Open Source Software Developers' Views on Public and Private Funding: A Case Study on scikit-learn

Governments are increasingly funding open source software (OSS) development to enhance software security, digital sovereignty, and national competitiveness in science and innovation, amongst others. However, little is known about how OSS developers view the relative benefits and drawbacks of governmental funding compared to other funding sources. This study explores this question through a case study on scikit-learn, a Python library for machine learning, funded by public research grants, commercial sponsorship, micro-donations, and a €32 million grant announced in France's artificial intelligence strategy.

Through 25 interviews with scikit-learn's maintainers and funders, this study makes two key contributions. First, it contributes empirical findings about the benefits and drawbacks of public and private funding for OSS developers, and the governance protocols employed by the maintainers to balance the diverse interests of their funders and community. Second, it offers practical lessons on funding for OSS developers, governments, and companies based on the experience of scikit-learn.

The paper concludes with recommendations for future research and practice.