You don’t have to do everything at once. Here’s a rough sequence that’s worked for campuses standing up an OSPO—skip or reorder whatever doesn’t fit.
In your first few weeks¶
Join the conversation: hop into the Network Slack and introduce yourself, and come to an All-Campus Virtual Meetup or coworking session to meet people.
Claim a little space on the web: even a single page on ucospo.net tells people you exist and gives you somewhere to point them.
Start finding your people: discovery is the heart of an OSPO—begin a mailing list and start surfacing who’s already doing open source around you.
Open the Sponsor conversation: identifying an executive Sponsor can be the slowest step, so start it early.
In your first few months¶
Hold a first meetup: an in-person first gathering makes the OSPO real and surfaces your community.
Map your local partners: reach out to the stakeholders whose work already touches open source.
Join a Working Group: plug into a Working Group so you’re connected to the Network’s actual work, not just its meetings.
Staying connected¶
The Network runs on a few simple channels—keep these handy:
Slack: the Network workspace for day-to-day conversation.
Events: the events calendar for meetups, coworking, and workshops.
Working Groups: where the work happens.
When to ask for help¶
Anytime at all! None of this is meant to be solved alone; the Network exists so you don’t have to. Reach out to Laura Langdon (community manager), or just ask in Slack. We’re glad you’re here 🥳.