Open Commons Framework

Cyber-on-Main™ is an initiative supported by the Department of Homeland Security and was announced at the first workshop of the National Risk Management Center, on December 11, 2018.  The goal is to design and implement a community cyber capacity model that generates market forces to build resilience, innovation and economic development at community levels.  As the name implies, the focus is on Main Street and supporting small business.  Cyber-on-Main™ recognizes that to achieve the goals, a balance is needed between collective efforts that are public-private and spurring market forces.  The Open Commons Framework is the resulting set of principles to steer efforts in an inclusive, structured way.

The ten tenets of the Open Commons Framework™ provide the contours for community initiatives to establish business-friendly rules for cyber market-making while aligning with a national initiative and a common brand.

Adopters wanting to align with Cyber-on-Main™ may adopt programming under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs (CC BY-ND) license.  According to Creative Commons:

This license lets others reuse the work for any purpose, including commercially; however, it cannot be shared with others in adapted form, and credit must be provided to you.[1]

The framework encourages adopters to incorporate a similar Creative Commons licensing regime for its own original works.  The CC BY-ND construct has been adopted and encouraged by Cyber-on-Main™ because it facilitates adoption and use by collaborators without fee; yet, it ensures that originators are credited for their original work.  Moreover, the tenets establish a working group system, controlled by the originator, to advance derivatives to spur innovation and local initiatives.

The framework also ensures that the “attribution” element of the CC BY-ND incorporates the originator’s logo or trademark.  Again, this construct ensures that originators maintain control over their original work, while balancing that with sharing, collaboration and innovation.  For all Cyber-on-Main™  programs, adopters must attribute it locally with the appropriate mark.

Other tenets of the Open Commons Framework™ ensure that free and open participation is ensured by rule within the local venture.  Yet, the structure does not rule out the establishment of multiple Cyber-on-Main™ initiatives within a community.  Each venture may establish its own specific structures and business rules, provided that the governance does not violate the Open Commons Framework™.

The end-state and vision of Cyber-on-Main™ is a national network of affiliated community cyber entities that make the cyber market in the respective communities, build capacity, and improve resilience.

[1] https://creativecommons.org/licenses/

  commons, community cyber, cybersecurity