Plaintext Group, developed by Schmidt Futures, is a non-partisan technology innovation policy initiative. Through the OSS Virtual Incubator Program, they aim to support innovative ideas that systematically improve the sustainability of the open source software ecosystem.
Open Source Subsidy Program
We applied to this incubator program by refining our “Tax incentives for companies to switch to open source” proposal, which we previously shared on the digital platform of the Conference on the Future of Europe.
Our focus in this proposal is to incentivize companies building software solutions to open source their applications, especially non-business-critical ones. This subsidy could take the form of a tax break or a direct payment to partially cover their company’s development costs.
From the “Goals” section of our proposal:
- Expand the open source ecosystem, and establish an open source culture in the software industry by shifting from private to public solutions.
- Increase productivity by helping businesses save resources through reusable open source software.
- Maximize innovation possibilities and accelerate the economy.
- Improve digital autonomy by having more open source solutions in the market.
- Help existing open source initiatives with additional financial support.
You can review the full proposal via the link below:
Open Source Subsidy Program
Software Ecosystem Map
Our second proposal under the program calls for regular mapping of the software ecosystem to help policymakers develop long-term open source strategies:
Software Ecosystem Map
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One of the unique aspects of this incubation program is that they’ve gathered all the applications under a public repository. You can visit the following link to see other proposals:
OSS Virtual Incubator – Proposals