June 8th it was decided by the Committee on Architecture and Standards under the Danish Agency for Digitisation to create a joint guide on the use of open source in the Danish public sector. The project and the first version of the guide will be finished by the end of 2021.

 

 

Purpose and background

There is a development in the direction of increased incitements for the use of Open Source in the EU and the public sector.

Therefore there is a need to analyse the possible barriers to the use of Open Source in the Danish public sector. In addition, there is a joint desire across the Danish public authorities to provide an overview of key considerations, good advice, and practical guidance concerning Open Source.

Open Source is particularly relevant now, as the method supports more modular and agile ways of developing, sharing, and reusing components. In the Danish public sector Open Source can help building more digital solutions without or with less vendor lock-in. It is in coherence with the principles of the Danish common public-sector digital architecture and the EU guidelines for increased use of Open Source.

There are currently no common guidelines public authorities in Denmark can rely on when it comes to using Open Source. The EU has pointed to increased use of Open Source as an obvious path to increased trust and transparency between authorities and citizens.

The guide will include best practices, advice and recommendations as well as an overview of requirements and existing Open Source software.

 

Working group and results

The work is being led by Line Laudrup from KL - Local Government Denmark. KL is the association and interest organisation of the 98 Danish municipalities. A reference group of experts will follow the work and provide input.

 

 

The guide is expected to include:

• Recommendations about and potential gains from using open source.
• What to be aware of in relation to e.g. licenses.
• Tools and methods for using open source.
• Overview of where to find open source and open source software.
• Inspiration in the form of case studies.
• Considerations regarding competencies and community building.

 

The reference group will have their first and initial meeting on August 30th.

 

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This article is written by Rasmus Frey, OS2