The open source programs office (OSPO) is a construct used widely within technology companies such as Google, Microsoft, and GitHub to organize and coordinate open source program activity within an organization and to engage with the broader community. The DRCC has launched the first US university-based OSPO by working with open source companies and foundations with the goal of establishing a model for other universities. Through the OSPO, Johns Hopkins University has become a member of the Eclipse Foundation including access to their working groups. The JHU OSPO has joined the OSPO++ network to establish additional OPSOs within other universities and government organizations. The OSPO focuses on both operational and engineering aspects of open source programs and strategic priorities such as educational experiences and partnerships with the broader community. The OSPO represents the first point of contact for Baltimore City organizations that wish to work with the Institute for Data Intensive Engineering and Science (IDIES).
The OSPO has established a university-wide GitHub enterprise account available for all Johns Hopkins affiliates and organizations. The enterprise GitHub account includes several features not available in free GitHub accounts and covers costs for existing paid JHU GitHub accounts. If you are current paying for a GitHub account, or wish to access additional features available through the enterprise account, please contact the OSPO to merge your account(s) into the enterprise account. Additionally, groups that merge their GitHub accounts into the enterprise account will have access to engineering expertise and support from GitHub mediated through the OSPO.
With funding from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the OSPO will implement a FOSS Contributor Fund during the 2021 calendar year. FOSS Contributor Funds have been used by corporations to identify and fund open-source software projects. Through a contract with Bitergia, the OSPO can provide analytics and dashboards that describe the impact and reach of your open source software.
Through a partnership with JHU’s Department of Computer Science and Microsoft, the OSPO is supporting the Institute of Applied Open Source (IAOS). Through IAOS, JHU students will participate in “semesters of code” that will offer a deep, long-term experience with open source software from both within and beyond Johns Hopkins University. These semesters of code will feature open source projects that emphasize research and social impact. One example is Lutèce, an open source municipal services platform developed by the City of Paris. IAOS will feature the deployment of Lutèce within the St. Francis Neighborhood Center (SFNC) in west Baltimore as one of the semesters of code. IAOS also features events such as talks from open source experts with the inaugural event featuring Sarah Novotny who led the community effort for Kubernetes.
Learn more about the Johns Hopkins University OSPO through our library blog post.
To contact the OSPO, please email ospo at jhu dot edu.