On the Importance of Agility and Values-Aligned Decisions-Making
Since we announced our withdrawal from the NSF Pathways to Enable Open-Source Ecosystems (POSE) proposal we have received overwhelming support from community members, champions, and like-minded projects. Thank you for your words of support, encouragement, and individual donations. We are truly inspired by you.
The non-profit sector faces unprecedented challenges requiring transformative leadership approaches. Traditional collaboration models struggle with evolving social needs, economic pressures, and unnecessary disruption. The Carpentries is here to contribute practical solutions that address these contemporary realities. Values-driven decision making forms the foundation of effective non-profit leadership, yet implementing hard decisions takes courage. Modeling our organisation’s values in action requires navigating complex partner interests, addressing competing priorities, and facing resource constraints while maintaining organisational integrity. Since our announcement, we have been called on to help refine methodologies that enable leaders to systematically evaluate decisions against core mission and values, ensuring strategic choices advance organisational purpose rather than merely responding to immediate pressures.
The open-source ecosystem must be agile. Organisations need rapid response capabilities, innovative program delivery approaches, and flexible operational structures. Our experience has taught us valuable lessons about building adaptive capacity; we are eager to share what we have learned, and invite you to get in touch with us to collaborate.
Financial sustainability demands urgent attention. We must reduce our dependency on restricted funding and develop diversified revenue strategies that signal partnership rather than transactional relationships. We have developed frameworks for evaluating and pursuing multiple revenue streams, and hope to create replicable models that other organisations can adapt. We have extensive experience developing decision-making frameworks that integrate partner input, mission alignment, and resource optimisation. These proven methodologies could benefit the broader non-profit sector.
We hope to formalise and expand these approaches, creating implementable tools for other leaders. We will share insights and skills broadly with the open-source community. We view leadership development as a collaborative opportunity to elevate us all, and are excited to teach others what we have learned, engage with emerging open-source projects, and advocate for the continued success of our movement.
The impact we hope to achieve extends beyond an individual organisation’s success to sector-wide transformation. We envision contributing to a landscape where leaders make more strategic, values-aligned decisions; where organisations operate with greater agility and financial sustainability; and where continuous learning and knowledge sharing become standard practice.
We stand at a pivotal moment, not just for The Carpentries, but for the future of the open-source movement. With your continued support, we can formalise and expand the methodologies we have developed to meet today’s challenges head-on. Together, we can build a more values-aligned, financially sustainable, and agile ecosystem, one where strategic decision-making is guided by mission and community, not short-term pressures. If our vision resonates with you, we invite you to collaborate, share, and invest in this work. Your partnership will help us equip more leaders, strengthen more organisations, and drive lasting, sector-wide transformation. Get in touch with us to collaborate.