Proposal: JSON Schema Local Co-working & Community Groups (in-person)

Background

Based on these recurring observation and questions, I have been thinking about:

• How can we make better use of the funds available through Open Collective to grow the JSON Schema knowledge and community?
• How do we make JSON Schema more visible and accessible globally, especially to people who have never encountered it or don't yet understand what it is?

JSON Schema is used across APIs, data validation, tooling, configuration, AI, and many other areas, but there are still many developers and organizations who have never heard of it, or don't realize how relevant it is to the work they are already doing.

I would like to propose a small experiment: JSON Schema Local Community Groups /Schema League (name not decided).

The idea is to create recurring, in-person spaces in major cities where people can come together to learn, experiment, discuss, and build around JSON Schema and the broader open source ecosystem.

This would not be another conference or meetup series built around presentations and slides. The goal is to create a co-working, learning and networking space where people can have conversations, ask questions, work through problems together, share what they're building, and discover JSON Schema organically.

The Idea

• Start with approximately 5 cities as an initial pilot.
• Each city would have a local community lead responsible for organizing and growing the group.
• The group could meet regularly throughout the year, perhaps monthly, bi-monthly, or based on what works best for the local community.

The format should remain intentionally lightweight and flexible.

For example:

• People bring projects they're working on and work together.
• Someone brings a JSON Schema problem they're trying to solve.
• Developers explore JSON Schema tooling together.
• Community members discuss APIs, open source, interoperability, AI, or related technologies.
• Someone demonstrates something they've built.
• Newcomers can ask basic questions without feeling like they need to know JSON Schema beforehand.
• Members can collaborate on open source projects.
• The group can occasionally invite someone from the broader JSON Schema community to join remotely or in person.

No slide decks or formal presentations should be required.The emphasis is on people, conversations, learning, experimentation, and building together.

Proposed Pilot Structure

Cities: Start with approximately 5 cities across different regions.

The initial locations could be selected based on:

• Existing JSON Schema community presence.
• Existing open source/developer communities.
• Availability of a local community lead.
• Potential for long-term community growth.
• Geographic diversity.

Community Lead: Each city would have a local lead who takes responsibility for:

• Finding and bringing together community members.
• Maintaining a local communication channel.
• Finding an appropriate meeting space.
• Organizing recurring sessions.
• Sharing updates with the wider JSON Schema community.
• Taking basic documentation/photos/videos where appropriate.
• Collecting feedback and reporting on what the group is learning.

The lead would not be expected to fund the gatherings personally. The JSON Schema community would provide a small budget to help cover the costs.

Funding

I propose a maximum budget of $1,000 per city for the initial pilot and the funding will cover a minimum of 4 gatherings. Also depending on the city and format, funding could be used for:

• Co-working or community space
• Refreshments
• Photography
• Basic video recording
• Video editing
• Local logistical expenses and other small costs directly related to making the gatherings successful

Minimum Community Requirement

To keep the program focused on genuine community building, a city should have at least 10 interested participants before being accepted into the pilot. This doesn't necessarily mean 10 people must attend every session,rRather, there should be evidence that there is an initial group of people interested in meeting regularly and building something together.

What Do We Talk About?

The scope could intentionally be broader than JSON Schema itself. Possible topics include:

• JSON Schema fundamentals and real-world JSON Schema use cases.
• API design and validation
• Code generation
• Schema tooling
• AI and JSON Schema
• Data contracts and more!

Any adjacent ideas that helps people understand where JSON Schema fits into the wider ecosystem, pls comment!

Why This Could Be Valuable

Make JSON Schema more visible

• Many developers still don't know what JSON Schema is or how widely it is used.

Local communities give us an opportunity to introduce JSON Schema to people who may never attend an international conference or join an online community.

Build sustained local communities

Rather than having someone attend one JSON Schema event and disappear, recurring gatherings give people a reason to keep coming back and over time, these groups could develop their own local identity and become long-term contributors to the ecosystem.

Make the ecosystem more accessible

Not everyone learns best through conferences, talks, or documentation. A small room with 10–20 people working through problems together can sometimes be much more effective.

Create potential sponsor relationships

Local gatherings could also help us identify organizations already using JSON Schema or interested in supporting open standards. As communities grow, some organizations may want to:

• Sponsor a local group.
• Provide meeting space.
• Provide refreshments and host a gathering.
• Become broader JSON Schema ecosystem partners.

This could create a natural pathway from community → ecosystem relationships → sponsorship.

Create a foundation for future conferences

If we successfully build active local communities in several cities, these groups could eventually provide the network and community infrastructure needed to support something larger. For example, they could become a pathway toward a future standalone JSON Schema conference in one of these regions.

Instead of starting a conference from scratch, we would already have communities, contributors, speakers, organizers, and local relationships.

Possible Pilot Metrics

Because this is intended to be an experiment, it would be useful to evaluate it after the first year. Possible metrics include:

• Number of cities participating.
• Number of gatherings held.
• Number of unique participants
• Number of returning participants
• Number of people introduced to JSON Schema for the first time
• Number of new community contributors
• Number of new ecosystem projects/discussions generated
• Number of organizations engaged
• Sponsor leads generated
• Community feedback
• Cost per gathering / participant
• Whether each city can sustain the group beyond the initial funding

Proposed Pilot

A possible starting point: 5 cities × $1,000 maximum = $5,000 total pilot budget annually.

At the end of the pilot, we evaluate what worked, what didn't, and whether the program should be expanded.

What I am Looking for From the TSC

This is still a rough idea, and I would love to get feedback from the TSC before the possibility of turning it into a formal program.

Some questions I would particularly like us to discuss:

• Does this feel like a good use of Open Collective funds?
• Which cities/regions should we consider for an initial pilot?
• Should we start with 5 cities or fewer?
• Is $1,000 per city reasonable?
• What should the minimum requirements for a city/group be?
• How should we select and support local community leads?
• What lightweight reporting/accountability should we require?
• What would make this sustainable beyond the initial funding?
• How could this connect to our existing community and ecosystem programs?

The larger vision is simple: Instead of only asking people to come/learn about JSON Schema, let's bring JSON Schema into the places where developers already live, work, learn, and build.

I would love to hear what others think and how we could make this idea better.

No files, tests, or implementation entry points are identified. Start by reviewing the proposal and the TSC discussion, then determine whether the pilot scope, cities, funding, selection criteria, reporting, and success metrics have enough agreement for a formal program decision.