Open Science Software Foundation logo

Empowering scientists through innovative open source

  1. Mission

    The Open Science Software Foundation (OSSF) is a non-profit foundation dedicated to supporting open source scientific tools and promoting free access to resources for the global scientific community.

  2. Focus

    1. Support existing Open Science projects

    2. Incubate new Open Science projects

    3. Promote resources that support Open Science

    4. Be a public, non-profit fiscal and legal entity for Open Science projects

  3. Activities

    1. Support funding for Open Science projects

    2. Support for nf-core, Nextflow, MultiQC communities

    3. Incubate new OSS Projects

  4. Projects

    • nf-core infrastructure developer (CRG)

      2024 - onwards

      Funding 50% of a position for a developer to work on foundational tooling and infrastructure to support the nf-core community.

    • MITACS Accelerate PhD Fellowship

      2024 - 2025

      Funding one year project to develop Nextflow and nf-core pipelines for neuroimaging, a crucial and emerging field in the life sciences.

    • 2x QBiC PhD positions

      2025 - 2029

      Funding for 50% of two PhD fellowships at the Quantitative Biology Centre at the University of Tübingen, to work on nf-core central software development projects.

    • Ecoflow BBSRC Grant (UCL)

      2024 - 2026

      Funding for position to work on ecology Nextflow pipelines.

    • nf-core mentorships

      2025 - onwards

      Continuation of the popular nf-core mentorships program, through which mentors are rewarded for the time put into helping mentees accepted into the program.

    • nf-core event support

      2024 - onwards

      Sponsorship of distributed nf-core hackathon sites.

    * Seqera will act as the interim funding provider until the legal status of the Foundation is complete.

  5. Sources of funding

    1. Current: Seqera

    2. Future: Grants, Corporate Sponsors, Philanthropic Organizations

  6. Trustees

    1. Ellen Sherwood

      nf-core steering committee

    2. Paolo Di Tommaso

      Creator of Nextflow

    3. Gisela Gabernet

      nf-core steering committee

    4. Alex Peltzer

      Co-creator of nf-core

    5. Evan Floden

      nf-core steering committee

    6. Sven Nahnsen

      nf-core steering committee

    7. Phil Ewels

      Co-creator of nf-core

  7. FAQ

    When will the OSSF be fully established?
    The OSSF is in the process of becoming a legal Foundation in the state of Catalonia. We hope to be fully operational within 2025.
    How do you select projects?
    We are currently defining the procedure for project selection. Projects will be assessed on a case-by-case basis by the board of trustees. If you have a project that you think would be a good fit for the OSSF, please email us at info@openscience.software to get in touch.
    How does governance work?
    The Board of Trustees is responsible for fulfilling the foundation’s mission and managing its resources. The first board is composed of members of the nf-core steering committee and Paolo. Going forward the Board will self-appoint new trustees. Trustees serve for two-year terms and may be re-elected indefinitely.
    Does Seqera own the OSSF?
    No. Seqera has no legal or financial interest, the Foundation is a public good and a completely separate entity.
    How do you manage conflicts of interest?
    Trustees must avoid conflict of interest and declare to the board any that might arise. In order to avoid conflict of interest stemming from employment or commercial interests, the trustees come from varied backgrounds.
    Does the OSSF hire developers?
    The OSSF is not an employer - only a distributor of funds. The foundation can pay for expenses and pay invoices sent from institutions or self-employed contractors
    Does all nf-core activity have to go through the foundation?
    No - institutions can (and should) continue to apply for funding to work on projects related to nf-core. The OSSF acts as a fiscal sponsor: an additional entity which can be used to apply for and distribute funds.