Not an XSF thing, but there's a Standards programme going on at Soverign Tech that can fund open source maintainers to get to IETF (and other) meetings. It's aimed at those who cannot otherwise go, to bring new voices in.

I've not been to an IETF week in a while, but they're truly fascinating, and I'd highly recommend it. If you're maintaining open source software and want to go, but can't afford to, then you've a few days left to sign up.

This really is a great opportunity!

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Ted Hardie <ted.ietf@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 14 May 2026 at 09:05
Subject: Re: Pilot project for standards participation
To: IETF <ietf@ietf.org>


I wanted to bump this both because the deadline is coming soon:  19 May 2026 at 11:59 PM and because there were a number of questions about whether folks could apply if they would be invoicing via an institution.  There's an updated FAQ on that:  https://www.sovereign.tech/programs/standards/faq.  The key text is:

"Generally, it is our strong preference to work directly with open source maintainers through this program, either as a freelance agreement or as a contract with a sole proprietor.

We do recognize that open source maintainers operate in a variety of organizational settings. If you meet the requirements of the program but can only invoice us through a legal entity that employs others, you are welcome to apply. Please bear in mind the following:

  • We may exclude applications for any reason at our sole discretion. As per our goal to bring missing and underrepresented voices into standards organizations, applications from organizations which do not require public support for this work are likely to be excluded.
  • The program is centered around building a relationship with individual maintainers. If an organization's relationship with the individual ends or changes in a manner impacting the work, Sovereign Tech Agency's relationship with the organization will also come to an end.
  • We will not be able to accommodate significant changes to our standard legal agreements, which we will ask strong applicants to review ahead of time."
So if that was holding anyone back from applying, please consider whether the update changes your ability to take advantage of the opportunity.

regards,

Ted Hardie


On Thu, May 7, 2026 at 1:49 PM Ted Hardie <ted.ietf@gmail.com> wrote:
I sent this information to the hackathon and open-source lists, but it was suggested I share a bit more widely.

Some time ago, the Sovereign Tech Agency run a survey on the ability of open source maintainers to participate in standards work. Based on that data, they have now developed a pilot project  for supporting open source maintainers that want to get involved with standards.  That pilot has launched, with the IETF as one of the targets (along with the W3C and ISO).  Background information is here:


along with the application details:


Here's a direct link to the application as well:  


If you know of open source folks who might be interested in this kind of support, please share it with them.

thanks,

Ted Hardie