Cyberinfrastructure Software Sustainability and Reusability Workshop

Open source development relies primarily on voluntary effort. To be sustained by open source development, cyberinfrastructure projects must survive the transition from being sustained by funding to being sustained by volunteers. They must be able to attract and retain volunteers. We point out that although examples of successful open source projects exist, it is not yet possible to ascertain a priori whether individual projects can attract and hold sufficient numbers of volunteers to be successful. We assert that infrastructure projects are more suitable to open source development than are research projects because motives of the founders predispose them open projects to communities of developers very early, establishing communities that are more likely to survive the transition from funding to independence. Finally, we encourage funding agencies that are interested in open source development to formulate policies and guidelines that clearly set expectations for the transition from funding to independence.