Open Science Labs Project Governance #

This document formalizes the governance structure of Open Science Labs (OSL). It outlines decision-making processes and the interactions among community members, including relationships between work supported by for-profit or nonprofit organizations and open source collaborative development.

Summary #

OSL operates as a community-owned and community-run project. Typically, decisions are made by the executive director, with support from the steering council. Responsibility for specific tasks or areas lies with individual members, who bring issues to the community's attention for group discussion and decision-making in one of OSL’s Discord channels. All content and access must relate to open technologies; references to private technologies or content are prohibited, maintaining an open and inclusive environment.

The Organization #

Open Science Labs aims to unite people globally to foster an open environment for teaching, learning, and sharing knowledge about open science and computational tools. The organization is led by the executive director and supported by the steering council. Financial and administrative support is provided by The GRAPH Network and Open Source Collective, which also supports the OSL Internship Program.

Affiliated Projects #

Affiliated projects are independent in their governance. OSL does not control these projects but offers suggestions and support to enhance their internal organization, helping them better support their contributors and users. These projects are eligible to participate in OSL activities like Internship Programs, Google Summer of Code, Blog, and Newsletters.

Incubated Projects #

Projects incubated by OSL are released under OSI-approved licenses (BSD, Apache 2.0, MIT, etc.) and developed openly on public GitHub repositories. Contributors include anyone who has collaborated through code, documentation, design, or other contributions. The community, comprising all Contributors and Users, strives for minimal barriers between participants, promoting an open and transparent environment.

Incubated Project Governance #

Incubated project governance is based on principles of openness, transparency, active contribution, institutional neutrality, diversity, equity, inclusion, and education.

Consensus-based Decision Making #

Decisions are generally made by consensus among all interested Contributors, aiming to incorporate diverse perspectives into the development process. The consensus process does not necessarily involve voting but allows for vetoes to ensure serious concerns are considered. Formal vetoes require a clear statement and explanation from the vetoer.

Steering Council #

The Steering Council, composed of significant contributors, oversees the project's technical and community health. The council facilitates decision-making, helps resolve conflicts, and may intervene in governance if necessary to maintain the project’s welfare.

Council Decision Making #

When formal decisions are necessary, the council employs a consensus model similar to that used by the Apache Foundation. This model uses a combination of judgement and community discussion, with formal voting held open for sufficient time to allow all council members to participate.

Council Membership #

Council members are nominated based on their substantial and sustained contributions. Inactivity for over six months may lead to removal from the council, although re-nomination is always possible. The council also handles conflicts of interest and private communications, maintaining transparency as much as possible.

Institutional Partners and Funding #

While OSL Incubated Projects is led by their authors, and core contributors, who compose the Steering Council, funding and support from Institutional Partners are acknowledged and facilitated. These partners can influence the project through their council members but do not control the project. Partners must align with OSL’s values and contribute through funding, contributing personnel, or other means specified in partnership agreements.

Acknowledgements #

Portions of this governance document have been adapted from the governance structures of other open source projects like NumPy.

Document History #

Changes and updates to this document can be tracked at OSL GitHub repository.

License #

This document is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0: Creative Commons License.