Stanford University
To support the institutionalization of an Open Source Programs Office at Stanford University
Since 2020 the Sloan Foundation has been supporting the establishment of Open Source Program Offices (OSPOs) within universities as a strategy to institutionalize support for open source software in the research enterprise. In 2023, Sloan provided two years of funding to six institutions, including Stanford University, to establish OSPOs, to launch a set of pilot activities to determine the most promising strategies for supporting open source software development on their respective campuses, and to develop a clear vision for a long-term institutional support ecosystem for open source. This grant provides an additional two years of support to the Stanford OSPO, directed by Zach Chandler, a 17-year veteran of Stanford who has worked in the Libraries, University IT, and the Office of the Vice Provost and Dean of Research and supported by faculty director Russ Poldrack, to build on early successes and bridge to independent sustainability beyond Sloan funding.