openCode Connect September 2026

On an Equal Footing: How Open Source Foundations Organise Collaborative Development

Who actually decides what ends up in open source software? In foundations such as the Eclipse Foundation, the Apache Software Foundation or the Linux Foundation, this is not determined by a single vendor, but through open governance: anyone who contributes has a say, regardless of their size or budget. In this way, large corporations, small and medium-sized enterprises and public sector organisations sit around the same table and work together to further develop the projects on which they all depend. Drawing on his experience on the Board of Directors of the Eclipse Foundation and in committees of the Linux Foundation, Hendrik Ebbers provides an insight into how this works in practice: how projects are initiated, how decisions are made, how the foundations differ from one another, and what an organisation must do to help shape the future rather than merely being a consumer.