The Python Software Foundation (PSF) is excited to share that the PSF Board has been developing a strategic plan to guide the foundation's direction over the next five years. We are sharing the high-level goals today to collect feedback and commentary from the Python community. A full draft with detailed objectives will be published in early June for public feedback, and the board hopes to adopt the plan in July 2026, to be reviewed annually going forward.
Why now
The Python ecosystem is growing and changing fast. PyPI hosts over 800,000 projects and serves tens of billions of downloads per month. The Developers-in-Residence program has grown from a single role to a team spanning CPython development, security, and PyPI safety, proving that targeted investment in core infrastructure works. Last year's fundraiser showed that the community and sponsors are willing to support the PSF's mission when provided the opportunity.
The foundation also faces challenges. As we shared in November, the PSF's assets and yearly revenue have declined and costs have increased, while the demand for the foundation's work grows faster than its capacity. Last year we had to pause the Grants Program after reaching the budget cap earlier than expected. These pressures are part of why the board committed to a strategic plan: the foundation needs a clear framework for making hard choices about where to focus.
The PSF Board has discussed strategic planning over the years, including at the 2024 board retreat. This year, we committed to turning that discussion into a concrete plan. The process included numerous interviews with PSF Staff, community members, and participants across the Python ecosystem. After interviews, the PSF Board went through a prioritization exercise, followed by a series of dedicated and structured board discussions.
The direction
The plan has two parts:
I. Organizational Goals: How the PSF operates across all its activities, and
II. Program Goals: Where the PSF directs its work and resources.
We invite your feedback on all of the goals in both parts of the plan (See the “How to participate” section below).
I. Organizational Goals: How we operate
- Financial Sustainability: Diversify the PSF's revenue so the foundation is not dependent on any single source.
- Building a Resilient Foundation: Strengthen governance, financial oversight, and knowledge management so the organization can survive transitions and operate transparently.
- Diversity and Inclusion: D&I is not treated as a standalone effort. D&I is a lens for all PSF decisions and activities.
- Transparency and Community Trust: Increase visibility into how the PSF makes decisions and uses its resources, as the community's trust in its governance is the foundation of the PSF's credibility.
- Community Empowerment and Self-Sufficiency: Support Python communities in building their own capacity through collaboration and shared resources.
- Strong Partnerships and Collaboration: Partner with organizations that distribute, extend, and depend on Python, as well as with community groups across the open source ecosystem.
II. Program Goals: Where we focus our work
- Secure Python's Software Supply Chain and Distribution Infrastructure. PyPI is critical global infrastructure, and supply chain security goes beyond the index. Python reaches users through many channels beyond python.org and PyPI, which makes collaboration with distributors essential.
- Responsibly Grow and Advance Critical Python Infrastructure. The PSF stewards PyPI, CPython, python.org, pip, and more. Growth needs to match staffing capacity and sustainable funding.
- Foster a Thriving, Connected Global Python Community. Support the global Python community through events, grants, and working groups, while empowering regional communities to be self-sufficient.
- Develop the Next Generation of Python Developers. Make Python accessible to newcomers and remove barriers for underrepresented groups.
How the plan works
We developed this strategic plan to cover a five-year period. The board will review progress annually with community input, review whether priorities need to shift, and publish the results so the community can see how we are tracking. The intention is for the strategic plan to be flexible and adaptive, so that it can effectively guide the PSF’s priorities as the ecosystem continues to grow and evolve, rather than a static document that begins to collect dust on the shelf.
We developed the plan to set direction–not implementation details. How to carry it out is the job of PSF Staff, and the specifics will evolve as we learn what works. Once adopted, the plan will directly inform how the PSF allocates its budget and staff time and how it seeks funding.
How to participate
If any of these goals matter to you, or if you think we are missing something important, we want to hear from you.
We welcome you to email strategy@python.org to share your thoughts. This is the best way to reach us asynchronously.
You can also join the conversation with us at:
- PSF Board Office Hours on May 12 and June 9th, on the PSF Discord. We hope to spend both of these sessions focused on discussing the strategic plan with people from the community.
- PyCon US 2026 at the Members Lunch and a dedicated Open Space session. We know only a small fraction of our community will be present at PyCon US this year, so we warmly welcome you to engage with us on Discuss and via the email address provided above.
- A Python Discuss thread is available for open community discussion. We welcome you to join in with feedback and comments.
A full draft with detailed objectives under each Program Goal will be published in early June for community feedback via this blog, Python Discuss under the PSF category, and social media. The feedback window for this year will close before the July 8th PSF Board meeting.
This plan will shape what the PSF does and how it spends its resources for the next five years. If you use Python, contribute to it, or participate in communities around it, you have a stake in shaping its future.
Jannis Leidel, PSF Board Chair, on behalf of the PSF Board of Directors
