Last update: February 2007
What is OSS?
Open Source Software (OSS) is software where the author (the 'licensor') gives a number of fundamental freedoms to the user (the 'licensee') via a license agreement. These freedoms include the possibility to study how the programme works, to adapt the code according to specific needs, to improve the programme, to run it for any purpose on any number of machines and to redistribute copies of the code to other users. These freedoms facilitate a collaborative and interactive way to develop, improve and maintain programmes.
For a more comprehensive definition of OSS, please consult Opensource.org.
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Objectives
The primary objective of IDABC's activities in this area is to promote the uptake of Open Source Software in public administrations. IDABC's activities in the field of OSS aim to:
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Encourage Europe's public administrations to consider and assess the most advantageous IT solutions;
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Reduce replication costs of eGovernment solutions and help to spread good practice throughout public administrations;
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Ensure that the market for IT solutions remains competitive;
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Reduce IDABC's own costs in application development and maintenance;
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Help ensuring that Open Source Software solutions are able to compete on an equal footing with proprietary solutions.
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IDABC's OSS Activities
The IDA and IDABC programmes have carried out a number of actions to encourage the uptake of OSS in public administrations. IDABC’s OSS initiatives include online information on best practice in OSS, studies facilitating practical advice, and the production of applications that are entirely based on OSS code and distributed under an OSS licence.
In November 2003, IDA launched the Open Source Observatory, an information portal that provides a reference point to comprehensive information on national and EU-wide activities concerning OSS and encourages the spread of good OSS practice.
The Open Source Observatory offers:
- News: current OSS activities in Europe and across the world
- Events: announcements of conferences, workshops etc.
- Case studies: migrations, state-of-the-art applications etc.
- Resources: international studies, reports, links and addresses of OSS competence centres
- OSS Inventory: a catalogue of Free/Libre/Open Source Software for administrations
In January 2007 IDABC started a new action that will supplement and extend the services of the Open Source Observatory (OSO). The Open Source Observatory and Repository (OSOR) responds to the request of the current i2010 Initiative that calls for the Member States administrations to share their solutions and experiences to create better eGovernment services.
Collaboration in common projects for common goals is the outstanding feature of Open Source.
Hence, the OSOR is set-up by IDABC to become a platform that actively supports the sharing of OSS-based eGovernment applications across Europe – connecting EU services and Member States.
Stepwise the OSOR will establish its services:
- A pan-European information platform on OSS: providing news, guidance, links, contacts;
- A platform for uploading and downloading software produced by and for public administrations;
- A platform/forge for cross-border collaboration providing technical, organisational, and legal support.
In the context of the IDA horizontal measures the online collaboration server CIRCA and the online tool IPM that provides functionalities for “Interactive Policy Making”, were created on OSS basis to be later released to the interested public in the Member States.
This was facilitated through the approval of the European Union Public Licence (EUPL V 1.0)by the Commission on 9 January 2007. The software is now downloadable from the IPM and CIRCA pages on the IDABC website.
The CIRCA successor CIRCABC, announced for summer 2007, is also foreseen to become available under the EUPL.
For more information on EUPL, please visit OSOR.EU
In 2004, 2005, and 2006, studies were conducted to evaluate the possibility of using an Open Source Licence for the distribution of the IDA software for CIRCA and IPM. A draft for a European Union Public Licence (EUPL) was produced and revised after public consultation. After an intensive public consultation process and minor modifications in the text, the EUPL V 1.0 was approved by the European Commission on 9 January 2007. The purpose of that licence is to provide legal certainty in the European legislative context by protecting the interests and rights of the owner and users of software.
In 2005 a series of short studies focused on practical advice for collaboration:
In November 2003, IDA issued the Open Source Migration Guidelines. The Guidelines provide some of the needed elements to help Administrators decide whether a migration to OSS should be undertaken and describe in broad technical terms how such a migration can be performed. The migration guidelines have also attracted considerable interest, with close to 100,000 registered downloads. By May 2004 the guidelines originally written in English had been translated by user communities into French and Spanish. The IDA programme is currently updating the guidelines and exploring ways to ensure its continual update by readers and users.
In June 2002, IDA published a study on 'Pooling open source software' addressing the question of how public administrations can contribute to the wider repertoire of OSS solutions. The study examined the pre-requisites and conditions (functional, legal and technical) for a pan-European pooling service and recommended the creation of a software clearing house to which administrations could 'donate' software. The study received widespread press coverage and more than 22,000 downloads were registered on the IDA website.
In June 2001, IDA published a study on the use of Open Source Software in the public sector. The study offered a review of the use and challenges associated with the uptake of Open Source software in the public sector and assessed the potential and availability of OSS while exploring legal and commercial aspects. As an annex to the study, a list of OSS solutions was made available.
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On invitation of the Czech Ministry for Informatics the IDABC OSS Workshop 2006 took place in Prague – in parallel to the Linuxworld Exhibition and Conference. Presentations and discussions focused on organisational, legal and technical aspects of cross-border collaboration.
In June 2005 the annual LinuxTag fair and conference hosted again an IDABC OSS event. A first draft version of the software licence entitled “European Union Public Licence (EUPL) was presented and discussed with the participants.
In June 2004, IDABC organised a one-day workshop in Karlsruhe, Germany on OSS Competence in the Public Sector. This workshop brought together 62 representatives from public sector bodies that provide assistance and advice on the deployment of open source software in public administrations and allowed them to share their experiences, good practices and applications.
In February 2001, IDA organised an OSS symposium which allowed representatives of European public administrations to share experiences and to discuss with the private sector on the benefits and disadvantages of OSS in the public sector.
Who benefits?
The services offered by IDA and IDABC on OSS have attracted a wide range of interest groups from IT experts in industry and business to the informed citizen. Nonetheless, the key beneficiaries are expected to be IT managers, planners and policy makers working for public sector organisations in Europe.
The role of IDABC
These activities have been financed and co-ordinated by IDA and now IDABC, in close co-operation with other departments of the Commission and with OSS policy-makers in the Member States.
Technical information
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Project start date
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2001
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Project completion date
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On-going
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Project status
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Available
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IDA budget
IDABC budget
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Migration Guidelines:
€ 230,000
OSS Observatory & Pooling Open Source Software:
€ 510,000
Networking, OSS Competence Centres & Workshops:
€ 244, 975
2006 € 150,000
2007 € 750,000
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Responsible service
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DG for Informatics - IDABC Unit
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Project coordinator
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Barbara Held
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Contact
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idabc@ec.europa.eu
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Member states involved
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All
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Internet
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http://ec.europa.eu/idabc/oso
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Documentation
For more information on EUPL, please visit OSOR.EU
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