If we could arrive at a general concensus of what such a reference device should be made up of, maybe we could get it crowdfunded. Ideally, it would be reasonably low cost so as to be available to as many people as possible. That would likely mean a small device, running foss software and drivers.
My intitial thoughts are that the device could be phone or small tablet size, with a good quality anti-glare display, with reasonable ppi, wide gamut, pwm adjustment up to a very high frequency, running linux and all foss software. Maybe it should also include a light sensor for collecting environmental data on ambient light. I don't know enough about the technical side of displays to suggest more than that.
What display characteristics would make for a good reference device?