D//F

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The D//F (Digital Infrastructure Insights Fund) is a multi- funder research initiative sustaining a platform for academics & practitioners to better understand how open digital infrastructure is built & deployed. Open Calls & Commissions.

Open digital infrastructure are the code, standards, data and knowledge assets foundational for all applied FOSS (code libraries, protocols...)

Funders Circle: Ford Foundation, Sloan Foundation, Omidyar Network, Schmidt Futures.

Websitehttps://infrastructureinsights.fund
Newsletternewsletter.infrastructureinsights.fund
Show threadD//FApr 8, 2025

As firms pull back support, many contributors face burnout, reduced volunteerism, and pressure to prioritize “core” technical tasks over essential but non-revenue-generating work like community management.

Using Boeing’s 737 Max development as a metaphor, the report links cost-cutting in long-term technical systems to accumulating systemic risk, warning that the fragility of OSS ecosystems could mirror engineering failures if sustainability isn't prioritized.

D//FApr 8, 2025

{🚨 New report alert II } Infrastructure in Recession - Mike Nolan & Kripa Kundaliya (very timely!) explore in new research how sustained tech sector layoffs and budget cuts are destabilizing OSS communities that underpin our shared critical digital infrastructure.

Full report: https://infrastructureinsights.fund/projects/infrastructure-in-recession/

Drawing from interviews with maintainers & funding data analysis, their research reveals how labor on OSS projects—now heavily reliant on corporate sponsorship— increasingly becomes precarious.

Infrastructure in Recession - Digital Infrastructure Insights Fund

Economic impacts of tech layoffs on FOSS communities

Digital Infrastructure Insights Fund
Show threadD//FApr 8, 2025

- Blocking and filtering at the DNS resolver level is on the rise, leading to many complications and in the end hampering people's access to online services and content.
- Trusted third party resolvers are good for the Internet and Internet freedom.

Regardless of the issue of consolidation and centralization in these services they recommend to work on how to re-decentralize and incentivize operation of DNS resolvers worldwide.

D//FApr 8, 2025

{NEW REPORT alert! } Supported by Digital Infrastructure Insights Fund, Farzaneh Badiei conducted a study on *DNS resolvers* for the past year:
https://infrastructureinsights.fund/projects/understanding-the-shift-away-from-free-and-open-domain-name-servers-resolvers/

💥 Some of the main issues found:

-Lack of access to a distributed, decentralized public DNS resolvers can lead to lack of access to online essential services.

Understanding the shift away from free and Open Domain Name Servers Resolvers - Digital Infrastructure Insights Fund

Open Calls & Research Commissions

Digital Infrastructure Insights Fund
Show threadD//FNov 25, 2024

Topic: Research Software Ecosystem & Metrics


- Incentivizing Open Research Infrastructure (Katherine Skinner, Chrys Wu, Lauren Collister):


Evaluating how health metrics for open projects drive investment and foster sustainability.

https://infrastructureinsights.fund/projects/oss-research-software/

OSS Research-Software - Digital Infrastructure Insights Fund

Incentivizing Investment in and Adoption of Open Infrastructure for Research through Community Health Assessments

Digital Infrastructure Insights Fund
Show threadD//FNov 25, 2024

- Corporate Impacts on OpenStreetMap (Yair Grinberger):


Analyzing how corporate contributions shape collaboration and autonomy in OpenStreetMap.

https://infrastructureinsights.fund/projects/osm-cocreation/


- FOSS Engineering and Community Impact (Darren Gergle, Aaron Shaw, Matt Gaughan):


Studying MediaWiki’s technical development processes to understand impacts on sustainability and community engagement.

https://infrastructureinsights.fund/projects/code-classification/


OSM CoCreation - Digital Infrastructure Insights Fund

Impacts of Corporate Editing on Collective Intelligence in OpenStreetMap

Digital Infrastructure Insights Fund
Show threadD//FNov 25, 2024

Topic: Privacy & Security


- Privacy Risks in Indian Digital Public Infrastructure (Divyank Katira, Gurshabad Grover, Anunay Kulshrestha):


Examining privacy challenges & surveillance risks in India’s expansive digital infrastructure.

https://infrastructureinsights.fund/projects/dpi-privacy/


Topic: Sustainability & Community Impact


- Sustainability for Community-Focused ISPs in Brazil (Nathalia Foditsch):


Leveraging FOSS to expand affordable internet access while improving oper. sustainability.

https://infrastructureinsights.fund/projects/isp-oss/

DPI Privacy - Digital Infrastructure Insights Fund

Privacy Risks of Digital Public Infrastructure in India

Digital Infrastructure Insights Fund
Show threadD//FNov 25, 2024

- Securing Open Source Supply Chains (Stephanie Lieggi, Jarrod Millman, Robert Shaw, Juanita Gomez):


Applying historic trade security frameworks to strengthen open-source software supply chains.

https://infrastructureinsights.fund/projects/foss-security-infrastructure-resilience/

-Governance of Public-Private-Commons Systems (Marco Berlinguer, Massimo Florio, Silvia Vignetti):


Investigating innovative governance models for collaborations between governments, markets, and commons.

https://infrastructureinsights.fund/projects/tripartite-commons-governance/


FOSS Security & Infrastructure Resilience - Digital Infrastructure Insights Fund

Understanding Lessons for OSS Security from Historical Trade Security-Efforts

Digital Infrastructure Insights Fund
Show threadD//FNov 25, 2024

Overview Cohort 4:

Topic: Governance, Policy & Regulation

-Democratic Governance for Browser Funding (Robin Berjon):

Developing governance models to democratize revenue-sharing in browser and search software.

https://infrastructureinsights.fund/projects/browser-funding/

- Legal Liabilities in Open Source Development (Benedict Kingsbury, Angelina Fisher, Han-Wei Liu, Thomas Streinz):

Exploring regulatory challenges faced by FOSS communities, with a focus on non-commercial developers.

https://infrastructureinsights.fund/projects/oss-compliance/

Browser Funding - Digital Infrastructure Insights Fund

Asserting Democratic Control over the Browser/Search Funding System

Digital Infrastructure Insights Fund
Show threadD//FNov 25, 2024
The selected projects underscore D//F’s mission to advance sustainable, secure, and resilient open digital infrastructures while fostering a deeper understanding of their societal impact and critical role in serving the public interest.
Read more in our press release: