What we are working on: 2023-05-26 | Invest in Open Infrastructure

“…We welcome Sarah Lang and Daechan Kim to the team! As our Business Development and Partnerships Lead, Sarah will be working closely with our Executive Director Kaitlin Thaney to build support for our first fund, set to launch in 2024, as well as to further the development of our fundraising and business partnership strategy. We are also excited to have Daechan, a student at the Rochester Institute of Technology, join the team over the summer to research governance models for the open science cloud infrastructure project (see below). Additionally, Jerry Sellanga transitions to the new role of Engagement Coordinator, Networks, and starts full time this month.

Our Research Team is starting interviews with project partners for the open science cloud infrastructure in Latin America and Africa project. In this project, we will be conducting initial research in governance activities and co-designing  and piloting an early-stage governance and sustainability plan. The Engagement team is preparing for our upcoming workshop on building sustainable research infrastructure in Africa through exploring public-private partnerships, taking place alongside Open Repositories 2023 in June, in Somerset West, South Africa….”

Convocatoria para la presentación de propuestas: Fondo de Infraestructura Abierta | fecha límite: 31 de julio de 2023 | Invest in Open Infrastructure

English translation: “Invest in Open Infrastructure (IOI) is excited to announce our upcoming funding call for the Open Infrastructure Fund, which marks the next step in our Collective Funding Pilot. This call will provide funding to projects that support the development of open research infrastructure services, with the aim of strengthening sustainability and resilience and increasing the adoption of open infrastructure that underpins research and knowledge creation. Open Infrastructure Fund (pilot) at a glance:

Areas: capacity building, strengthening community governance, critical shared infrastructure
Where you are based: anywhere in the world; 60% of these funds are reserved for individuals and organizations in Low and Middle Income Economies (LMIEs) and/or services that are widely adopted by communities in LMIEs.
Level of funding: 5,000-25,000 USD
Duration of award: projects of any duration up to 2 years, starting between November 1 and December 31, 2023.
Deadline for applications: July 31, 2023…”

Call for proposals: Open Infrastructure Fund ($5,000-25,000 USD) | Deadline for applications: July 31, 2023

“Invest in Open Infrastructure (IOI) is excited to announce our upcoming funding call for the Open Infrastructure Fund, which marks the next step in our Collective Funding Pilot. This call will provide funding to projects that support the development of open research infrastructure services, with the aim of strengthening sustainability and resilience and increasing the adoption of open infrastructure that underpins research and knowledge creation. Open Infrastructure Fund (pilot) at a glance:

Areas: capacity building, strengthening community governance, critical shared infrastructure
Where you are based: anywhere in the world; 60% of these funds are reserved for individuals and organizations in Low and Middle Income Economies (LMIEs) and/or services that are widely adopted by communities in LMIEs.
Level of funding: 5,000-25,000 USD
Duration of award: projects of any duration up to 2 years, starting between November 1 and December 31, 2023.
Deadline for applications: July 31, 2023…”

IOI receives $1M from the Mellon Foundation to scale the Catalog of Open Infrastructure Services (COIs) | APR 7, 2023

“CS&S is proud to cross-post the announcement that Invest in Open Infrastructure (IOI) has received a generous grant of USD 1 million from the Mellon Foundation to catalyze investment in and adoption of open infrastructure in research. This grant will support the further development and productization of the Catalog of Open Infrastructure Services (COIs) and the testing of critical models and strategies to widen the pool of investors in open infrastructure….”

What we are working on: 2023-04-28 | Invest in Open Infrastructure

“…Want to join the IOI Team? We have four open vacancies. We are seeking talented individuals to fill four new open positions: Product Lead, Engagement Coordinator (Infrastructure), Research Data Analyst, and Django Developer. These new team members will support the further development of our Catalog of Open Infrastructure Services (COIs) prototype as well as the exploration of new models to attract additional investment into open infrastructure globally. These roles are fully remote – applicants worldwide can apply. Visit our website for a detailed look at the job descriptions and apply if interested!

We need your input to help shape our collective funding pilot. IOI is gearing up to launch the calls for proposals for a 130,000 USD pilot fund to support and increase the adoption of open, community-led infrastructure services for research and scholarship. As part of our resolve to advance more open, transparent, and participatory funding of open infrastructure worldwide, we are running a design survey to help further refine the calls for proposals for three areas, including grant size and eligibility. The deadline to participate in the survey is May 8, 2023, and we would love to hear from you!

