The Vermont Research Open Source Program Office (VERSO) at the University of Vermont (UVM) supports the open-source community to foster sustainable innovation through education, fellowships, research, and collaboration. VERSO aims to create an effortless open-source ecosystem on and off campus, growing a diverse community while building the necessary infrastructure to support open-source software development at UVM. By working closely with UVM’s research teams and community partners, VERSO seeks to document its community’s growth and contribute to open-source research questions.

Our Mission

• Coordinate and facilitate open science across the university.
• Promote transparency, reliability, and accessibility in research software and tools.
• Build a thriving, inclusive open‑source community that welcomes contributors at every skill level.
• Connect UVM researchers with community, government, and nonprofit partners to solve real‑world problems through open‑source solutions. 

What We Do

VERSO supports the University of Vermont community by providing the tools, programs, and infrastructure needed to develop and sustain open‑source research. We maintain an Open Source Project Registry that makes it easy to discover and contribute to software created by UVM researchers, and we offer workshops and educational resources that help students and faculty learn open‑science principles and build the skills necessary for collaborative development. Through the Open Research Community Accelerator (ORCA), VERSO empowers student‑led projects in areas such as drone technology, agriculture, health, and interlibrary lending, connecting open‑source innovation directly to real‑world needs. We also collaborate with UVM Extension, the Office of Engagement, government agencies, and nonprofit partners to expand the impact of open‑source solutions across Vermont communities