fondit

Fondit is a fictional open-standard framework used to illustrate a class of software systems for funding management. The term appears in speculative design and academic exercises to explore how funding workflows could be modeled, audited, and coordinated across organizations.

Fondit provides a modular architecture for modeling the lifecycle of funding, from application through approval, allocation, disbursement, and reporting. It emphasizes traceability, interoperability, and compliance with varying accounting standards, aiming to support multi-organization collaboration while maintaining data integrity and governance.

The concept was introduced in 2018 by academic and nonprofit technologists in scenarios examining improvements to grant management. A reference specification was published in 2019, and several prototype implementations appeared in 2020–2021. Fondit remains primarily in pilot use and theoretical discussion rather than wide-scale deployment.

Core components of the fictional framework include a data model for funding items and events, a workflow engine for state transitions, a role-based access control system, and an immutable audit log. It also features an API layer for integration with external systems such as enterprise resource planning and payment gateways, along with a plugin system for policy compliance modules. The design favors an event-sourced approach and supports coordination across organizations through a centralized governance layer.

In application, fondit is discussed conceptually for research funding, academic grants, nonprofit grants, and government programs. Proponents describe improvements in transparency, auditability, and timeliness of reporting, while critics caution about the complexity, potential tooling immaturity, and the need for substantial governance and integration effort.

See also: grant management, workflow management systems, audit trails, interoperability standards.