Who we are talking to: Wole Abu, Liquid Intelligent Technologies, on potential mechanisms of engaging for-profit entities in Africa to reinvest in open infrastructure initiatives. Kim Parker and Martin Mogga, Research4Life, to learn more about their work in facilitating institutions in low-and middle-income countries with online access to academic and professional peer-reviewed content as potential future collaborations between R4L and IOI. Amanda Casari, Google Open Source, on some emerging questions looking at funding and resourcing for open source software and infrastructure….”

Collaboratively Exploring Solutions to the Funding Challenge for Open Infrastructure in Africa | Apr 22, 2023 | Invest in Open Infrastructure

“…We partnered with the West and Central Africa Research and Education Network (WACREN) last month to host a workshop in Accra, Ghana on March 15, 2023. The theme was “charting common pathways for collective action in advancing open infrastructure in Africa”. The workshop was a prelude to the annual WACREN Conference – an annual gathering that brings together researchers, librarians, open infrastructure funders, government officials, and National Research and Education Network (NREN) leaders and other stakeholders to chart common pathways to promote innovation, investment in infrastructure and service development to boost the capacity of the evolving African digital education and research landscape. Our goal for this workshop was to facilitate a conversation between participating research funders, NREN leadership, government officials, and other key stakeholders, for them to share their understanding of the importance of open research infrastructure and the challenges and opportunities they face in their work to develop, maintain, and adopt shared infrastructure. The workshop was also a chance for the IOI team to listen to and learn from open infrastructure practitioners in Africa. This listening process is critical to ensure that our work and engagements in the long term are additive to what the African open science community is building and responsive to the dynamics of the continent….”

Piloto de Financiamiento Colectivo: el diseño de una convocatoria de financiamiento | Invest in Open Infrastructure | Apr 21, 2023

English translation: “At our Funders Summit last year, we started our collective funding pilot with the goal to experiment with and learn from building a more collective, open and transparent funding process, in which we serve real community needs through centring the voices of those who are most impacted by/under-represented in funding decision-making.

We are now launching a design survey for this next phase of the pilot. We would like to invite everyone, particularly those voices mentioned above, to fill in the survey to help inform how this funding will be distributed. The survey is also an opportunity for anyone to express interest in joining the advisory panels for the funding calls that we aim to launch in mid-May….”

Collective funding pilot: designing a funding call | Fill in the survey by May 8, 2023 | Invest in Open Infrastructure

“At our Funders Summit last year, we started our collective funding pilot with the goal to experiment with and learn from building a more collective, open and transparent funding process, in which we serve real community needs through centring the voices of those who are most impacted by/under-represented in funding decision-making. We are now launching a design survey for this next phase of the pilot. We would like to invite everyone, particularly those voices mentioned above, to fill in the survey to help inform how this funding will be distributed. The survey is also an opportunity for anyone to express interest in joining the advisory panels for the funding calls that we aim to launch in mid-May….”

What we are working on: 2023-04-14 | Invest in Open Infrastructure

“…Our team is growing – 4 new jobs available at IOI. To support the growth and development of COIs from an initial prototype to an integrated service that is representative of the open infrastructure landscape, we are recruiting for four new roles. The four roles available are Product Lead; Engagement Coordinator, Infrastructure; Research Data Analyst; and Django developer. All these roles are fully remote, allowing applicants worldwide to apply. The application deadline is May 15, 2023. For further information, visit our website.

IOI Team in Argentina for in-person events. Next week, our Engagement Lead Emmy Tsang and Research Data Analysts Tania Hernandez and Naomi Penfold will be in Buenos Aires, Argentina. At the workshop on accelerating open science in Latin America organized by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Tania and Emmy will lead a participatory budgeting exercise to identify open infrastructure needs in Latin America. The trio will also be at csv,conf where Tania will be presenting on our funding trends work….”

IOI receives $1M from the Mellon Foundation to scale the Catalog of Open Infrastructure Services (COIs) | Apr 4, 2023

“Invest in Open Infrastructure (IOI) has received a generous grant of USD 1 million from the Mellon Foundation to catalyze investment in and adoption of open infrastructure in research. IOI is a fiscally sponsored project of Code for Science & Society. This grant will support the further development and productization of the Catalog of Open Infrastructure Services (COIs) and the testing of critical models and strategies to widen the pool of investors in open infrastructure. COIs is designed as a resource for funders, users, and other interested stakeholders looking to make informed decisions about the open infrastructure services for research and scholarship. … With this grant, we will be able to further develop the utility, usability, and value of COIs into a fully functional web application … In addition, the grant will support our exploration of strategies to engage for-profit and non-profit companies serving the scholarly communications and research sector in reinvesting revenue derived from open knowledge and open research activities back into the underlying open infrastructure and services that underpin knowledge production. This targeted engagement and analysis approach to explore further diversification of funding sources is a critical next step to finding viable solutions towards creating a vibrant, viable, and sustainable ecosystem of open infrastructure services….”

