Tools Sustainability Dashboard
Scripture Burrito
Middle (2.1)Data interchange standard for translation tools
Scripture Burrito is a standard for lossless data interchange between Bible translation tools, stewarded by the Scripture Burrito Steering Committee. By enabling interoperability and reducing duplication, it provides a foundational layer of infrastructure for the Bible translation ecosystem.
Detailed Sustainability Scores
Scripture Burrito is sustained primarily through volunteer contributions. This model has enabled steady progress over several years but is vulnerable to fluctuations in availability and competing priorities. The standard is highly cost-effective compared to bespoke integrations, as it reduces long-term costs across multiple organizations. Early adoption by Paratext (in development), Scribe, and others demonstrates tangible value and ecosystem impact.
Designed with adaptability in mind, Scripture Burrito uses JSON Schema and other technology-agnostic methods, ensuring flexibility across current and future toolsets. While initial support has centered on text, audio capabilities are expanding. Its grounding in common field practices ensures practicality, and its extensibility allows for adding new use cases without breaking existing compatibility.
The Steering Committee engages key tool developers and Scripture users to guide use cases and shape the standard. Documentation is available but requires consistent improvement and maintenance. Responsiveness can lag due to the volunteer nature of the committee, but the overall approach remains user-driven and collaborative.
Scripture Burrito has been designed for broad applicability and supports localization at various levels. Its role as a behind-the-scenes standard means most end-users remain unaware of it, while developers benefit from clear interoperability. Aside from its unconventional name, no major barriers exist. The standard fills a critical need for consistent, lossless interchange across diverse translation tools.
Scripture Burrito is openly available for anyone to adopt, and several organizations are already engaged. However, continuity depends heavily on a small pool of technically skilled volunteers, which creates risk if current contributors step back. Governance and specifications exist, but broader participation and contributor growth are needed to secure long-term sustainability.
Built on widely accepted standards like JSON Schema, Scripture Burrito provides strong technical foundations. Its reusable specifications reduce duplication and foster shared best practices across tools. Documentation is in place but needs regular updates and more examples to better support developers. With improved resources and engagement, it could become even more accessible to new implementers.
Scripture Burrito is closely aligned with the collective goals of the Bible translation movement. By enabling multiple tools to interoperate, it supports progress toward All Access Goals (AAGs) and Every Verse Comprehension (EVC). The Steering Committee is engaged with networks like ETEN, and the initiative positions itself as shared infrastructure serving the wider movement.
Key Strengths
- Critical interoperability standard for Bible translation ecosystem
- Technology-agnostic design using JSON Schema
- Strong alignment with collective movement goals
- Growing adoption by major tools (Paratext, Scribe)
- Open standard available for all to implement
Key Recommendations
- Broaden participation to reduce reliance on small volunteer pool
- Improve and maintain developer documentation with examples and onboarding materials
- Continue expanding support for multimodal data (audio, sign, etc.)
- Explore light-touch governance or sponsorship models to ensure continuity beyond volunteer contributions
- Create more implementation examples and reference implementations
Key Sustainability Variables
1. Financial Viability, Cost-Effectiveness & Funding Sustainability
How financially viable (including all funding sources) is this solution over its lifecycle, and what regularly measurable Return-on-Investment towards major milestones (AAGs and EVC) does it offer in terms of demonstrated strategic value, efficiency and impact when compared to other relevant options?
2. Technical Adaptability, Interoperability & Extensibility
How well does the solution (regardless of size) adapt to emerging technologies (e.g. AI), integrate with existing systems, and iteratively update or extend functionality in order to reduce the frequency of complete overhauls?
3. User-Centric Adaptability & Responsiveness
How effectively does the solution continuously incorporate user feedback and remain responsive to changing needs and workflows, ensuring intuitive design and long-term cultural relevance across diverse global contexts?
4. Global Accessibility & Local Adoption
Can the solution be effectively used across all regions, and what barriers—technical (e.g. complex scripts, oral, sign), cultural (e.g. localization, customization, training), or infrastructural (e.g. scalable, offline, mobile)—might limit its accessibility (open-access) or local adoption (e.g. security risks), and does it demonstrate alignment with unmet user needs (market fit)?
5. Open Collaboration & Organizational Continuity
What is the likelihood and impact if the current development team or organization loses interest or shifts focus, and who (e.g. cross-organizational trust, capability, and knowledge-sharing) as well as what mechanisms (e.g. open-source, documentation, technical maturity, operational capacity) are in place to pick up the baton and maintain continuity?
6. Technology Standards, Reusability & Developer Support
To what extent are the parts of the solution reusable across similar solutions, and how actively does the organization pursue transparency and collaboration to enable reuse, reduce duplication across organizations, promote best practices, and advance common open standards (e.g. tech stack, frameworks, platforms) to collectively maximize the amount of work-not-done across solutions and devices?
7. Identifying with the Collective Impact Alliance
How closely does the team or organization align their identity, priorities, and efforts with the shared values and collective strategic milestones (e.g. AAGs and EVC) of the broader Bible translation movement, rather than becoming overly identified with specific solutions which may not directly advance these collective objectives?