The PSF’s Grants Program is a key plank in our charitable mission to advertise,
shield, and advance the Python programming language, and to help and
facilitate the expansion of a various and worldwide neighborhood of Python
programmers. After a lot analysis, enter, and evaluation, we’re happy to share
a PSF Grants Program 2022 & 2023 Transparency Report. The report consists of
context, numbers, evaluation, and a proposed path ahead. It additionally features a
supplemental evaluation of a number of particular grant purposes for which we had been
requested to share extra info.
We really feel you will need to
acknowledge that Pythonistas, regional communities, and the broader neighborhood
are behind these statistics and commentary. Our neighborhood known as for this
report back to be created. Whereas the report is concentrated on knowledge and outcomes, we
additionally really feel you will need to acknowledge on this introduction the issues and
frustrations that introduced us right here, defined additional within the ‘Setting context’
part beneath. We hope that this report, together with many different steps, helps to
remediate this.
This report displays the result of 1000’s of
hours of PSF and volunteer efforts over 2022 and 2023 by the Grants Working
Group, the PSF Board, Python organizers, and PSF Workers worldwide. We actually
worth this chance to share info on the final two years of
growing grants to the neighborhood and to enhance our Grants Program whereas
honoring the laborious work of everybody concerned in making the Program and our
mission doable.
This report was compiled by PSF Workers and
reviewed by the PSF Board and Grants Working Group. If in case you have questions,
feedback, or suggestions concerning the Grants Program or this report, please electronic mail
grants@pyfound.org.
Setting context
In December of 2023, we obtained an
open letter
from a coalition of organizers from the pan-African Python neighborhood asking
the PSF to deal with issues and frustrations round our Grants Program. Earlier than
receiving the letter, the PSF Board was conscious of the Grant software that
spurred this letter and revealed a
transparency weblog publish
relating to the September and October 2023 Board votes regarding that
software. PSF Workers had been conscious of a necessity for a refresh of Grants Program
documentation and processes and labored on these updates time permitting. Since
receiving the letter in December, the PSF Board and Workers have:
-
Frolicked listening throughout many discussions with the letter writers and
different neighborhood members. -
Re-prioritized reviewing and rewriting Grant-related documentation and
processes, together with revisiting the Grants Working Group Constitution. -
Established month-to-month
Grants Program Workplace Hours. -
Contracted Carol Keen to carry out a
DjangoCon Africa Grants Course of Retrospective
which is now out there on the PSF Weblog.
For a high-level thought of the scope of our Grants Program, we’re glad
to share:
-
The PSF distributed $393K in Grants throughout 2022 and $623K throughout 2023 for
the Grants Program and the PyCon US Journey Grants Program mixed. -
The Grants Program distributed $215K in Grants throughout 2022 and $393K throughout
2023. -
Noting this Transparency Report is concentrated on the Grants Program solely. If
you need to study extra about journey grants try the
Journey Grants Course of for PyCon US 2024 weblog publish
on the PyCon US weblog.
The expansion we noticed from 2022 to 2023 is thrilling to replicate on, and we’re
trying ahead to what 2024 and past has in retailer for our Grants Program!
The numbers (in graph kind)
Due to Tania Allard for serving to enhance the readability and
accessibility of the graphs supplied on this report.
Our evaluation
Basic Traits, Observations, & Notes
-
In 2022, Grants requests weren’t at “full capability” as our neighborhood was
nonetheless recovering from the affect of COVID-19 on occasions, initiatives, and
collective burnout. -
The rise in complete grant purposes we obtained from 2023 over 2022 is
encouraging. This system grew in 2023 as we started to return to in-person and
hybrid occasions, and we anticipate extra purposes coming in all through 2024
and past.
Variety of Whole Grant Functions by Continent
-
In each 2022 & 2023, we obtained probably the most variety of purposes from
Africa and Europe, with South America not far behind.
