OSOR organised the second webinar on "Policy & Strategy Aspects of OSS in Public Administration- Mapping the Public Sector's needs" which took place on Tuesday, 13 June 2023, from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm CET. The event aimed to share knowledge and experiences regarding the implementation of Open Source Software (OSS) in the public sector. You can find all the presentations from this webinar at the end of this article.
The event started with an introduction delivered by Ciáran O’Riordan from the OSOR Team and Monika Sowinska, Project Officer at the European Commission, DG Informatics. Ciarán then presented the outcomes of the second workshop, which focused on matching the needs of the public sector with the capabilities of the private sector. He presented the various public administration needs identified during this workshop through the workshop's participants feedback. Participants' feedback emphasized the importance of information sharing through in-person meetings, discussion forums, and a centralized European platform. Participants called for catalogues that provide comprehensive information about open-source software usage, funding, project health, and community involvement. They highlighted the unique advantages of OSS, including transparency, security audits, and resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. At the local level, they stressed the need for collaboration, standardized licences, and financing models that move away from licensing fees. Participants also discussed policy aspects such as FOSS preference laws, open-sourcing publicly funded software, and aligning procurement procedures. Technical considerations included modular design, data standards, and documented APIs. The feedback collectively underscores the importance of promoting OSS in public administration through collaboration, knowledge sharing, and supportive policies.
After that Olivia Vereha, Co-founder & VP of Product at Code for Romania, delivered a presentation on the topic of matchmaking the civic tech community with public administration. She discussed the importance of collaboration between these two sectors and the potential benefits it can bring to administrations through the example of the work done by Code for Romania. Wilfried Jäger, an Open Source Governance expert at OSSBIG Austria and AI Product Manager at the Austrian Federal Computing Centre, then gave a talk on the collaboration between OSPOs in governments and the private sector. He shared insights on successful partnerships and the role they play in advancing the use of OSS in public administration. He also presented their chosen approach on the development of open source ecosystems to facilitate sustainable projects and how they developed that approach.
The event concluded with a Q&A session and closing remarks from Ciarán. The OSOR team looks forward to the upcoming webinars, which will focus on concrete solutions and examples to fill the needs identified with the hope to contribute to a comprehensive understanding of OSS adoption across various sectors.