A Pathway Through the Fog: Why Community Models Matter for Open Infrastructure - APTrust

"Invest in Open Infrastructure (IOI) recently released a landmark report, The State of Open Research Software Infrastructure. It is a must-read for anyone involved in building, funding, or relying on the shared digital tools that support research and knowledge. The report provides a clear-eyed assessment of a landscape that feels deeply familiar to us at APTrust and many of our peers.

While the report focuses on research software, its insights are profoundly relevant to the entire open infrastructure ecosystem, including the world of digital preservation. It diagnoses a set of systemic challenges that often leave essential services in a precarious state. But crucially, it also points toward a solution rooted in collaboration, coordination, and community. In this post, we want to reflect on the report’s findings and explore why community-governed models offer a resilient pathway forward...."