We are thrilled to announce that the OpenStreetMap Foundation has been selected by the Sovereign Tech Agency for a service agreement in the amount of 384,000 EUR over two years to ensure the stability, growth and modernization of OpenStreetMap’s core software.
The Sovereign Tech Fund — a program of the newly established Sovereign Tech Agency — invests in the development, improvement, and maintenance of open digital base technologies worldwide. OpenStreetMap is a global, collaborative, open source intiative, providing vital geospatial data for public use, private sector services, humanitarian response, and an incredible number of diverse applications. OSM has become the global infrastructure for digital map data.
The commissioned work will focus on updating and modernizing code to current standards, and enhancing volunteer contributions through improved documentation and testing infrastructure. It will also identify ways OSM’s core infrastructure can improve, including forward-looking research in topics potentially like responding to vandalism and new ways to interact with OSM data.
As a result of this contract, OSMF will be create two new roles. The first role to be recruited will be the OSM Core Software Development Facilitator. They will help the growing team of developers of the OpenStreetMap core software to coordinate and organise their work, establish a space for the community to contribute productively, and ensure good communication across the community.
Watch this space for a job position in early January and consider applying or sharing it with a good candidate.
The OSMF board is grateful to the Sovereign Tech Agency for their investment at a critical moment of growth for OpenStreetMap.
