Building Community Ownership of Research Software
This year’s Open Access Week asks “Who owns our knowledge?” For those of us working in research software, the answer is clear: knowledge increasingly lives in code, and that code should belong to the communities that create it. So last year, the UC launched the Open Source Program Office (OSPO) network to support open source endeavors across the UC system.
OSPOs help universities and their researchers navigate the complex landscape of open source software by providing practical support for faculty, students, and staff who are creating, using, or contributing to open source projects. This includes guidance on choosing appropriate licenses, advice on intellectual property and compliance, help with establishing governance for projects, and connections to the broader open source community. Whether you’re a student releasing your first analysis script or a researcher managing a widely-used scientific tool, the Davis OSPO offers expertise and resources to help your work have maximum impact.
Beyond individual support, your OSPO works to create institutional structures that sustain open source communities. We advocate for resources that help maintainers avoid burnout, and create educational programs that teach open source skills to students and early-career researchers. We understand that sustainable open source isn’t just about releasing code; it’s about supporting the people who create, maintain, and improve that code over time.
The UC OSPO Network builds community among open source practitioners across all UC campuses. We create spaces for shared learning—whether that’s a staff member at one campus helping a faculty member at another navigate licensing questions, or graduate students across the system collaborating on educational resources. When someone develops a great workshop or solves a tricky problem, everyone benefits. Knowledge and the communities that create it thrive when we prioritize cooperation over competition.
The benefits extend beyond UC. Open source research software from UC institutions powers scientific discovery worldwide. When our researchers release their code openly, it can be adapted, improved, and built upon by scholars everywhere—multiplying the impact of UC’s research mission and ensuring that publicly funded knowledge remains accessible to all.
If you’re working with research software—writing it, using it, managing projects that depend on it—your campus OSPO can help. Visit us at ucospo.net to learn more about open source in higher education, connect with others working in OSS across the UC system, and join our community. Send your questions to davis-ospo@ucdavis.edu and subscribe to opensource-announce@ucdavis.edu to learn about in-person events at UC Davis and virtual events across UC.