In October, the OSI hosted the State of the Source Track at All Things Open designed to connect developers with the big policy conversations shaping our ecosystem. Ruth Suehle, Patrick Masson, Amir Montazery, and Duane O’Brien organized the panel Beyond the Bottom Line: Sustaining the Open Source Ecosystem, exploring real-world approaches to Sustaining Open Source, from new funding models to global procurement policies.
Beyond the Bottom Line: Sustaining the Open Source Ecosystem
Ruth Suehle (Apache Foundation – moderator), Patrick Masson (Apereo Foundation), Amir Montazery (Open Source Technology Improvement Fund), & Duane O’Brien (Capital One)
Sustaining the Open Source ecosystem has always been a difficult propo…
In October, the OSI hosted the State of the Source Track at All Things Open designed to connect developers with the big policy conversations shaping our ecosystem. Ruth Suehle, Patrick Masson, Amir Montazery, and Duane O’Brien organized the panel Beyond the Bottom Line: Sustaining the Open Source Ecosystem, exploring real-world approaches to Sustaining Open Source, from new funding models to global procurement policies.
Beyond the Bottom Line: Sustaining the Open Source Ecosystem
Ruth Suehle (Apache Foundation – moderator), Patrick Masson (Apereo Foundation), Amir Montazery (Open Source Technology Improvement Fund), & Duane O’Brien (Capital One)
Sustaining the Open Source ecosystem has always been a difficult proposition. Our current geopolitical environment makes that even more difficult. But there are ways forward and it’s incumbent on us to explore them.
This session will discuss ideas for sustaining the Open Source ecosystem and the communities that support them: developers, maintainers, deployers, stewards, etc. It will outline the various proposals from public-private partnerships to procurement policies and sovereign tech funds. Participants will learn the latest on these ideas, provide feedback, and offer new ones. The conversation will encompass approaches from across the globe with a focus on actions that can be taken in the United States.
Video summary
Ruth Suehle:** ** Hello everyone! Thanks for spending your lunch hour with us — feel free to keep snacking on those convention center box lunches. We’re going to spend the next hour talking about the sustainability of the Open Source ecosystem.
For many people, “sustainability” sounds like a fancy word for “money,” but it’s much more than that. I hope we’ll touch on several dimensions beyond just financial support.
I’m Ruth Suehle, President of the Apache Software Foundation and a member of the OSI Board of Directors. I also run the Open Source Program Office at SAS Institute. I’ll be moderating today’s panel — and standing behind these fine gentlemen to share the mic.
Amir Montazeri:** ** Hi everyone, good afternoon, and thank you, Ruth. I’m Amir Montazeri, Managing Director of the Open Source Technology Improvement Fund (OSTIF). We’re a nonprofit that works directly with Open Source communities and maintainers to improve the security and sustainability of critical Open Source projects through audits, tooling, and community engagement.
Patrick Masson:** ** Hello everyone! I’m Patrick Masson, Executive Director of the Apereo Foundation, which supports Open Source projects in higher education. Before that, I served as General Manager of the Open Source Initiative for about ten years, and before that, as CTO of the University of Massachusetts system and CIO for the State University of New York.
Having been on both the university and foundation sides, I hope to offer some perspective on why institutions invest in and sustain Open Source projects.
Duane O’Brien:** ** Hi everyone, I’m Duane O’Brien. I’m currently Director of Collaborative Engineering at Capital One — but I’m here today in a personal capacity as a board member of the Open Source Collective Foundation.
For about ten years, I’ve been involved in Open Source sustainability and funding. While I was at Indeed, I started a program called the FOSS Contributor Fund, which helped companies invest directly in their Open Source dependencies.
Ruth Suehle:** ** Thank you all.
We’re now entering what I think of as the next phase of Open Source history. It’s been nearly 30 years since the term “Open Source” was coined in 1998. During that time, the ecosystem has quietly become the foundation of almost all global software — yet we’re still not an organized “entity.”
The number of projects and foundations has exploded, but the number of maintainers and new contributors hasn’t kept up. Financial support is also spread thinner than ever, as companies distribute the same amount of funding across more projects and expect greater returns.
Meanwhile, regulatory attention — especially around security and compliance — has increased sharply. So, what should we do differently over the next 5, 10, or even 25 years to ensure the ongoing health of Open Source?
Duane O’Brien:** ** If we look back 15 or 20 years, sustainability wasn’t about writing checks — it was about writing code. The best way to support an Open Source project was to have your developers actively contribute.
Over the last decade, the focus shifted toward funding — how to distribute money, set up fiscal hosts, and so on. But money doesn’t automatically translate into sustainability. You still need to turn that money into labor — into code.
I think it’s time to return to the idea of contributing directly: if you want your dependencies to be healthy, help maintain them. Contribute code, not just cash.
Patrick Masson:** ** I completely agree — Duane stole my talking points!
