NGI0 Commons Fund Aims to Reclaim Public Nature of the Internet

The NGI0 Commons Fund is a strategic impulse for Europe’s digital independence, as much as it is an investment into our European economy, says Michiel Leenaars, director of strategy at NLnet and program leader of the new fund. If an investment of that size was good enough to bootstrap the development of the entire World Wide Web itself at the time, we believe it makes sense today to see what else we can bring into the world when there is no pressure from venture capital – but only talent that puts the public good at the center, says Leenaars. The scope of the open calls is broad, meaning that those working on technology commons across the entire technological spectrum can apply: from libre silicon chips to privacy-friendly augmented reality & AI, from alternative mobile operating systems to open office suites, and from end-to-end encrypted messaging applications to community-curated open data repositories. Practical services like security, accessibility audits and packaging help to improve the quality and promote adoption of the projects, while services like mentoring and diversity management aim to strengthen the communities behind them. Since 2019, NGI Zero has been reshaping public funding of technology with one of the most ambitious and productive funding programmes of its kind — providing bottom-up grants to create digital commons with a pipeline of tailored support to help mature the technologies in question. The team behind NGI Zero Commons Fund includes the following European partners: NLnet Foundation (NL) (program lead), OW2 (FR), Free Software Foundation Europe (DE), OpenForum Europe (BE), Association Professionnelle Européenne du Logiciel Libre (BE), NixOS Foundation (NL), Tolerant Networks (IE), Radically Open Security (NL), HAN University of Applied Sciences (NL), Association for Progressive Communications (ES), Center for the Cultivation of Technology (DE) and Commons Caretakers BV (NL).