Our Mission

Universities are engines of innovation and productivity in the world. They both leverage and contribute to technology through their educational, research, and outreach activities. The way that various technological products are disseminated and shared is a fundamental issue that greatly shapes their use and impact. The move to open science, open access, and open source is a key strategy for streamlining the use of these products, fostering collaboration, and accelerating progress. However, effectively making this transition to openness is challenging and calls for institutional support.

Thanks to a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, The University of Wisconsin–Madison Data Science Institute has positioned the Open Source Program Office (OSPO) to support and grow our vibrant open source ecosystem. The OSPO's mission is to collaborate with key stakeholders and community members to provide open source learning opportunities, promote best practices, facilitate the use of open source software in research, and make open source–fueled connections between practitioners and adopters on campus and beyond.