Open Source flourished when it was a byproduct of people’s primary work. Contributors collaborated because it helped them do their jobs better.
Looking forward, I’d like to see more collaboration between foundations and organizations — not just sharing code, but also sharing expertise. Different groups have strengths: Python excels at community development, Apache has deep experience with IP and governance, OSI leads on policy. If we network across those areas of expertise, we can support one another and reduce duplication of effort.
Sustainability can come from building networks of shared practice, not just from chasing new funding streams.
Amir Montazeri:** ** Yes, more involvement from large organizations is key. Companies — especially big tech — rely on thousands of Open Source components, but many could do far more to give back.
Contribution shouldn’t just be encouraged; it should be built into roles and performance goals. That could mean allocating developer time or supporting maintainers directly.
Consolidation also plays a role — there’s a lot of duplicated work across similar projects. Consortium models can reduce redundancy and focus effort.
Finally, we need transparent, trusted nonprofit intermediaries that can effectively manage funding, coordinate expertise, and prove they’re fulfilling their missions.
Patrick Masson:** ** We’re actually testing a model like that at Apereo. We’re partnering with universities and sponsors to co-develop Open Source tools. The foundation gets some financial support, the project maintainers get funded, and sponsors get measurable value in return.
It’s complex to coordinate, but it’s a step toward a self-sustaining system — one based on shared work, not annual fundraising drives.
Ruth Suehle:** ** That’s great. Let’s shift to another topic: collaboration between foundations, industry, and government.
Historically, those groups have operated in silos. Foundations were neutral spaces for collaboration but rarely interacted with government. That’s changing — for example, initiatives like Alpha Omega and OSI’s Open Policy Alliance are building bridges around security and regulation.
How can we strengthen those relationships further?
Duane O’Brien:** ** A few years ago, I joined a fellowship program at George Mason University’s National Security Institute. It paired technologists with policymakers to help improve legislation.
What I learned is that the policymaking process is far more complex than most technologists realize. If we want to influence better policy, we need to understand that system — and engage with humility.
The parallel in Open Source is similar: you can’t just assume someone else will represent your interests. You have to show up, learn how the system works, and participate meaningfully.
Patrick Masson:** ** Exactly. Many projects try to do everything themselves — policy, security, governance — and that drives up costs. We should adopt shared service models, just like in technical collaboration.
Foundations could specialize and offer expertise to each other. For example, a project that’s great at organizing events or managing policy shouldn’t give that away for free — they can offer it as a service, helping others while supporting themselves financially.
We talk a lot about Open Source code being “free,” but our organizational expertise doesn’t have to be. Sustainability means valuing all types of contributions — technical and non-technical alike.
Amir Montazeri:** ** I’d add that we need to be proactive. Companies have experts in law, policy, and communications who could contribute to Open Source efforts — but they won’t unless we ask.
Directly inviting them to participate is crucial. If you don’t ask, the answer is always no.
And at the policy level, cross-industry collaboration is vital. We need neutral nonprofit homes where stakeholders can come together, align on best practices, and then inform government policy from a position of real-world experience.
Policies written without that input often miss the mark.
Ruth Suehle:** ** That’s a great point. And that brings us back to education and outreach. If we want a sustainable future, we have to invest in the next generation — students, new contributors, and nontechnical participants.
Patrick Masson:** ** Absolutely. We’re seeing some great university partnerships already. For example, programs at the University of Minnesota and RIT are integrating Open Source work into their curricula, involving not just computer science students but also marketing, communications, and business students.
These initiatives help students learn real-world collaboration while helping projects grow.
The key is making these programs sustainable themselves — ensuring they survive beyond the individuals who founded them.
Duane O’Brien:** ** Yes — too often, programs like these depend entirely on one passionate person. When that person leaves, the program fades.
We need to bake Open Source engagement into institutional DNA — so it continues when individuals move on. It’s not enough to convince people that Open Source is important; we have to make it part of the structure.
Amir Montazeri:** ** Well said. That’s part of what I call “Open Source estate planning.” We need to think about what happens to a project when it’s no longer actively maintained — to plan for its long-term health.
Being intentional about how software is built, sustained, and eventually retired is part of true sustainability.
Ruth Suehle:** ** Exactly. To close, let’s each share one takeaway — one action this audience can take to strengthen the Open Source ecosystem.
Patrick Masson:** ** Make yourself and your organization discoverable. Let others know what you do and how they can collaborate with you.
Amir Montazeri:** ** Map the landscape. Understand who’s doing what, and look for opportunities to cooperate — even with your competitors. Find common ground.
Duane O’Brien:** ** Bring more people along. Open Source thrives because people show up and do the work. Invite others to join — colleagues, students, friends. That’s how communities grow.
Ruth Suehle:** ** And my final thought: many of us have been in Open Source for decades. The next generation of contributors will shape the future. If everyone here helps even one new person become an Open Source contributor, we’ll double our community.
So go find your “one more.”
Thank you all for coming.