The Open Source Geospatial Foundation (OSGeo), is a non-profit non-governmental organization which seeks to support and promote the collaborative development of open geospatial technologies and data.
Established in 2006, the foundation provides financial, organizational and legal support to the broader Free and open source geospatial community. OSGeo also serves as an independent legal entity to which community members can contribute code, funding and other resources, secure in the knowledge that their contributions will be maintained for public benefit.
The foundation pursues goals beyond software development, such as promoting more open access to government produced geospatial data and completely free geodata, such as that created and maintained by the OpenStreetMap project. Education and training are also addressed. Various committees within the foundation work on implementing strategies.
OSGeo also serves as an outreach and advocacy organization for the open source geospatial community, and provides a common forum and shared infrastructure for improving cross-project collaboration.
Specific goals of OSGeo are to:
- provide resources for foundation projects;
- foster the use of open source geospatial software;
- encourage interoperability with open and community standards;
- ensure interoperability between the foundation projects;
- encourage a high degree of quality and innovation in foundation projects;
- champion the use of open-source and community participation through the development of an open education curriculum
- enable communication and cooperation amongst OSGeo communities;
- champion community building through horizontal (local chapters) engagement and through vertical (sector specific) agreements with like-minded organizations;
- be a welcoming and inclusive worldwide organization at all levels;
- celebrate excellence, openness and service within the OSGeo community.
