Open Source Initiative

The Open Source Initiative facilitates the OSD and community-recognized body for reviewing and approving licenses as OSD-conformant.

The Open Source Initiative is a non-profit organization which facilitates the Open Source Definition (OSD) and the community-recognized body for reviewing and approving licenses as OSD-conformant. The organization is also actively involved in open-source community-building, education, and public advocacy to promote awareness and the importance of non-proprietary software. Its board members frequently travel the world to attend open-source conferences and events, meet with open-source developers and users, and discuss with executives from the public and private sectors about how open-source technologies, licenses, and models of development can provide economic and strategic advantages. The Open Source Initiative was founded in 1998 and is based in Palo Alto, California.