Much of today’s research relies on computers and software for data gathering, analysis and publication. To accomplish this work, many researchers use what is referred to as open source software (OSS), which is free to use and modify. As OSS has become more prevalent in higher education, universities have faced challenges providing the necessary resources for scholars to find, use and create new OSS tools. Thanks to an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation grant, the University of California (UC) is beginning to explore and develop ways to better assist researchers in this area.
The $1.85 million grant will support the formation of a UC-wide network of Open Source Program Offices (OSPO), effectively institutionalizing the OSPO approach in the UC system by creating coordinated activities that support local campus OSPOs and building a network that can leverage multi-campus efforts.
This award capitalizes on the work of the existing OSPO at UC Santa Cruz (UCSC) and funds a collaboration of UC campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and San Diego with UCSC to promote open source research, teaching and public service.
“We are excited to participate in this innovative UC-wide initiative,” stated Audrey Geisel University Librarian Erik Mitchell. “It aligns perfectly with UC San Diego’s enduring commitment to open research and scholarship. We are eager to collaborate with partners on campus, across the UC system, and with the global OSPO community.”
The UC OSPO network will pursue several main goals, including: strengthening collaboration and knowledge sharing among the campuses; highlighting the value of the network and OSPOs at various campuses; and identifying resource and governance structures to allow the network to grow and thrive beyond the grant period. It also intends to serve as a model for other large university systems.
What is an Open Source Program Office?
OSPOs are a relatively new type of group within higher education that seeks to promote awareness of and expertise in working with OSS. OSS is any software released under a license that allows others to freely use it for personal, research, and, in many cases, commercial use.
OSS is the foundation of much of the technology we use in our daily lives. In many cases, the software at the core of our computers, phones and other technology is built on OSS. Additionally, students, faculty and researchers often use OSS in teaching and learning because it can be adapted to meet their needs, and the tools can be used without a fee — helping students avoid added course costs.
“In a way, OSS communities are like libraries; we collectively build something for the good of society and work together to ensure that it is freely available in the future,” said Mitchell. “For this reason, sustainability is an important issue that OSPOs focus on when supporting OSS communities.”
Why Now?
The establishment of OSPOs reflects the UC system’s recognition of the value of open source in increasing the impact of academic research and furthering the education and public services missions. Open source has traditionally focused on making software publicly available, but it can also encompass a more expansive view that includes library sciences, hardware development and more.
“As part of this project, we are exploring how to build awareness and expertise with open source,” noted UC San Diego’s OSPO Principal Investigator and the Library’s Research Data Curation Program Director David Minor. “This work builds naturally on the Library’s collaborations with our colleagues across the UC system and will undoubtedly benefit the entire UC community and researchers at large.”
UC Santa Cruz was the first public university in a large state-wide system to establish an OSPO in 2022. While there are now several OSPOs at universities throughout the country, UC’s model is unique in that it uses a networked approach to leverage the diverse range of knowledge that exists throughout the system. This means that the UC network can share existing resources and take unified approaches to common challenges.
Building a Community Around Open Source
UC San Diego’s OSPO team is led by Minor and Mitchell. Initial collaborators include campus partners in IT Services, the Office of Research and Innovation and the San Diego Supercomputer Center. As part of the grant, the team will hire a position to help build partnerships across campus focused on open source landscape analysis and training.
Minor and Mitchell joined the UC OSPO network team in May at the project kickoff meeting in Santa Cruz. The group explored how they could work together to build a UC-wide community around open source. During this discovery session, it was reaffirmed that impressive elements are already in place, such as a map of open source contributions created by Principal Architect for Academic Technology Adam Tilghman at UC San Diego IT Services. This map was constructed by analyzing contributions to an open source code editing and publishing platform called GitHub. One of the early goals of the project is to replicate this analysis across other UC campuses.
“The two-year grant-funded project will rapidly establish coordinated activities at each participating campus while also fostering a broader shared understanding at all campuses,” said UC OSPO network lead and UCSC’s Co-Principal Investigator Stephanie Lieggi ‘91. “In just one day at the kickoff meeting, we built a significant level
of shared understanding, and I’m excited to see how our future efforts will further strengthen and expand this collaborative network.”
In addition to contributing to the project as a whole, Minor will work with other UC OSPO partners to create new educational materials centered on OSS. This work will start by analyzing best practices and current gaps in educational offerings around open source software, and then creating new training and support options for campus.
Minor added, “A big part of our work ahead is helping students, faculty and staff gain a better understanding of how and when to make use of OSS, and what they need to do if they want to create or contribute to OSS. There are many considerations, from the security of research to the importance of open science. Our goal is to help folks working in this space gain expertise and get practical assistance in this complex area.”
Visit datanexus.ucsd.edu/ospo for more information and updates about the project.