Workshop

A public directory of open-source service providers?

Tuesday, 19 May 2026 @ 12:00 - 13:00

This workshop aims to develop the idea of a Public Directory of Open-Source Service Providers.

The proposal: open-source associations should host, promote, and stand behind a public directory of service providers who contribute meaningfully back to open source, organized on a per-software basis. Each software editor maintains their own list of service providers within that directory. The goal is a centralized, neutral single source of truth that public procurement rules can reference.

For example: want to procure Grist? Go to the centralized directory, then choose from the vendors that Grist itself has identified as knowing the product well and contributing back to its development in a meaningful way — through funding, code contributions, or otherwise.

The idea is inspired by Drupal’s credit system (Dries Buytaert on funding open source for digital sovereignty). This workshop is a working session to pressure-test the concept, identify the associations and editors who should be at the table, and sketch what a minimum viable directory could look like.