Public administrations, research institutes and companies in the German city of Berlin are asked to take part in a survey to assess the region's open source potential. The survey, supported by the Berlin Senate and the city's Chamber of Industry and Commerce, closes 12 December.
The survey is organised by TSB Innovationsagentur (TSB Innovation Agency), a part of the Technologiestiftung Berlin (Technology Foundation, TSB). The agency hopes the survey will help to paint a comprehensive picture of the city's public administrations, small and medium sized open source businesses and open source research groups. The data will be compared with similar surveys organised in other German and European regions. The survey should result in policy recommendations to develop the region's open source communities in a sustainable manner and should help the city to find useful ways for boosting the open source sector.
The online questionnaire covers topics such as the availability of qualified personnel, the availability of apprenticeships and intentions of cooperation. Other questions deal with obstacles to the growth of open source businesses and possibilities for innovation. The senate also wants to know what measures would help foster the open source business sector.
The survey can be completed within fifteen minutes and it is meant for all public institutions, businesses and research organisations based in Germany's capital and dealing with open source software and open standards. It was developed by Micus Management Consulting and is co-financed by the European regional development fund. TSB's activities on open source are part of the Berlin Senate's ICT strategy 2007 - 2008.
More information:
The survey (in German)
Press statement (PDF, in German)