Announcing the PSF Strategic Plan 2026

In May, the Python Software Foundation (PSF) shared the high-level goals of our Strategic Plan. In June, we published the full draft and opened it for community feedback. Today we are sharing the outcome: at its July 8 meeting, the PSF Board adopted the PSF Strategic Plan 2026, covering 2026 to 2031.

Our new PSF Strategy page is the permanent home for the plan, with information about how the board sets priorities and how you can share feedback. We’ll publish annual review findings and future updates there so the community can follow our progress and any changes to the plan.

What the feedback changed

Feedback from PSF Staff and the Python community shaped real changes to the draft we published in June.

Staff feedback added a Security Baseline objective for all PSF projects and services and a Vulnerability Management objective in response to the rapid growth in security reports, and it sharpened wording across the organizational goals. Community feedback shaped the plan, too: translation and localization are now part of the accessibility work, companies that want to fund specific work get clearer pathways, and the ideas under financial sustainability now include growing the value of PSF membership.

The plan's "How This Plan Was Shaped" section documents the process, and we are grateful to everyone who took the time to share their perspectives.

The annual review

A five-year plan is only useful if it stays current. Alongside adoption, the board established an annual review of the strategic plan. Each year, the board will:

• Assess progress against the goals

• Evaluate whether priorities need to shift

• Incorporate feedback from PSF staff and the community

• Publish a summary of findings and any changes made

The plan is designed as a living document, and we will be sharing details on the first review cycle.

What happens next

Implementation of the Strategic Plan is the job of PSF staff, and it has already started. The 2026 Grants Program Funding Round announced in July is the first concrete step under the plan's grants reform direction, and awards will be announced later this month.

We also know the community is waiting for updated financial information. The PSF has engaged an external accounting firm to support this work, and we will share an update as soon as the numbers are ready for publication.

The plan now informs how the PSF allocates its budget and staff time, and there are several ways to stay involved. We welcome community feedback at strategy@python.org year-round, and the monthly PSF Board Office Hours on the PSF Discord are a good place to connect with the board and to ask questions about the plan. Input arriving now feeds the first annual review.

Thank you to everyone who read the draft, contributed feedback, joined the office hours, and talked with us at PyCon US. The PSF’s Strategic Plan is better for it.

Jannis Leidel, PSF Board Chair, on behalf of the PSF Board of Directors

The 2026 PSF Board Election is Open!

It’s time to cast your vote! Voting for the 2026 PSF Board Election is open starting today Tuesday, September 1st, 2:00 pm UTC, through Tuesday, September 15th, 2:00 pm UTC. 

How to Vote

If you are a voting member of the PSF who affirmed your intention to participate in this year’s election or you voted in last year’s election, you will receive an email today from “OpaVote Voting Link <noreply@opavote.com>” with a link to your ballot. The subject line will read “Python Software Foundation Board of Directors Election 2026”. If you haven’t seen your ballot by Wednesday, please first check your spam folder for a message from “noreply@opavote.com”. If you can’t find the ballot email from OpaVote please get in touch by emailing psf-elections@pyfound.org so we can look into your account and make sure we have the most up-to-date email for you.

Four seats on the board are open, but you can vote to approve as many of the 17 candidates as you like. We’re delighted by how many of you are willing to contribute to the Python community by serving on the PSF Board! Make sure you take some time to look at all the nominee statements and choose your candidates carefully. 

ATTN: Choose carefully before you press the big green vote button. Once your vote is cast, it cannot be changed.

An Informed Vote is a Great Vote

Nomination and supporting statements are the clearest way to see how each candidate actually thinks: their priorities, experience, and vision for the PSF. Rather than just voting on name recognition, we encourage you to read each candidate's nomination and supporting statements. PSF Board members shape real decisions about budget, programs, and community direction. Reading these statements helps ensure your vote reflects what the candidates would actually do in the role. 

This year, the PSF election team has taken a few more steps to ensure informed voting. We invited this year’s candidates to participate in written interviews. You can find the candidate interviews on the PSF blog. We also encouraged this year’s candidates to open AMA (ask me anything) threads on discuss.python.org. You can find those threads under the PSF Board Election category on Discuss. Some great Q&A has already been taking place, so make sure to check them out!

Who can vote? 

You need to be a Contributing, Supporting, or Fellow member and have affirmed your voting intention by August 25th, 2:00 pm UTC, to vote in this election. Per last year’s Bylaw change that allows for simplifying the voter affirmation process by treating past voting activity as intent to continue voting, if you voted last year, you have been automatically added to the 2026 voter roll. Please note: If you removed or changed your email on psfmember.org, you may not automatically be added to this year's voter roll. 

Reminder that if you were formerly a Managing member, your membership has been updated to Contributing as of June 25th, 2025, per a recent Bylaw change that merged Managing and Contributing memberships. 

If you’d like to learn more or sign up as a PSF Member, check out our membership types. You can check your membership status on your User Information page on psfmember.org (you will need to be logged in). If you have questions about your membership or the election please email psf-elections@pyfound.org