Trinidad and Tobago will establish its first Open Source Program Office (OSPO) after being selected by the Open Source Ecosystem Enabler (OSEE) initiative as a pilot country. The core goal of the initiative is to foster the provision of accessible, inclusive, and sustainable digital public services for local communities. Thus, the OSPO's creation aims to support the adoption of open technologies for the country’s digital transition and constitutes one part of the OSEE mission.

The OSPO, hosted by the biggest Trinidad and Tobago university – the University of the West Indies St. Augustine Campus (UWI-STA), will enhance the capacities of the Ministry of Digital Transformation. The functionalities of the new OSPO will cover diverse areas: from facilitating access to open source solutions, and providing resources and training, to sharing expert guidance on software licensing, compliance and promoting best practices to foster cooperative digital ecosystems.

The benefits for Trinidad and Tobago, a part of the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) 2.0 initiative, are very straightforward for both private enterprises and the government. Implementation of the OSPO expects to strengthen inclusive governance by reducing reliance on costly third-party solutions, cutting expenses, improving operational efficiency, and supporting the development of accessible and sustainable public services. As part of the wider transformation effort, SIDS 2.0 will step in to alleviate the digital transition of the entire Caribbean subregion. 

The OSEE initiative is executed in collaboration between the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) with support from the European Union. To empower local communities the OSEE strives to be feasible and implementable in the first place. Participation in the initiative is currently limited to low- and middle-income countries with a firm commitment to promoting open source in the public sector. 

There are three main project elements: the Open Source Ecosystem Enablement Framework (OSEEF) collects experts' insights, best practices, and success cases; the Open Source Technical Facility (OSTF) informs about the implementation challenges faced by the government; the Global Knowledge Hub for Open Source Public Services focuses on providing training, advocacy, and communication materials.

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