Applying to become an OpenRail project #
The OpenRail Association provides hosting to Open Source projects within the railway sector. Its goal is to facilitate collaboration across organizations so that the huge challenges of the sector can be addressed in a joint effort, effectively and efficiently. The OpenRail Association is open to all participants of the sector, railway companies, vendors, and research institutes, which commit to working on Open Source software in an open model.
Hosting an Open Source project means that the OpenRail Association provides the neutral ground where a diverse set of participants can meet under clear conditions and collaborate openly. The OpenRail Association provides infrastructure (mainly through its organization on GitHub) and support for running projects according to proven Open Source practices. It also provides legitimacy and visibility for Open Source projects, and a strong international network of like-minded people from the railway sector.
Development of the Open Source software in the projects is done by the project participants. This will be members of the OpenRail Association in many cases, but this is not a prerequisite. All projects follow an open governance model, which means that decisions are taken transparently and participation in projects is based on merits. The OpenRail Association makes sure that these principles are followed for its projects, but leaves projects a lot of autonomy to organize themselves in the way which is most suitable for the project. Control about the content of the project is fully with the projects. The OpenRail Foundation does not provide funding for development.
The incubation process defines how projects can become part of the OpenRail Association and what conditions have to be met at which stage. The first step is to apply to be hosted as an official OpenRail Association project. Here is how:
Decide on adopting an Open Source model #
Open Source provides a lot of benefits: faster innovation, more efficiency, better interoperability. To realize these benefits you need to commit to going with the Open Source model. This means sharing the code under an Open Source license, but also to adopt an open governance model, where it’s transparent how decisions are taken, and there is a fair opportunity for contribute on eye-level based on the merits of your contributions.
Adopting this model needs some courage. It means giving up central control and adopting a model of collaborative ownership. It means giving up management by status or power and adopting leadership by quality contributions. It means giving up working behind closed doors and adopting transparent collaboration in public. If you bring up this courage, you will be rewarded by a very effective and enjoyable environment which will deliver results with a speed and quality you might not have seen before.
When you have decided to go the Open Source way, the OpenRail Association might be the path you choose:
Check if the project is in the scope of the OpenRail Association #
The OpenRail Association facilitates development of Open Source software in the railway sector. The focus is on railway specific software, which addresses needs of the railway domain. It’s not about generic IT infrastructure which is needed by any sector. For these projects other foundations might be a more suitable host. That said, the OpenRail Association is open. If it’s about a use case rooted in the railway domain, your project is likely to fit. If in doubt, please ask.
Note that the current focus of the OpenRail Association is Open Source software, not open data. We realize that open data is an element in a lot of Open Source projects, especially in the railway domain. So here as well, if in doubt, please ask.
Once you have decided that the OpenRail Association is the right path, go on to the actual application:
Fill out the questionnaire for new projects #
There is a questionnaire which helps you to collect the relevant information which is required to describe your project and give the base for the decision of the OpenRail Association on acceptance of your project as an officially hosted OpenRail project.
Take the questionnaire and open a pull request in the repository of the technical committee where you add the questionnaire as a project proposal with the answers of your project filled in.
The Technical Committee will evaluate the proposal and get in contact with you to clarify any open questions and get the proposal into a shape which is suitable for acceptance.
Then it’s decision time:
Decision on acceptance of the new project #
Once the proposal is ready and you and the Technical Committee have decided that the project is a fit for the OpenRail Association, the board of the OpenRail Association has the final say in deciding on the acceptance of the project.
If the project proposal is accepted by the Technical Committee and the board, congratulations, you have a new OpenRail project. It’s ready to be onboarded now.