Open Source rates and compensation structures

[gusaus]

With a few of our team member collectives/orgs 'potentially' participating in the Open Startup pilot, I'd like to surface and expand on this (Open Collective) Slack discussion around open source rates and compensation structures.

In particular strategies around determining -

• contributor compensation based on experience and where they live in the world
• contributor compensation based on roles and responsibilities
• competitive rates for open source service providers (organizations and individuals)
• rates for different types of organizations and projects (open source project, non-profit, for-profit, etc)
• benefits for volunteers and (employer/corporate) sponsored contributors
• benefits for sponsors (financial and in-kind)
• other issues/problems we'd like to identify and solve in this discussion

[gusaus]

contributor compensation based on experience and where they live in the world

There are some good resources, shared experiences, and tips from collectives in OSCs Deciding on how to use your money guide.

Open Collective Foundation has not only documented their transparent compensation model and process - they even created and released their compensation calculator.

Considering Community Contributor Group (as an aggregate of partner orgs/collectives) has capacity to contribute/support multiple collectives in the ecosystem (including Open Collective projects and community), we need to determine a clear, transparent governance and compensation structure.

While participation in the Metagov pilot will help us formulate governance, I think (adopting/extending/contributing to) this type of compensation model is worth exploring. Especially if there are opportunities to share ideas and collaborate with OFC and other collective the might be using.

With that in mind I followed up in a related thread in the #ocf channel (Open Collective Slack). I'll post any responses here.

Curious to hear from other team members and partners. What do you think of their model? Do you think it's something worth exploring? What about for your org or collective?

[gusaus]

contributor compensation based on technologies, skills, roles, and responsibilities

Not sure if this type of breakdown by technology is relevant when it comes to open source contributions since there's a bit of leeway in terms of timelines and need for full on expertise (considering there are more opportunities to learn by doing). What about different roles? Should/could compensation for a developer, PM, writer, etc. be the same if they all have the same amount of experience? What about supporting roles like marketing, podcasting, fundraising, etc?

Would be good to hear folks from agencies as well as individuals with experience working with teams and multiple technologies.

[gusaus]

competitive rates for open source service providers (organizations and individuals)

FOSS Contributors (and other partner orgs/collectives) is well positioned to provide a variety of open source services to orgs/projects/groups in the Open Collective ecosystem. In order to acquire and retain talent (contractors and employees down the line) we need to establish billable rates high enough to not only pay talent but sustain the organization.

As mainly a freelancer (in-between risky open source startups), I have no idea what our rates should be. Also have no idea if there should be different rates for different groups and situations (nonprofit, open source projects, large budgets, small budgets, etc.).

I'm hoping some of the folks from agencies or open source orgs could share best practices and experiences.