Mozilla has announced the creation of a $50,000 fund via its Mozilla Open Source Support (MOSS) program to encourage people to develop open source technology projects which help fight the COVID-19 pandemic in some way. The firm said it’s generally looking to fund reasonably mature projects that can immediately deploy the funding.
As an example of the type of project that Mozilla is looking for, it pointed to an open source ventilator that has been developed by the University of Florida Center for Safety, Simulation, and Advanced Learning Technologies. The firm said it believes there any many more such projects that will help assist in the fight against COVID-19 and it wants to fund them.
Aside from hardware projects, Mozilla will also fund software projects. Some software examples that it gave include a platform to connect hospitals with people who have 3D printers who can print parts for the open source ventilator, or a browser plug-in that helps users recognise coronavirus-related misinformation online.
Those looking to apply must submit their proposals online. Those applying can be based anywhere in the world but must have a publicly accessible project licensed under a free software license according to the FSF or an open source license according to the OSI. Finally, awardees must use all of the funds within three months of winning the award.