What this document is
This specification defines the criteria, scoring, and levels for the Open³ mark. It is a measurement, not a manifesto: a project is evaluated against the twelve criteria in §3, scored per §4, and assigned a level per §5. Certification is self-assessed, evidenced in public, and open to challenge.
Open³ makes no claim about a project's quality, usefulness, or ethics beyond openness. A project may be fully open and otherwise unremarkable; the mark says only what it says.
Three axes of openness
The axes are independent. A project earns a score on each; none substitutes for another.
Open Source
The means of building the thing are public and reusable under a recognized license.
Open Data
The data needed to reproduce or audit the results is published, documented, and licensed.
Open Participation
Affected people can see decisions, contribute to them, and hold the project to account.
The twelve criteria
Four criteria per axis. Each is scored independently in §4.
3.1 · Open Source
| ID | Requirement |
|---|---|
| OS-1 | All source required to build and run the system is published under an OSI-approved license. |
| OS-2 | Builds are reproducible from public sources with documented, public tooling. |
| OS-3 | External contributions are accepted through a documented, public process. |
| OS-4 | Third-party dependencies are themselves open, or their substitution is documented. |
3.2 · Open Data
| ID | Requirement |
|---|---|
| OD-1 | Data necessary to reproduce published results is released under an open data license. |
| OD-2 | Data is machine-readable and accompanied by a documented schema. |
| OD-3 | Provenance, collection method, and known limitations are disclosed. |
| OD-4 | Personal or sensitive data is governed by a published handling policy. |
3.3 · Open Participation
| ID | Requirement |
|---|---|
| OP-1 | Decisions affecting stakeholders follow a public, documented process. |
| OP-2 | Affected parties can submit input and receive an on-the-record response. |
| OP-3 | Governance, funding sources, and conflicts of interest are disclosed. |
| OP-4 | Key outputs carry a plain-language summary accessible to non-experts. |
How criteria are scored
Each criterion is scored on a three-point scale, then summed per axis (max 4) and overall (max 12).
| Score | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 0.0 | Not met, or no public evidence. |
| 0.5 | Partially met; evidence exists but is incomplete or undocumented. |
| 1.0 | Fully met, with public, verifiable evidence. |
All evidence is referenced from a public evidence ledger (§6). A criterion with no linked evidence scores 0.0 by definition.
Certification levels
| Level | Threshold | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| — None | Any axis < 2.0 | Does not qualify. A single weak axis disqualifies. |
| Open³ Certified | Every axis ≥ 3.0 | Open on all three axes with no serious gap. |
| Open³ Exemplary | Total = 12.0 | Every criterion fully met. The complete bar. |
Levels are deliberately coarse. The point is the floor on every axis, not a high aggregate that hides one closed dimension.
From self-assessment to mark
- Self-assess. Score the project against all twelve criteria.
- Publish an evidence ledger. A single public page linking each criterion to its evidence — repositories, datasets, governance records.
- Attest. Submit the ledger and computed scores for listing in the public register.
- Re-attest annually. Certifications lapse after twelve months without renewal.
- Open to challenge. Any party may dispute a score with public counter-evidence; unresolved disputes suspend the mark.
Using the mark
Display the mark only at the level earned, alongside a link to your evidence ledger and
per-axis scores, e.g. OS 4 · OD 3 · OP 3. The mark without a linked ledger is void.
This is a working draft
Version 0.1 is published for comment. Criteria, scoring, and thresholds may change before 1.0. Nothing here constitutes a binding certification scheme yet. A formal register, an evidence-ledger template, and a reference scoring worksheet are forthcoming.