About
Why this initiative exists
How the pieces fit
OpenCOOS
Open standards for community management
An open, vendor-neutral data model for shared-ownership communities.
This gives the initiative three distinct layers:
- OpenCOOS — the open initiative and community.
- COOS — the technical specification: the Common Ownership Operating Schema.
- ManageStrata — the software company helping initiate and implement the standard.
Mission
Create an open, consistent and extensible data standard for Canada's strata and condominium sector so that information can be represented, exchanged and understood consistently across software platforms and industry initiatives.
Vision
A connected strata ecosystem where data belongs to the communities it represents, systems can work together, and innovation is not limited by incompatible data models or proprietary formats.
Proudly Canadian
Proudly CanadianOpenCOOS is built in Canada, for Canadian communities. It is designed for every kind of shared-ownership community in the country: strata corporations in British Columbia, and condominium corporations in Ontario, Alberta and the other provinces and territories.
The first working draft is modelled on BC strata. Ontario and Alberta condominium terminology has been mapped, and support for those provinces is the next priority. See jurisdictions and terminology.
Status
Early development. The current working draft has not been released, and no part of it is stable. See the changelog for what has been drafted.
Relationship with ManageStrata
OpenCOOS was founded by ManageStrata, a Canadian strata management platform. ManageStrata helps initiate the standard, contributes practical use cases and implementation feedback, and plans to adopt COOS as the foundation of its own data model as an early implementation.
Founding the initiative does not make the standard a ManageStrata product. It is designed to be independent:
- Adopting the standard never requires using ManageStrata or any other product.
- Competing products, independent developers and other industry initiatives are equally welcome to implement and shape it.
- Maintainers disclose their affiliations and act in the interest of the standard, not of one product.
- ManageStrata's own APIs and product features are not part of the standard.
The long-term value of the initiative comes from industry interoperability, shared definitions and broad participation.