Open-Source Manifesto
“We believe in the power of openness to drive innovation, collaboration, and positive change. Our commitment to open-source and open-data is central to our mission of creating a world worth living in”
What is Open-Source, and why does it matter?
Open-source is a movement centred around the belief that software source code and data should be freely available for anyone to view, modify, and distribute. This openness fosters a global collaborative environment where developers and stakeholders can contribute and improve projects. By facilitating transparency, and pooling diverse knowledge and skillsets, open-source accelerates technological advancement and breaks down barriers to progress. In turn, this approach leads to more innovative, robust, and timely solutions.
The Importance of Open-Sourcing in Climate Sector Innovation
The environmental challenges we face are global in both scale and urgency. These complex challenges exceed the capacity of any single organisation, and demand the collaborative approach that open-source principles uniquely provide. In the climate sector, open-sourcing is not only beneficial—it is imperative.
By working openly, organisations can pool resources, avoid duplicating efforts, and accelerate the development of effective solutions to tackle climate challenges. It also enhances transparency, building trust among stakeholders and the public. Ultimately, sharing code and data promotes scalability across the sector, allowing solutions to be adapted and implemented more broadly. Adopting a "share and share alike" philosophy facilitates the seamless exchange of knowledge and technology, expediting the achievement of shared environmental objectives.
Why Open-Source Matters to us at Rebalance Earth
At Rebalance Earth, we are committed advocates and active users of open-source and open-data—we believe in sharing and in giving back. While the open-source ethos is often touted as a selling point in today's innovative industries, for us, it’s far from a passing trend. Open-source is embedded in our DNA. It is a strategic requirement that reflects our values, strengthens our credibility, and empowers us to collaborate symbiotically with others. We do not view ourselves as competing with other organisations in the field, rather, we are committed to collaborating with a wide range of partners. This approach enables us to drive meaningful change, create a lasting, positive impact on Nature and communities, and ultimately create world worth living in.
We draw inspiration from pillars of the open-source community such as the Apache Software Foundation (ASF), renowned for its meritocratic, community-driven approach and unwavering commitment to transparency. The Linux Foundation also guides us with its dedication to open governance and support for critical projects such as the Linux kernel and Kubernetes. Other role models include the European Union Open Data Portal, and the Open Knowledge Foundation, which inspire us through their relentless advocacy for open data standard and quality control and global knowledge sharing.
Openness in Action at Rebalance Earth:
Announced an Open Hackathon – The GeoTAM Challenge:
Our upcoming hackathon focuses on estimating company turnovers. This event aims to develop open-source proof of concept methods for estimating company turnovers, which will be valuable to many organisations within the climate sector and beyond. We will run the hackathon as scheduled and release all submissions as open-source code, fostering innovation and collaboration within the community. Find out more about the challenge here.
Our Openness in the Future:
Sharing Insights at FOSS4G UK Southwest Conference:
Our lead geospatial engineer Dr. Robin Wilson has been invited to share our experiences in developing cloud-native geospatial applications using open-source technologies. This presentation, on the 12th of November aims to contribute to the broader knowledge base within community. Find out more about the event here.
Making GPAP Open-Source:
We plan to release the majority of the code behind our Geospatial Predictive Analytics Platform, enabling others to benefit from and contribute to its development. We will do this when the platform is in a ready state and can provide real value to users, allowing them to start building on top of it.
Releasing a UK and Europe Rainfall Intensity Dataset:
We plan on making publicly available a comprehensive rainfall intensity dataset under the CC-BY license. This dataset will be provided in a modern, open format with detailed metadata, conforming to the FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) data principles.
Releasing Additional Datasets Under CC-BY License:
We are committed to providing more datasets in modern, open formats with comprehensive metadata, adhering to the FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) data principles to ensure they are effectively usable by all.
Continuing Support for Open-Source Initiatives:
We will persist in supporting and contributing to open-source projects that align with our mission and values.
Hosting Future Hackathons
We are committed to hosting future hackathons beyond the scope of the GeoTAM challenge, engaging and collaborating with the open-source community. The outcomes of these hackathons will be shared on an open-source basis.
How we Intend to use this Manifesto
This manifesto serves as a guiding framework that reinforces our commitment to open-source and open-data principles, both within our organisation and in the broader community. We intend to use it to hold ourselves accountable and to encourage others in the field to adopt similar practices. In line with our dedication to transparency, continuous improvement, and accountability, we will regularly update this manifesto and maintain a clear version history.
We want to hear from you!
If you have an interesting project or want to collaborate with us to address our current technical objectives, we can tackle them together. Please don't hesitate to reach out—we'd love to hear from you. We are currently focused on:
1) Calculating the Total Addressable Market (TAM) of an area to determine the economic impact of a flood event. This includes both the primary impact of a flood, where a business is directly affected, and the secondary impact, where a business's supply chain is disrupted. For more information on this, and how you might want to get involved, please see the GeoTAM Challenge hackathon we are hosting.
2) Building, discovering, integrating, and aggregating various hydrological models into our GPAP platform to inform accurate risk assessments.
3) Accurately mapping land use, type, topography, and ownership.
4) Identifying public infrastructure at risk of flood impact, including schools, hospitals, substation locations and the areas of power supply that would be affected, as well as public transport links and networks.
5) Quantifying the reliance and interdependence of local communities and businesses on the health of a river network, while also assessing their vulnerability.
Reach out to us via the form below!