Uk government plans switch from microsoft office to open. The us government and opensource software linux journal. It preferred pushing government agencies to refactor code into reusable modules, with a focus on what would be the most reusable. Why software policies should read the same, whether open source or proprietary. When purchasing new software, free and opensource software and proprietary software are to be considered on an equal footing, with. Open source software has long been used by government agencies, and prospects for increased use have been greeted enthusiastically by knowledgeable government employees who understand open sources. Opensource governance also known as open politics is a political philosophy which advocates the application of the philosophies of the opensource and opencontent movements to democratic. Government policy toward open source software academics. How open source differs to open standards open source is a way of developing and distributing software. Government policy toward open source software american. These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors.
A nonprofit group has made it its mission to show government the benefits of opensource software at all levels continue reading. Government policy toward open source software brookings. The code is often written collaboratively, and it can be downloaded, used and. This chapter provides a brief overview of policy issues associated with open source software and offers an economic framework for thinking about these issues. The paperback of the government policy toward open source software by robert w. Experts disagree about the best government policy toward open source software. Government open source policies center for strategic and. Pushing the government toward open source sd times. Icelandic government policy regarding free and opensource software 1. Can open source software software that is usually available without charge and that individuals are free to modify survive against the fierce. Government policy toward open source software book. Government policy toward open source software by robert. This book addresses a host of issues raised by the rapid growth of open source software, including government subsidies for research and.
His research interests include free open source software, intellectual property, and digital technology policy. Us government now has an official open source software policy misuses of technology. Government policy toward open source software ebook, 2002. Historically the answer would have been a blind eye and deaf ear. Can open source softwaresoftware that is usually available without charge and that individuals are free to modifysurvive against the fierce competition of p. This book examines the impact of government policy on open source software. More often than not, the open source policy is written by the information systems department and enforced blindly in letter, but not in spirit. Open source software and the department of defense. California moves another step toward opensource government. Government policy toward open source software book, 2002. The dod must overcome bureaucratic hurdles and embrace open source software as a critical element of its efforts to maintain military technical superiority in the 21st century. Government policy toward open source software on jstor. Open source refers to access to the source code, written in a programming language, that constitutes a working software.
This chapter provides a brief overview of policy issues as sociated with open. Hahn editor aeib rookings j oint c enter for r egulatory studies government policy toward open source software robert w. Best practices for creating an open source policy need to create an open source policy but unsure of how to get started. C aeibrookings joint center for regulatory studies. The pentagon is set to make a big push toward open source. This book addresses a host of issues raised by the rapid growth of open source software, including government subsidies for research and development, government procurement policy, and patent and policy.
The survey tracks governmental policies on the use of open source software as reported in the press or other media. Arguably more important, some governments have expressly tilted the playing field toward open source software, subsidizing its production and use. The phenomenon of governments formulating legislation and policies on open source software is a recent trend that seems to be gathering some momentum in. Government policy toward open source software by robert william hahn download book respecting the intellectual property of others is utmost important to us, we make every effort to make sure we. With open source software, users and others can read the code and change it to suit their needs. Main points open source software lets users change the code to suit their own needs. Government policy toward open source software hahn, robert w. Government policy toward open source software book description. Heres a fun experiment if, like me, youre a huge nerd. Those interested in recent government policy in the u. This is the seventh update to the csis open source policy survey. Ministry is supporting the czech open source software alliance to provide consultation on oss projects and assist with representation in the eus idabc with. But the cabinet office minister francis maude believes a significant proportion of that outlay could be cut by switching to software which can produce opensource files in the open.
C aeibrookings joint center for regulatory studieshigh growth rates for open source in germanyopen source software. The croatian government adopted an open source software policy and issued the following guidelines for developing and using open source software in the government institutions. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves. Hahn t his chapter provides a brief overview of policy issues associated with open source software and offers an economic. Deciding what you need technology to do, avoiding lockin, sharing software and choosing open source. The briefing begins with a definition of free open source software, i. Open source refers to access to the source code, written in a programming language, that constitutes a working software program. Download citation government policy toward open source software can open source software software that is usually available without charge and that individuals are free to modify survive. Sharing source code between different parts of the government makes a lot of sense. Instead of choosing software based on its meritsreliability, security, ease of use, and so onthese governments favor open source as a matter of policy. The full text of this book, plus reader comments, is available on the publishers website. Achieving efficiency, transparency, and innovation through reusable and open source software. The mood in governments around the world has swung behind open source and open standards, but the shift is. Open source software institute is a membershipbased, nonprofit 501 c6 organization established in 2001 that promotes the development and implementation of open source software solutions within us.
This volume, commissioned by the aeibrookings joint center for regulatory studies, is one in a series that. Software policies should read the same, whether open. Government policies on open source introduction open source software is a relatively recent phenomenon that has been steadily gaining in popularity. Everyone is making it up as they go along while others guidelines can help an it manager create corporate opensource policies, theres no.
In fact, its a policy that should have been passed a long time ago, but its not quite what most of us mean. This book addresses a host of issues raised by the rapid growth of open source software, including government subsidies for research and development, government procurement policy, and patent and. Us government now has an official open source software policy. The book addresses several issues related to open source software, including the role for government subsidies for research and development, government procurement policy, and patent policy. Policy on adoption of open source software for government of india there is a need to formulate a policy for the government organizations to adopt open source software. Government policy toward open source software 2020ok. Government policy toward open source software robert w. Specifically, the order outlines requirements for implementing open source code produced by andor for the agency in accordance with omb memorandum m1621, federal source code policy. Government is committed to improving the way federal agencies buy.