Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Provides Matching Funds for National Science Foundation Sponsored Workshop
[Beaverton, OR, USA] — The Apereo Foundation and Ithaka S+R are pleased to announce that the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation has committed matching funds to support a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant (No. 2512157) aimed at advancing the sustainability of open source scientific research software. The Sloan Foundation’s contribution will significantly enhance the impact of the in-person, one-day workshop funded by the NSF, which is scheduled for August 2025 in New York City.
The workshop will convene key stakeholders, including representatives from well-established Open Source Software (OSS) communities, not-for-profit OSS foundations, higher education experts, researchers, and industry leaders, to explore practical and scalable sustainability strategies for open source research software.
Strengthening Sustainability of OSS that Supports Research
Over the past decade, government agencies, private funders, and the broader scientific community have identified a pressing need to translate OSS sustainability models—commonly used by software engineers—into frameworks that researchers can adopt and implement with ease. With over 25 years of experience supporting and sustaining OSS in higher education, the Apereo Foundation, along with our many partners, such as Ithaka S&R, are ideally suited to address this need.
“Having worked for over two decades at the intersection of higher education and open source software development and sustainability,” said Josh Baron, Apereo Foundation’s Development Officer. “I am thrilled by this additional funding and the support it will provide to equip researchers with the tools and strategies needed to sustain their OSS initiatives.”
Expanding the Workshop’s Impact
This grant from the Sloan Foundation will provide additional support to ensure that participants return to their home institutions with concrete and prioritized ideas for building a sustainable open source software (OSS) infrastructure that benefits researchers and other OSS communities on campus. Findings will be shared broadly via a "Practical Guide for Sustaining OSS in the Research Enterprise,” to be released under a CC-BY Creative Commons license, as a means to make it widely available.
For those interested in receiving updates on the workshop and the release of the guide, sign up for Apereo Communications or contact Chelsea McCracken of Ithaka S+R at Chelsea.McCracken@ithaka.org
About the Organizations
The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation is a not-for-profit, mission-driven grantmaking institution dedicated to improving the welfare of all through the advancement of scientific knowledge. Established in 1934 by Alfred Pritchard Sloan Jr., then-President and Chief Executive Officer of the General Motors Corporation, the Foundation makes grants in four broad areas: direct support of research in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and economics; initiatives to increase the quality, equity, diversity, and inclusiveness of scientific institutions and the science workforce; projects to develop or leverage technology to empower research; and efforts to enhance and deepen public engagement with science and scientists. https://sloan.org/ | @SloanFoundation
The Apereo Foundation
The Apereo Foundation is the only global non-profit organization supporting and developing open source software for higher education institutions. Established in 2012, following the Sakai and Jasig Foundations merger, Apereo has facilitated the development and sustainability of more than 11 OSS projects, which are used at thousands of educational institutions worldwide. Members and supporters collaborate to raise awareness and adoption of open initiatives, extending and enhancing teaching and learning, research, and administrative computing. https://www.apereo.org/
Ithaka S+R
Ithaka S+R provides research and strategic guidance to help the academic and cultural communities serve the public good and navigate economic, demographic, and technological change. With over 20 years of experience, Ithaka S+R has worked with more than 140 institutions to create and disseminate data that informs research and teaching practices. They are supporting research for the Sloan Foundation related to the impact of academic Open Source Program Offices (OSPOs) in higher education. https://sr.ithaka.org/
Ithaka S+R is part of ITHAKA, a nonprofit with a mission to improve access to knowledge and education for people around the world. https://www.ithaka.org/