Episode 106: Funding Impact Measurement Working Group

Thank you to the folks at Sustain for providing the hosting account for CHAOSSCast! CHAOSScast – Episode 106 In this episode of the CHAOSScast, host Alice Sowerby introduces guests Dawn Foster, Cailean Osborne, and Paul Sharratt to discuss the newly formed 'Funding Impact Measurement Working Group' within the CHAOSS community. The panel explores the group's origins, goals, and objectives, emphasizing the importance of mixed method approaches to assess the impact of funding on open source projects. They highlight the significance of both quantitative and qualitative methods to understand the effects of funding better and share insights on creating standardized frameworks for impact assessment. The discussion also touches on the challenges of public versus private funding, the nuances of financial support in open source projects, and the potential benefits of having a collaborative, open forum for related discussions. Hit download now to hear more! [00:02:55] Dawn explains the newly established ‘Funding Impact Measurement Working Group’ within the CHAOSS Project including its goals and how often they meet. [00:04:26] Paul describes how the working group was founded after a research paper was written on measuring the impact of public funding on open source and how they presented at Open Forum Academy at Harvard Business School. [00:07:20] Dawn highlights open source funding comes from different sources and more about Microsoft’s FOSS Fund and measuring the impact of corporate sponsorship. [00:10:25] Cailean outlines all the core objectives of the working group. [00:13:17] We hear about the working group’s first meeting, including members from Digital Infrastructure Insights Fund, and the plan to build a repository of funding models, their effectiveness, and key case studies. [00:15:34] There’s a discussion on the challenges in measuring funding impact, which Dawn explains cases where funding has led to community conflicts (some contributors get paid while others remain unpaid). [00:19:45] Cailean talks about the long-term vision for the group which is expanding participation across different funding sources and building open source tools (e.g., Python scripts, Jupyter Notebooks) to support funding impact assessments. [00:21:26] Dawn encourages participation in a working group by contributing in various ways, whether through technical resources, providing insights and experiences related to funding impacts, or simply learning and engaging in discussions. [00:23:42] Paul and Cailean emphasize the need for qualitative research alongside quantitative metrics. Policymakers often seek “hard numbers,” but contextual insights from interviews and case studies are crucial. Value Adds (Picks) of the week: [00:29:12] Cailean’s pick is Audrey Tang at RightsCon on her dual meaning of digital in Chinese. [00:30:34] Dawn’s pick is Blender for designing 3D models she can print. [00:32:35] Paul's pick is ERROR bug bounty program. [00:33:46] Alice’s pick is scrolling for things on eBay like fun sweaters. Panelist: Alice Sowerby Guests: Dawn Foster Cailean Osborne Paul Sharratt Links: CHAOSS CHAOSS Project X CHAOSScast Podcast CHAOSS Slack [email protected] CHAOSS Calendar Alice Sowerby LinkedIn Dawn Foster Bluesky Cailean Osborne, PhD LinkedIn Paul Sharratt LinkedIn Paul Sharratt Bluesky Sovereign Tech Agency The Linux Foundation Europe Funding Impact Measurement Working Group A Toolkit for Measuring the Impacts of Public Funding on Open Source Software Development (Paper) “Measuring the impact of our investments: introducing a co-authored paper,” by Paul Sharratt [Audrey Tang](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audrey_Tang#:~:text=Audrey%20Tang%20(Chinese%3A%20%E5%94%90%E9%B3%B3,ten%20greatest%20Taiwanese%20computing%20personalities%22.) ERROR Blender #1-Dawn designed and printed on Blender #2-Dawn designed and printed on BlenderSpecial Guests: Cailean Osborne and Paul Sharratt.