What we are working on: 2023-03-17 | Invest in Open Infrastructure

“…Who we are talking to: Al Kags and Esther Njagi, Open Institute, to learn more about their work with governments, community-based organizations, and citizens in driving community participation in local resourcing decisions. Declan Ottaro, Ushahidi, to understand more about their crisis response platform and their work in community building and ensuring data privacy and platform reliability. Our Executive Director Kaitlin Thaney, Engagement Lead Emmy Tsang, and Communications Associate Jerry Sellanga are at the WACREN 2023 conference this week to speak with and learn from their participants….”

Introducing our new logo and visual identity | Invest in Open Infrastructure, 13 March 2023

“…Our new logo and visual identity represent a fresh start for IOI. Designed in collaboration with Zack Adell, an experienced designer based in Nairobi, Kenya, the new branding features a modern, bold design that keeps elements of simplicity and clarity. The new logo highlights the fundamental, intersecting, and additive natures of our work. The use of bright colours and clean lines help to convey our commitment to transparency, accessibility, and openness. The globe visual element signifies our desire to build with a global community. The hand-drawn arrows and brush strokes add authenticity, creativity, and playfulness to our designs….”

Exploratory Research Project on Open Infrastructure Needs in Latin America, Africa, and Asia

“At Invest in Open Infrastructure (IOI), we have been working to address challenges in maintaining community-run technologies and initiatives that support science and scholarship. So far, we have mainly been working in Europe and North America, and we are looking to better understand the issues relating to sustaining these tools and services in Latin America, Africa and Asia….

Our current research is exploratory. We seek to better understand the initiatives, people, and issues involved in scholarly infrastructure in different regions and contexts. Our aim is to identify existing resourcing needs in terms of community governance, financial, technological, and organizational capacity in current and emerging open infrastructure services aimed at supporting the scientific and scholarly community in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. In the long run, our organization aims to provide funding recommendations in the open infrastructure ecosystem, and we may draw on the understanding we build from this project to do so. While we aim to increase investment, we cannot guarantee that participation in our research will lead to any funding opportunities.

We are conducting exploratory research focusing on three regions: Latin America, Africa, and Asia, between February and April, 2023….”

Exploring open infrastructure needs in Latin America, Africa, and Asia: a new research project | Invest in Open Infrastructure | March 2023

“…During the months of March and April, we will conduct initial exploratory research focusing on three regions: Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Our research team has conducted desk research to identify key stakeholders to reach out to each of the world regions and are in the process of setting up interviews and designing a conversation guide for this work. You can find out more on our Regional Research project webpage. We’re prioritizing research on Africa and Latin America in particular. Later this month, members of the IOI team will be in Ghana to learn more about open infrastructure needs and funding and to connect with key stakeholders in the region. Similarly, next month, we’ll be in Argentina, joining csv,conf,v7 and the “Accelerating Open Science in Latin America” workshop hosted by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative to learn more about needs and funding in Latin America.. At the same time, we’ve started a virtual listening tour of India. We hope to later expand the tour to include other countries in the vast Asian continent. This exploration is fundamental in informing and shaping key pieces of work that we’re looking to advance this year, including the next phase of the collective funding pilot, funding trends research, the Catalog of Open Infrastructure Services (COIs), and the fund we’re aiming to launch in 2024….”

Exploring Funding for Open Infrastructure Services: Preliminary Observations and Next Steps | 9 March 2023 | Invest in Open Infrastructure

“…Here, we present an initial exploration of funding for open infrastructure services by analysing grant information reported by funders from 2010 to 2020. Based on our previous work to define key terms and concepts and identify available data sources, we iteratively collected and analysed information on cash grants from 28 open infrastructure service providers and 21 funders. The compiled dataset is made available on Zenodo. The goal of this exploration is to identify trends in funding allocation as well as gaps in funding information. Our investigation also aims to craft more questions on resource allocation that can be explored in future studies using financial data and input from stakeholders within the space….”