What would a foundation focused on Digital Public Goods mean for your project?
We want to hear from you! What would a foundation focused on Digital Public Goods mean for your project? Is it necessary?
About this survey:
This survey is seeking the insight from open source projects focused on social good, and those who support them, on the need for the creation of a dedicated support organization, modeled loosely after existing software foundations. The need for more systemic support, most acutely long term financial sustainability, is a common anecdotal consensus that we continue to hear during the past four years of consulting, mentoring, and advisory work done by the Open Source Center at DIAL. This survey picks up from conversations with our members and non-members alike, who have expressed the need for a conduit – in this case a foundation – that would enable projects to grow, mature, and scale.
Open source digital public software projects are unique in their positioning. Many of them have been created for a social cause and they are often aligned with one or more of the Sustainable Development Goals. These projects tackle important gaps in the digital ecosystem, improving the outcomes in sectors such as health, education, supply chain, case management, and financial inclusion. Their paths to maturity are not without their challenges, and through our work we have identified the 5 things digital public goods need to scale.
Our recent webinar at the World Economic Forum brought together a panel of experts that gave a primer on the issues involved in the creation of a foundation. The survey aims to bring more voices to the official conversation, and to formally understand the needs of a wider set of organizations and the particular set of priorities that DPGs have. For wider outreach, the survey is “amplified” through our partner networks, so that we can reach the relevant set of individuals and organizations that would benefit from a digital public goods foundation. For more information, please read and look through our deck on the case for DPG foundation.
The survey is set to run through October 2020. Once the survey is closed and the results have been collated and analyzed, the results will be used to accelerate the formal discussions necessary to promote the sustainability of digital public goods.
For further information or feedback, email us at: info@dial.global
