Sara Brownlie’s Post

🚀 Switzerland's Bold Move Towards Open Source! Switzerland has taken a significant step forward by mandating that all government software be open source. This groundbreaking decision brings numerous benefits and sets a powerful precedent for other nations. 🔍 Key Highlights: 🔓 Transparency & Security: Open-source software ensures greater transparency in government operations, enabling public scrutiny and enhancing security through community-driven improvements. 🌍 Global Collaboration: By adopting open source, Switzerland fosters international collaboration, allowing developers worldwide to contribute to and benefit from these government projects. 💡 Innovation & Efficiency: Open-source solutions can drive innovation and efficiency within government systems, reducing costs and avoiding vendor lock-in. 📈 Economic Growth: This initiative supports local tech ecosystems, promoting economic growth by providing opportunities for local businesses and developers. 🔧 Customization & Flexibility: Open-source software can be tailored to specific needs, offering unparalleled customization and adaptability for various governmental requirements. 🔗 Read more about this transformative policy: Switzerland now requires all government software to be open source - ZDNet (https://lnkd.in/dJqCszqE) Open Source Law in Switzerland - ti&m (https://lnkd.in/dvWGFm9f) #OpenSource #Technology #Innovation #Government #GovTech #Switzerland #TechPolicy #Transparency #Collaboration #EconomicGrowth

Open-source requirements for European public sectors has been in an on-again, off-again relationship with lawmakers for the last few decades. Depending on what political wind is blowing, it is emphasized in policies or even invested in, or neglected and eventually departed. Germany has seen many experiments for Free Open Source desktop and office environments for their civil servants. All with a varying degree of success and permanent impact. Public-sector tenders for software solutions often prefer or require the usage of open source components where possible. The Netherlands has on the one hand, seen parliamentary questions about ‘FOSS-fetisjism’ in the early 2010’s, but is noways still releasing code of important public tools such as the DigiD and CoronaMelder apps. One could argue though that this openness primarily serves transparency and auditability. What is the true value of embracing (F)OS software within the public sector, given that the backends and APIs of the applications and websites that both the public and civil servants consume are, more often than not, built on top of proprietary cloud platforms that cannot be audited in the same way? https://lnkd.in/eRsF8DMd

“Many are using open source now. What I’m hoping will change is that procurement officers and government contractors will realize they have a role to play to support and to contribute to the software that they’re using. We all have to contribute to make sure what we’re using is as good tomorrow at meeting changing needs as it is today. If we don’t invest in it and nurture it and bring it along together, that will be a challenge….We need to ensure we are sharing best practices for ATOs, for secure infrastructure. CivicActions is doing this in a number of ways and the call to industry is to join in, to do their part. Part of this new position for me is to be able to help foster more excitement and energy around collaboration, within industry, with government agencies looking to collaborate and improve on what they are doing.” - Mike Gifford, CPWA on his new role as Open Standards & Practices Lead at CivicAction and the future of Open Government. Check out OrangeSlices AI's newest article “CivicActions – Driving the Way Forward for Open Source in the Federal Sector” about Mike Gifford, CPWA and the charge forward in open digital practices: https://lnkd.in/gAKQybfz #FOSS #OpenSource

Thoughtful post by Wayan Vota on ICT Works introducing the idea of Open Transfer rights for software. While I personally feel BSL (Business source license) could achieve a lot of the same desired outcomes in a better way, any discussion we can have around the importance of budgeting and paying for software in the technology for development space is welcome. While I remain a huge proponent for open source, donors and implementers promoting adoption of open source has also made it easier for them to avoid paying for / investing adequately in software. This has resulted in creating a very distorted and unhealthy market to try and serve. I feel we need more constructive dialogue as a community around these issues. Thanks Wayan for contributing this post.

We need more governments to follow suit and require (or at a minimum seriously entertain) Open Source software. It will bring down costs, increase opportunities for innovation, establish transparency, and allow citizens to "lend a hand" by contributing towards new features or functionality. What other governments are you aware of that use open source technologies? https://lnkd.in/e3G8i9P3

San Francisco Billboards Call Out Tech Firms For Not Paying For Open Source: An anonymous reader shares a report: Drivers passing through San Francisco have a new roadside distraction to consider: billboards calling out businesses that don't cough up for the open source code that they use. The signs are the work of the Open Source Pledge -- a group that launched earlier this month. It asks businesses that make use of open source code to pledge $2,000 per developer to support projects that develop the code. So far, 25 companies have signed up -- but project co-founder Chad Whitacre wants bigger firms to pay their dues, too. Whitacre, whose day job is head of open source at app-monitoring biz Sentry, told The Register his employer has for three years operated a scheme to pay developers who maintain and upgrade open source code. "We do dollars per developer, the thinking being it's the developers and software engineers on the staff at a company who benefit the most from open source, who become more productive because of open source," he said. "I had one conversation with a representative from a larger firm and he's like: 'Chad, you're asking me to spend ten million on maintainers.'" Whitacre affirmed that request, and pointed out the firm "spends ten million on something anyway." Read more of this story at Slashdot.

San Francisco Billboards Call Out Tech Firms For Not Paying For Open Source: An anonymous reader shares a report: Drivers passing through San Francisco have a new roadside distraction to consider: billboards calling out businesses that don't cough up for the open source code that they use. The signs are the work of the Open Source Pledge -- a group that launched earlier this month. It asks businesses that make use of open source code to pledge $2,000 per developer to support projects that develop the code. So far, 25 companies have signed up -- but project co-founder Chad Whitacre wants bigger firms to pay their dues, too. Whitacre, whose day job is head of open source at app-monitoring biz Sentry, told The Register his employer has for three years operated a scheme to pay developers who maintain and upgrade open source code. "We do dollars per developer, the thinking being it's the developers and software engineers on the staff at a company who benefit the most from open source, who become more productive because of open source," he said. "I had one conversation with a representative from a larger firm and he's like: 'Chad, you're asking me to spend ten million on maintainers.'" Whitacre affirmed that request, and pointed out the firm "spends ten million on something anyway." Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Catch Up on Our Latest OSOR Article! Following the success of Switzerland's new law on government software source code disclosure, we’re excited to report on Germany's latest legislative advancement. The updated Online Access Amendment Act mandates that federal and state authorities prioritise open source software and standards in their IT components. Discover more about this significant development here: https://lnkd.in/eJc8K6hK #OpenSource #Germany #Digitalisation #PublicAdministration

❌ EC cuts funding support for Free Software projects❌ The NGI - The Next Generation Internet initiative has supported #FreeSoftware projects with funding and technical assistance since 2018. Despite its proven success, the European Commission made the decision to cut this funding in the current draft for the #HorizonEU 2025 Work Programme. 🛑 This decision highlights the larger problem of the lack of motivated and sustainable public funding for #FreeSoftware projects. https://lnkd.in/eeY5WpVX

🌍 Switzerland Takes a Bold Step Towards Open Source! 🚀 Switzerland now requires all government software to be open source. The new law requires all public bodies to disclose the source code of software developed by or for them unless third-party rights or security concerns prevent it. https://lnkd.in/gaxBtw4G Let’s discuss how this could impact other countries and industries. What are your thoughts on the adoption of open-source solutions in public administration? 💬👇 #OpenSource #TechNews #GovernmentInnovation #Switzerland #PublicSector