Share of Grants Accepted
-
The share of authorized vs. declined purposes is cheap. Some
causes purposes had been denied embrace: - Unable to fulfill PSF Grants Program standards
- Unclear profit to funding the applying
- Not Python associated
- Spam
Share of Grant Functions by Continent
-
The chances throughout continents are fairly balanced, with fewer
purposes from Asia, North America, and Oceania. Based mostly on the
distribution of populations globally, the share of purposes from
Asia is decrease than anticipated. After receiving enter on this instantly from
PyCon organizers from Asia, now we have come to know that that is primarily based on
an strategy centered on sustainability. PyCon organizers in Asia are centered
on native sponsorship, fiscal accountability, and independence. We completely
commend this strategy, and on the identical time, we urge organizers from Asia to
request Grant funding to complement and improve their occasions. -
Moreover, observe that we can not award Grants to sure nations in Asia
as a result of OFAC and our standing as a US-based 501c3 non-profit.
Accepted & Declined Grant Functions by Continent
-
The variety of declined purposes from Africa reveals an space for
enchancment. Our conclusion is that our documentation just isn’t clear sufficient on
the necessities for a grant to be awarded and that ends in purposes
that won’t move.
Greenback Quantity Granted by Continent & Share of Cash Granted by
Continent
-
This graph seems to indicate that Europe obtained disproportionate funding. On
additional overview, we imagine it is because the grant purposes we received
from Europe had been for conferences. In distinction, a lot of the grant
purposes from different areas had been for meetups and workshops, together with
many Django Women occasions. Conferences usually value considerably greater than
meetups. Right here’s a breakdown:
| Continent | Functions Acquired in 2022 | Granted in 2022 | Functions Acquired in 2023 | Granted in 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Africa | 4 conferences, 7 meetups | 3 conferences, 7 meetups | 7 Conferences, 16 meetups | 5 conferences, 13 meetups |
| Europe | 12 conferences, 1 meetup | 11 conferences, 1 meetup | 15 conferences, 2 meetups | 15 conferences, 2 meetups |
- We
are inspired to see the greenback quantity granted to the Africa area rise
considerably between 2022 and 2023.
Common Quantity Granted by
Continent
- Oceania is an outlier; the PSF obtained one software in 2022
and two in 2023 from Oceania. Many extra grants had been awarded to different areas,
which brought about their common greenback quantity to be decrease. With that in thoughts, we
really feel the typical is cheap. It signifies that we’re receiving each giant and
small grant purposes! - Africa and South America obtained much less on
common than different areas. That is one other instance of the everyday kinds of
grant requests we’re receiving from completely different areas (workshops and meetups
vs. giant conferences).
Grant Resolution Occasions in Weeks by Quantity
& Share of Functions
- Nearly all of the typical grant overview
interval is 4 weeks, which we really feel is cheap primarily based on the method and cargo
of grant purposes we obtain. - Once we reviewed purposes that took
longer than 4 weeks to resolve, we discovered a few eventualities. - One of many
essential causes for longer resolution instances is that purposes are typically
submitted with out essential info, and there’s important time spent on
communications between candidates, PSF Workers, and the Grants Working Group.
As soon as requested, there are sometimes delays in receiving the required info
again from candidates. - The grant software was escalated to the Board
who meet on a month-to-month foundation. Grants could be escalated to the Board both
as a result of the quantity requested is bigger than $10,000 or as a result of the Grants
Working Group can not attain a consensus on a choice.
Grant Program
Common Days to Determine by Continent
- This graph additionally reveals Oceania as an
outlier, and, once more, it’s skewed as a result of we obtained just one software in
2022 and solely two in 2023 purposes from that area. - In 2023,
purposes from Asia took longer to succeed in selections. Once we seemed into
this additional, we discovered that the explanations for delays had been that purposes had been
submitted with out the required info and that important time was spent
on communications between candidates, PSF Workers, and the Grants Working
Group. - We’re happy to see that the typical variety of days could be very
shut throughout most areas.
Supplemental info on particular
grant requests
The open letter we obtained from the pan-African Python
neighborhood requested us to particularly overview the method and share info
about a number of older grant purposes from 2018, 2019, and 2022. We need to
share as a lot info as doable whereas noting that a few of these requests
had been managed by people who’ve since moved on from the PSF and Grants Working
Group (GWG).
