The TODO Group is thrilled to share a new resource: The Lifecycle of an Open Source Program Office (OSPO): From Inception to Strategic Pivoting, originally authored by Dr. Ibrahim Haddad, who has generously donated this work as a TODO community resource to seed a collaborative, shared framework that OSPO practitioners can evolve together.
This whitepaper provides a framework to help organizations understand and evolve their OSPO, from grassroots beginnings and executive sponsorship, to scaling contributions, integrating open source into core strategy, and reorienting toward new technologies like AI. Endorsed by the TODO Group, it reflects real-world patterns and lessons learned from OSPOs across our global community over the past years.
This report shares real-world patterns seen across the TODO community and reinforces a key truth: OSPOs are not static. These offices need to evolve with organizational priorities and innovation trends.
Steering Committee: Annania Melaku, Ashley Wolf, Brittany Istene, Georg Kunz, Natali Vlatko, Alice Sowerby, Stephen Augustus
What is Inside?
- An updated view of OSPOs in today’s landscape (including AI system adoption, software supply chain resilience, and regulatory alignment)
- How OSPOs typically form, evolve, and pivot
- Tactical advice on license compliance, executive buy-in, InnerSource, and developer enablement
- Perspectives from China and Europe OSPOs on regulation, strategy, and risk
- The concept of an OSPO as a “strategic risk radar”
Organizations looking to adapt to the new economy and the AI landscape should structure their open source management efforts to allow phases to evolve, repeat, or pivot as priorities shift and external conditions change. The Lifecycle of an OSPO reinforces and illustrates this continuous evolution, helping organizations build a resilient software strategy that integrates holistic open source practices.
Ana Jiménez Santamaría, TODO Group Senior Project Manager
A Living Resource for the Community
TODO has published the OSPO lifecycle as part of the TODO Group’s ospology GitHub repository to ensure it’s accessible and extensible by the community.
The paper will also be highlighted during the APAC & EMEA TODO Touchpoint on May 29.
Download The Report