The Linux Foundation has announced its intent to form the Developer Relations Foundation (DRF). The DRF is a new community-driven project under the Linux Foundation, with the mission to elevate the professional practice of developer relations (DevRel) and increase awareness of its role as a crucial driver of developer success, technology adoption, and business value.

Understanding the need for a unified foundation, the formation of the DRF stems from a shared passion for DevRel and the recognition that the profession faces persistent challenges, such as a lack of role clarity and difficulty in measuring impact. Despite significant growth in resources and organizations addressing these issues, efforts and resources are fragmented. As a project under the Linux Foundation, the DRF will work with industry leaders to address these challenges and drive real and measurable impact.

The DRF has received widespread support from DevRel communities and organizations around the world, including Aerospike, Ant Group, Hookdeck, MoonGift, SUSE, and TraceLink. The foundation will continue to engage with these global communities to elevate the practice of DevRel through collaboration and the creation of special interest groups. The Steering committee of the DRF will include representation from developer relations leaders around the globe, and will play a crucial role in stewarding DRF towards success.

“We are thrilled to support the Developer Relations Foundation,” said Jim Zemlin, Executive Director of the Linux Foundation. “This unites the DevRel community to elevate the practice and drive innovation.” Ana Jimenez, LF Project Manager for the Developer Relations Foundation, added, “This Foundation is a major step in unifying and amplifying DevRel voices. We’re excited to foster collaboration and tackle the unique challenges in this field.”

The Developer Relations Foundation aims to provide the environment, methodologies, and frameworks needed to support and unify best practices, common language, and metrics within the DevRel community.