def METHOD_NAME():
    """
    Returns the tskit provenance :ref:`provenance schema <sec_provenance>` as
    a dict.
    :return: The provenance schema.
    :rtype: dict
    """
    global _schema
    if _schema is None:
        base = os.path.dirname(__file__)
        schema_file = os.path.join(base, "provenance.schema.json")
        with open(schema_file) as f:
            _schema = json.load(f)
    # Return a copy to avoid issues with modifying the cached schema
    return dict(_schema)