Exploring an Institutional Package Model

[Martin]

Over the last few months, with the Advisory Community and CS&S support, I’ve been working on a more procurement-friendly way for institutions to support OpenRefine. As mentioned in my latest funding update, our current grant cycle ends in 2025, and we need to explore new models that match how OpenRefine is actually used inside universities, libraries, GLAM institutions, research labs, and government teams.

Many organizations rely heavily on OpenRefine but can’t donate directly because of procurement requirements. This new model aims to address that gap and support long-term sustainability.

I’m sharing two documents here:

1. The proposal for the Institutional Support Program including
   1. Program Purpose,
   2. Values for the Institutions
   3. How this program helps the OpenRefine project
   4. Deployment Plan
   5. Governance and Transparency
2. The document 20251125 - Institutional Support Package Presentation.pdf (200.7 KB) to present the program to institutions.

Why this matters

This work connects to a few threads from earlier this year:

• The Misunderstood requirements preventing the use of OpenRefine discussion, which highlighted real barriers institutions face with OpenRefine (install, procurement, policy, governance:
• The 2025 Barcamp session on the operating model and upcoming fundraising campaign: 2025 Barcamp Session Proposal: OpenRefine budget, operating model, and upcoming fundraising campaign - #2 by Martin (see the conversation in the linked Etherpad note)
• And of course, the recent funding update about the end of our current grant and why we’re exploring new options: Funding Opportunities 2025 - #5 by Martin

I understand that the institutional model can be seens as a bold shift compared to our past grant-only approach. So this post is partly “testing the water” with the community and opening the conversation about what this could mean for OpenRefine’s long-term sustainability.

Looking ahead

A few things on the roadmap:

• Feedback is welcome, regarding structure of the proposition and the impact this model could have on the community.
• I’ll start sharing the two-pagers with a small group of relevant institutions to collect their comments and see how it fits their internal processes.
• If there is alignment between the community and interested institutions, the plan would be to start the program in 2026.

The goal isn’t to change what OpenRefine is or how people use it. The idea is to give institutions a practical way to support the project as a shared public-good tool and to reduce the fragility of relying only on grants.

I am looking forward to your thoughts.
Martin

[Martin]

Hi everyone,

Thank you again to everyone who provided feedback in private messages and discussions on the proposed institutional support package. After further internal conversations and a dedicated review by the Advisory Committee, we wanted to share an update on the direction we’ve decided to take.

After careful consideration, we’ve decided not to pursue the institutional support package as originally outlined.

The main reasons behind this decision are the following:

• Alignment with the project’s long-term direction. Supporting business-style needs (such as dedicated support or service commitments) would risk diverting the focus of both the Advisory Committee and paid staff away from the broader OpenRefine community and project stewardship.
• Unclear benefit for the community as a whole. While such a model could generate some revenue, it would require dedicating significant project resources to supporting specific clients. There is no clear guarantee that this investment would meaningfully overflow back to the wider community, and the tipping point at which that might happen remains uncertain.
• Risk of creating a two-tier dynamic. Business users would reasonably expect specific update commitments, release timelines, or prioritization. This introduces a real risk of perceived (or actual) two-tier software governance, which could create tension with the community and conflict with OpenRefine’s values.

Given these concerns, we believe this model does not serve the project well in the long term.

What we will do instead

We will continue to offer a donation-based option via invoice for institutions that cannot donate through standard channels. This will take the form of corporate donations and sponsorship opportunities, without any associated support or service guarantees.

As a next step, I’ll update the existing institutional package materials to reflect this donation-only format, which we can share with potential partners as another way to support the project financially while keeping OpenRefine fully community-driven.

As always, thank you for engaging openly and critically with these discussions. Your input is essential in helping us navigate sustainability questions while staying true to the project’s values.