Software Infrastructure
Software infrastructure is one of the two funding priorities of the Prototype Fund. We define it more broadly than what is “classically” considered software infrastructure.
Software infrastructure is generally understood as the foundation of the modern software world: programs and apps that have been developed for a single purpose are just the tip of the iceberg. Below that lies a broad network of modules, protocols, libraries, and interfaces that work in harmony with each other. Developers use them so they don't have to build every piece of software from scratch. As the Prototype Fund, we also include software that strengthens this infrastructure under this funding priority. Applications for end users are generally eligible for funding if they meaningfully extend or support the underlying software infrastructure. This is the case, for example, when an existing API is extended with a front end or a new application module is created that is made more useful and accessible.
One of the great strengths of the free and open source ecosystem is that it can expand on the work of others and build on it in a modular way. Software infrastructure must be particularly long-lasting – to achieve this, it is essential not to reinvent the wheel, but instead to build on existing projects and involve existing communities.
Libraries, APIs, and modules often only reach developers, but are nevertheless relevant to a large target group because, for example, a library is integrated into widely used applications by developers and thus becomes accessible to a broad audience. To be eligible for funding from the Prototype Fund, it is important that the target audience is either indirectly large or that the project has a significant impact within a specific group: Infrastructure for more participation does not have to reach large masses, but should, if possible, provide greater access to an entire group of people.
Tips and tricks for project ideas that may fall under the funding priority of software infrastructure, for example:
- Instead of a “single-use app” that maps only hospitals, consider how this feature can be well integrated into OpenStreetMap and which apps in the open-source ecosystem could be usefully expanded.
- A calendar app, for example, should support CalDAV, the standard protocol for calendar synchronization, and not just run on its own servers. It is also important to consider why the feature cannot be integrated into Thunderbird or Nextcloud Calendar, for example, instead of developing a completely new app.
- Ideas for membership software are a dime a dozen—but a new, customized solution for a single use case is not really software infrastructure. To get funding from the Prototype Fund, it's more promising to take a tool that's already used by many associations and elevate it to the next level, where it works better for more users, or add an exciting new feature.
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