Introducing Python and associated applied sciences to extra
excessive colleges in Uganda (2018)
- Grant request submitted January 2nd,
2018 - Requesting funding for 4 occasions in numerous colleges for the 7-9
February, 12-14 February, 19-21 February, 26 Feb-1 March, of 2018. - GWG
Chair forwarded request to the GWG January 4th - GWG reviewed and wanted
extra info - GWG Chair requested extra info and forwarded that
to GWG on January twelfth - GWG Chair acknowledged to the GWG on February seventh
that the request was dropped - No additional feedback added or actions
taken
PyLadies Fest in Kampala, Uganda (2019)
- Grant request
submitted February twenty first, 2019 - Requesting funding for a 5 day occasion
beginning on Might sixth, 2019 - GWG Chair requested extra info
- GWG
Chair forwarded request and extra info to the GWG on March twenty fifth - GWG
reviewed and wanted extra info - GWG Chair requested extra info
and forwarded a reply to GWG on April twenty sixth saying the grant requestor was
engaged on solidifying the mandatory info - GWG Chair forwarded
extra info to the GWG on July tenth and suggested the GWG the occasion
was rescheduled for September sixteenth - No additional feedback added or actions
taken
PyLadies Kampala Open Supply Workshop (2022)
- Grant
request submitted September 20, 2022 - Requesting funding for a in the future
occasion for November twenty sixth, 2022. - GWG Chair requested extra info,
which was supplied on September twenty sixth - GWG Chair forwarded request to GWG
on October twentieth - GWG reviewed and nobody objected
- GWG Chair moved the
request to a vote on October thirty first - Board Member contacted PSF Workers for an
replace on November 2nd - GWG authorized the request and the GWG Chair despatched
the Decision to the grant requester on November third
Our
feedback
We would not have many insights into the administration of those
Grant requests outdoors of what exists on the GWG mailing checklist, together with any
off checklist emails or in-person conversations that may have occurred. The PSF
Workers administering the GWG for the grant requests from 2018 and 2019 aren’t any
longer on the crew. The request from 2022, which was authorized, was 2 days over
our purpose of 6 week turnaround time for selections on grant purposes.
Whereas our workers roster is at present small, it was even smaller in
2018 and 2019. We realized a while in the past that as our grant requests elevated
having a solo administrator for the GWG was tough- it was laborious for our workers
to catch a break! Once we put out a name for a Neighborhood Communications
Supervisor in June of 2023, we deliberate for whoever stepped into that function to be a
second administrator for the GWG to at all times have a stopgap on the prepared. Our
present administration for the GWG now consists of two PSF Workers members. That is
achieved purposefully to keep away from conditions the place purposes get dropped as a result of a
important piece of knowledge comes simply as somebody is scheduled to be out of
the workplace or an emergency occurs.
A path ahead
A few of our
objectives:
- Assessment, rewrite, and enhance the Grants Working Group Constitution,
together with exploring numerous decision-making choices and standards. - Assessment, rewrite, and enhance documentation in order that:
- Candidates can
be assured that their software meets the Grants Program standards earlier than
submitting. - Scale back the necessity for follow-ups for extra info
that may trigger delays. - Proceed to host the PSF Grants Program Workplace
Hours to extend ongoing transparency, help grant candidates, and
perceive the gaps in our documentation. - Analyze and deliberate on the
fairness of designating grant funding allotted by area. - Discover methods
that the PSF may frequently help the group of large-scale occasions in
underserved regional communities. - Look at and replace our processes
relating to timeframes, together with escalating grant purposes after 4 weeks of
overview to keep away from 8-week overview intervals. - We’d wish to obtain extra
purposes sooner or later by persevering with to publicize the chance and
offering help throughout our Workplace Hours. - Revisit the effectiveness and
sustainability of the Grants Program yearly.
A last observe
We
hope this transparency report will assist our neighborhood perceive the state of
our Grants Program during the last two years. It has been instructive to the
Board, the Grants Working Group, and our workers who administer this system to
perceive the place our strengths and weaknesses lay. This report will inform our
efforts as we progress with enhancements to the Grants Program. We additionally really feel
this train will proceed to be useful 12 months over 12 months, to each monitor the
well being of and analyze how our enchancment efforts have impacted the success of
the Grants Program.
If in case you have any questions, feedback, or
suggestions, please electronic mail grants@pyfound.org.
