About ISC Foundation
The InnerSource Commons Foundation
The InnerSource Commons Foundation was incorporated on February 19th, 2020 and is now a 501(c)(3) public charity.
Founded as a community in 2015, its mission is simple but far-reaching: to empower developers and organisations to apply open collaboration principles in their daily work, serving as the neutral hub and central collaboration space for InnerSource knowledge.
The InnerSource Commons Foundation is owned by its members, a merit-based community of practitioners who hold voting rights and shape the direction of the organization.
It’s the world’s largest community of InnerSource practitioners, dedicated to creating and sharing knowledge about InnerSource, the use of open source best practices for software development within the confines of an organization.
Our Mission & Goals
InnerSource Commons Mission and Vision
The InnerSource Commons is a thriving community that empowers organisations and people worldwide to apply and gain the benefits of open collaboration in their internal work.
We are the neutral hub and central collaboration space for InnerSource knowledge. As such, we maintain our independence and operate on a lean budget.
We build a strong, inclusive community and industry partnerships. Together, the community applies open collaboration principles to drive the conversation about InnerSource and steward the InnerSource body of knowledge.
-
Knowledge Sharing — Curating and publishing InnerSource patterns, learning paths, and best practices
-
Community Building — Providing organizations practicing InnerSource a forum for discussing and improving the practice through the sharing of experiences, creation and review of InnerSource patterns, and the open exchange of ideas.
-
Global Summits — Hosting in-person and virtual InnerSource summits to bring the global community together
-
Research & Education — Supporting academic and industry research into InnerSource adoption and outcomes
How We Work
An Open Approach
The InnerSource Commons utilizes open source methods to provide organizations practicing InnerSource a forum for discussing and improving the practice of InnerSource through the sharing of experiences (under the Chatham House Rule), creation and review of InnerSource patterns, and the open exchange of ideas.
Interested individuals and companies are welcome to participate and contribute content to the ISC. In general, contributed content will be made available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License attributed to InnerSourceCommons.org. No fees are required to participate.
InnerSource Commons Members
The InnerSource Commons community is open to all. Some community participants go above and beyond, and may be invited to become an ISC Member. The InnerSource Commons is a membership corporation, so ISC Members serve a similar role as shareholders in publicly traded corporations.
Members have particular rights in the ISC; for example, they may vote in board elections. To be eligible for Membership, a person must be nominated by a current Member. Membership is purely merit-based, free of any cost, and restricted to individuals.
Board & Governance
InnerSource Commons is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization governed by a set of corporate bylaws. The Board of Directors sets the policy and appoints officers that set and execute policy. The Board is elected by the Membership on a yearly basis.