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Operating Open Source Program Offices at the System Level: A Case Study of the University of California and University of Texas System-Wide OSPO Projects

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Title: Operating Open Source Program Offices at the System Level: A Case Study of the University of California and University of Texas System-Wide OSPO Projects
Language: English
Authors: Claire Baytas, Dylan Ruediger, Ithaka S+R
Source: ITHAKA S+R. 2026.
Availability: ITHAKA S+R. Available from: ITHAKA. One Liberty Plaza, 165 Broadway 5th Floor, New York, NY 10006. Tel: 212-500-2355; e-mail: ithakasr@ithaka.org; Web site: https://sr.ithaka.org
Peer Reviewed: N
Page Count: 19
Publication Date: 2026
Sponsoring Agency: Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
Document Type: Reports - Research
Descriptors: Open Educational Resources, Open Source Technology, Program Implementation, Educational Benefits, Sustainable Development, Information Systems, Online Systems, Computer Uses in Education, Models
Geographic Terms: California, Texas (Austin)
DOI: 10.18665/sr.325253
Abstract: Thanks to funding from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, several US universities have now founded Open Source Program Offices (OSPOs) across the past half decade. In the past two years, these efforts have expanded. In spring 2024, the University of California (UC) system launched the UC Open Source Program Office (OSPO) network, building on the work of the OSPO at the Santa Cruz campus. In summer 2025, the University of Texas (UT) system was also awarded a grant by the Sloan Foundation to scope a model for a system-wide OSPO, following the one established at UT Austin. By operating at the system level, the UC and UT OSPOs aim to further embody principles of openness and more widely and effectively enable open source work, by making resources and expertise more scalable as well as establishing a framework to facilitate community-building and cross-institution collaboration. The UC system's project to create an OSPO network for a university system was the first of its kind, as evidenced by the UT system's interest in pursuing a similar project, a model that can serve multiple campuses holds great appeal, and marks an important development in how future academic OSPOs may choose to structure themselves. This issue brief contains findings from research that was guided by the following questions: (1) What are the anticipated (or already realized) benefits and challenges of implementing and operating a system-wide OSPO? (2) What model(s) have been conceptualized for a system-wide OSPO framework? How do they address issues of sustainability and scalability? and (3) What can be learned from the experiences at the UC and UT campuses that can aid other university systems that may want to pursue a similar model in the future?
Abstractor: ERIC
Entry Date: 2026
Accession Number: ED681084
Database: ERIC
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  Data: Operating Open Source Program Offices at the System Level: A Case Study of the University of California and University of Texas System-Wide OSPO Projects
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  Data: ITHAKA S+R. Available from: ITHAKA. One Liberty Plaza, 165 Broadway 5th Floor, New York, NY 10006. Tel: 212-500-2355; e-mail: ithakasr@ithaka.org; Web site: https://sr.ithaka.org
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  Data: Thanks to funding from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, several US universities have now founded Open Source Program Offices (OSPOs) across the past half decade. In the past two years, these efforts have expanded. In spring 2024, the University of California (UC) system launched the UC Open Source Program Office (OSPO) network, building on the work of the OSPO at the Santa Cruz campus. In summer 2025, the University of Texas (UT) system was also awarded a grant by the Sloan Foundation to scope a model for a system-wide OSPO, following the one established at UT Austin. By operating at the system level, the UC and UT OSPOs aim to further embody principles of openness and more widely and effectively enable open source work, by making resources and expertise more scalable as well as establishing a framework to facilitate community-building and cross-institution collaboration. The UC system's project to create an OSPO network for a university system was the first of its kind, as evidenced by the UT system's interest in pursuing a similar project, a model that can serve multiple campuses holds great appeal, and marks an important development in how future academic OSPOs may choose to structure themselves. This issue brief contains findings from research that was guided by the following questions: (1) What are the anticipated (or already realized) benefits and challenges of implementing and operating a system-wide OSPO? (2) What model(s) have been conceptualized for a system-wide OSPO framework? How do they address issues of sustainability and scalability? and (3) What can be learned from the experiences at the UC and UT campuses that can aid other university systems that may want to pursue a similar model in the future?
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      – SubjectFull: California
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