eclipse Foundation Open Source Expert and Chairperson of the OSPO Alliance. "[Apereo’s] long-lasting expertise and experience will be major assets to improve our current initiatives, including the Good Governance Handbook. We will be able to take better account of the specific nature and unique characteristics of educational environments. Together, we strengthen the collective voice promoting and advocating for transparent and efficient open source practices across industries, non-profit, and academics."


About the Apereo Foundation:

The Apereo Foundation is a global community of higher education institutions and partners dedicated to developing and sustaining innovative open-source software for education. The Foundation provides a framework to develop, manage, and support open-source software projects and acts as a collaboration platform for engaging and connecting institutions, developers, and users.  www.apereo.org

About the OSPO Alliance:

The OSPO Alliance is an open community that brings and shares guidance to organisations willing to professionally manage the usage, contribution to and publication of open source software. The Good Governance Initiative (GGI) proposes a methodological framework to assess and improve open-source trust, awareness and strategy within organisations. The OSPO OnRamp meeting series provides an open, neutral and friendly forum, low-threshold entry point to exchange and learn about the basics of how to set up an Open Source Program Office and get started with open source. GGI and the OnRamp series are key initiatives from the OSPO Alliance. https://ospo-alliance.org/

 

For media inquiries, please contact:

Michelle Hall
Communications Manager
Apereo Foundation
michelle.hall@apereo.org
 

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