The idea of a consortium is particular inspiring to me because I think it can open up a whole range of possibilities for the future.
Here is one example. It is everyoneÂs interest in the community for patches and other improvements to be put back into dotLRN. It is also in everyoneÂs interest that we have materials that are useful to everyone like documentation. Everyone benefits, either through direct use or because they help the community at large, from this set of Âcommon goodsÂ. To various extents, people and institutions are willing to put some resources and effort to provided them. However, no one is willing to do everything on their own.
The surest way to provide these resources for the community is to fund developers, documentation writers, etc. to complete the job. Think of what it would be like if we had 2 full-time developers devoted solely to projects that are of general benefit to everyone! A consortium could organize such a campaign and raise the funds for the project through grants, educational institutions and companies. Essential to this process is funders are convinced that the consortium has the structure required to make such decisions and the authority to execute their commitments.
