Step 1: Governance Launch
Building open research infrastructure means innovating beyond technology. Infrastructure developers often concentrate on schemas, standards, servers, and software — but infrastructure is also people and power.
It is possible and desirable to innovate in multiple dimensions: technological, community engagement, and decision-making — considered together.
The cooperative approach
Identity verification is an ongoing challenge across researcher reputation services, authentication, and credentialing. Repeatedly proving identity across platforms is inefficient and exposes people and institutions to identity-theft risk.
We chose a cooperative structure that recognizes where value is created — by researchers and staff — rather than defaulting to a traditional startup model. Accounts and ORCID integration are free; members participate in governance and patronage distributions, keep the organization aligned with its principles, and oversee budgets.
The cooperative model eliminates preferred stock, so no equity exit is required for sustainability. Focus stays on researcher experience, staff culture, and subscriber services.
Originally published at https://verime.coop/blog/verime-governance-launch