The Sovereign Tech Agency has launched a new pilot program called Sovereign Tech Standards, and it will be paying open source maintainers to get involved in the processes that actually shape how the internet works.
As a pilot program, it is going to support maintainers to actively participate in standards development at the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
The problem they are trying to tackle here is of access. Participation in bodies like IETF, W3C, and ISO is relatively open, but the reality is different. Attending meetings, keeping up with working group discussions, and contributing meaningfully takes a lot of investment, both in terms of time and money.
Large tech companies are said to be sending people to these meetings as a routine business investment, but most independent open source maintainers simply do not have the time, resources, or sustained capacity to do the same.
Why is this an issue? Maintainers are the people who actually build software on top of these standards, and they know better than anyone where the specs fall apart in practice.
So, wouldn't it be reasonable to directly involve such talent with the standards themselves?
Sovereign Tech Agency ran a survey among maintainers who had worked with such standards and found that many of them relied on the specifications in their day-to-day work. Yet very few could afford to take part in their development in the long term.
During 2026's pilot run, up to ten maintainers will be selected for a cohort running from mid-June 2026 through June 2027. They will need to put in around ten hours a week on standards work at IETF, W3C, or ISO.
Every one of the selected developers will get a monthly stipend between €4,800 and €5,200, with things like SDO participation fees, travel to in-person meetings, and onboarding covered.
How to apply?
To be eligible, you need to be an active maintainer of an open source project whose work is related to standards at IETF, W3C, or ISO in some way. Prior experience with standards bodies is not required, and there are no geographic restrictions either.
The selection panel scores applications on how foundational the relevant standard is, what you are planning to work on, whether your perspective is missing from that working group, and your background as a maintainer.
You should go for it if you meet those requirements.
Applications are open now and close on May 19, 2026, at 11:59 PM CEST. Review and selection will happen during May 2026, with the applicants being notified in June 2026.
The program itself is set to kick off at the end of June 2026. You can also find some additional information on the program's official page.
