Making the Most of Open Source Foundation Membership

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This article serves as a guide to joining FINOS or another foundation.

Joining an open-source foundation can be a transformative move for companies looking to enhance their technical capabilities, build industry relationships, and demonstrate leadership in the open-source community. However, achieving success in foundation membership requires careful planning, active participation, and measurable goals.

1. Assign Ownership and Build Internal Support

A successful foundation membership begins with clear ownership of the relationship. Typically, this responsibility falls to the Open Source Program Office (OSPO), which often oversees external engagements, ensures compliance, and drives internal alignment.

• Designate a Point Person: Someone in the OSPO or another relevant team should own the relationship, acting as the primary liaison with the foundation.
• Leverage Internal Enthusiasm: Identify employees already engaged with the foundation or its projects and recruit them as champions. These individuals can provide valuable insights and drive participation.

2. Define a Clear Business Case

Joining a foundation is an investment of time, money, and resources. A solid business case helps justify this investment and aligns participation with broader organizational goals.

• Objectives: What does your company hope to achieve? Common goals include:
  • Contributing to or adopting standards (e.g., OpenChain’s SBOM adoption for supplier management).
  • Improving technical capabilities and reducing costs (e.g., replacing proprietary tools with open-source alternatives).
  • Building industry relationships through working groups and events.
• Funding and Engagement Levels: Define the membership tier and resource commitment required for participation.
• Alignment with Metrics: Ensure goals are tied to broader business metrics, such as efficiency gains or product strategy.

3. Create a Participation Plan

Foundations often offer a wide range of projects, working groups, and events. Without a structured plan, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. Develop a plan that identifies where and how your company will engage.

• Stakeholders and Champions: Identify internal stakeholders (e.g., CTOs, project leads) and encourage them to act as open-source champions. New internal open-source projects should align with this plan and inform the OSPO.
• Metrics and KPIs: Establish clear KPIs, such as:
  • Number of contributors or contributions.
  • Participation in events and working groups.
  • Usage of foundation-supported projects within the company.
  • Specific business outcomes, such as cost savings or efficiency improvements.
• Review the Landscape: Understand the variety of projects and initiatives the foundation supports. Review them for activity and decide which ones dovetail with your firm's goals. For example, you could tie participation to product goals or to wanting to adopt specific industry standards (e.g., aligning with DORA, NIS2, or CRA through OpenChain membership).

4. Contribute Strategically

Participation in an open-source foundation goes beyond membership fees. Active contribution is where the real value lies.

• To Existing Projects: Encourage developers to contribute code, bug fixes, or new features to projects relevant to your business.
• Through New Projects: If your company develops open-source solutions internally (e.g., an API playground or library), consider donating them to the foundation. This can increase visibility and encourage community-driven improvements.

Make sure you consider a roadmap towards contribution for your staff: many financial services firms struggle to enable project contributions.

5. Engage in Advocacy and Community Building

Being part of an open-source foundation is not just about code; it’s about community. Advocacy and participation in events can enhance your company’s visibility and influence.

• Foundation Speaking and Events: Participate in conferences, workshops, and foundation-hosted events like the Open Source Strategy Forum (OSFF).
• Working Groups: Join technical working groups to influence standards and collaborate with peers.
• Ambassadorship: Promote the foundation’s mission both internally and externally, acting as a bridge between your company and the community.
• Internal Events: Arrange sessions with internal staff (perhaps tied into your own training events) that show case the foundation membership.
• Adopt training courses: Where a foundation publishes training (FINOS and the LF publish a wide variety of them) make sure you have a plan in place to make the most of this benefit and promulgate it widely to your staff.

6. Measure Success and Adapt

A data-driven approach ensures that your membership delivers value and evolves with your company’s needs.

• Participation: Track the number of contributors, events attended, and working groups joined, training courses taken.
• Internal Usage: Measure adoption of foundation-supported projects within your company (e.g., FDC3 or CDM libraries).
• Impact on Business: Quantify the benefits, such as cost savings (e.g., replacing proprietary software) or time efficiencies (e.g., fewer hours spent on security analysis).
• Monitor metrics monthly to identify trends and areas for improvement.
• Adapt goals and focus areas based on feedback and changes in the foundation’s priorities.

7. Consider Long-Term Opportunities

Beyond immediate goals, foundation membership can open doors to strategic opportunities. For example:

• Standards Collaboration: Aligning with industry standards through foundations can streamline compliance and reduce operational costs.
• Vendor Partnerships: Collaborate with vendors familiar with the same open-source projects, ensuring goal alignment and implementation success.

Joining an open-source foundation is not a one-time decision but an ongoing commitment. By defining clear objectives, engaging actively, and measuring outcomes, companies can turn membership into a strategic asset.

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