Katherine Skinner
Director of Programs
Invest in Open Infrastructure
As extreme policy shifts in the US threatened billions in federal research funding and disrupted agencies central to the knowledge ecosystem early this year, Invest in Open Infrastructure (IOI) sought to understand the impact this volatility might have on open infrastructures. Through a “quick poll” that we distributed in March 2025 to our newsletter subscribers— which includes a mix of open infrastructure service providers, users, and funders —we aimed to surface insights into how different facets of these stakeholder communities are experiencing and responding to this moment of upheaval. Some of the questions we sought to answer were: Which infrastructures do stakeholders see as most vital? How many categories of infrastructure do they include? How do they connect to each other? The poll wasn’t about ranking or evaluation—it was about listening, identifying emerging patterns, and informing IOI’s efforts to advocate for and support the open infrastructures that make open research possible. In this video presentation, IOI’s Dr. Katherine Skinner unpacks the findings of this quick poll, unearthing insights which begins to provide much needed practical insights that we can use to understand both the importance and fragility of open infrastructures in this critical moment.
