Guest: Anna Hermansen (LinkedIn)
Organization: LF Research (Twitter)

Linux Foundation Research has had nine reports released since January 2023 and has 12 more in production and in the field currently. With an entirely open-source mindset, LF Research is keen to make its research and aggregated anonymized data from its surveys available to all. A collaborative approach is key, as they work to better understand the fragmentation of open source and how best to move forward in a less fragmented way.

In this episode recorded at the Open Source Summit in Vancouver, Anna Hermansen, Ecosystem Manager at LF Research, talks about some of their recent reports and focus areas, and the role collaboration plays in doing the reports. She goes on to discuss what LF Research is working on currently and what reports are coming out in the future.

Key highlights from this video interview:

• Hermansen talks through the research work Linux Foundation has been undertaking, explaining that the last few reports have focused on quantifying the economic value of open source. She goes into depth about the conversations they have had around open source as a potential level for economic recovery.
• Hermansen talks about the recently released Tech Talent report that surveyed managers about their sense of hiring tech talent as we enter more economic recession and where their priorities lay. She discusses Linux Foundation’s work around sustainability and where open source fits in.
• Depending on the focus of the research, Linux Foundation works within an industry vertical which may entail collaborating with LF Energy or LF Training and Certification, or the work within or across horizontals, which may be LF AI, Data, or Hyperledger. Hermansen takes us through the collaborative aspect of Linux Foundation’s reports.
• Hermansen discusses the role events play in sharing the research with the community. Although LF Research makes their research accessible to all, Hermansen tells us it can be difficult to spread the word. Events can help promote LF Research work, enable them to receive critiques about the research and engage with new perspectives.
• Hermansen discusses the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) project they are working on and tells us they are mapping the various Linux Foundation projects to the 17 different goals. She talks about how some projects were both to be sustainability-minded whereas others were not but led to becoming sustainable implementations.
• LF Research has 12 surveys in production and in the field that are being analyzed right now. Hermansen gives us an insight into what they are working on and the surveys that will be coming out in the future, such as the Global Spotlight survey and reports in the energy sector.

This summary was written by Emily Nicholls.