Open Source Will Play a Larger Role in the Digital Government of the Future
Author: Surabhi Hodigere, Master of Public Policy, 2022
This article captures the growing state of open-source adoption in government, explores common challenges, and discusses pertinent research intended to be useful for both overseers and implementers of digital services in government.
Governments across the world are facilitating the use of open-source software in the delivery of public services, and many have instituted concrete policies in this regard. For example, the shift toward open source in government is not a new phenomenon but is now being preferred for public service delivery at an accelerated pace. This was apparent both in themes discussed in the Digital Services Convening as well as the general trends among digital service groups represented at this year’s convening.
Among the reasons for the growing interest in using open source, avoiding vendor lock-in, lowering prices, and facilitating sharing and reuse stand out as important advantages. This GDS blog on the benefits of coding in the open highlights practical reasons that are compelling governments to shift toward open source. The World Bank in its primer on “Open Source for Global Good” also lists reasons that make open-source imperative for governments to consider, particularly those in developing countries and in contexts with high resource constraints. These reasons include enabling integration and interoperability across government, engendering trust in robust and secure systems, enabling continuous innovation, and enhancing usability, localization, and citizen-centred design.
From a global perspective, open source has the capability to spur innovation, interoperability, and reuse across borders. The World Bank notes that “despite many processes being largely similar in various country contexts, each new project is typically built from scratch, as if there were no templates, code libraries or models, or lessons learned on which to base new implementations.”
In this context, it is appropriate that the creation of digital public goods (DPGs), which are inherently open in nature, are being encouraged across countries and stakeholders including multilateral organizations, funders, and expert groups. The Digital Public Goods Alliance, which sets standards for DPGs, notes in its blog post that “open source is a necessary condition for any technology to be considered a digital public good. It enables sharing, reuse, and adaptation to suit local needs.” Mojaloop, MOSIP, and the X-Road are some well-known examples of DPGs recognized as such by the Digital Public Goods Alliance.
In this context, it is appropriate that the creation of digital public goods (DPGs), which are inherently open in nature, are being encouraged across countries and stakeholders including multilateral organizations, funders, and expert groups. The Digital Public Goods Alliance, which sets standards for DPGs, notes in its blog post that “open source is a necessary condition for any technology to be considered a digital public good. It enables sharing, reuse, and adaptation to suit local needs.”
Seen from these perspectives, it becomes apparent that open source is an inevitable future of digital-era governments. This is why this year’s Digital Services Convening began with a panel unpacking the many facets to the use of open source in government. Some major questions that were tackled in the panel include the following:
- What is the starting point for governments looking to explore open source?
- What empowers governments’ successful adoption of open source?
- How can governments working in the open collaborate and grow?
- What governance considerations go into facilitating a value-creating, sustainable open source in government effort?
In tackling these questions, panelists referred to bodies of work, both in which they co-authored as well as otherwise. In the paragraphs that follow, a selection of research reports, playbooks, and tools that answer the above questions will be discussed.
What is the starting point for governments looking to explore open source?
Governments with differing levels of maturity in digital services are looking to adopt open source. This New America report on “Building and Reusing Open-Source Tools for Government” is a fantastic first resource for government practitioners, both those who have used open source in their prior projects as well as those new to open source. The report details five paths to open-source adoption in government, provides a detailed checklist of governments looking to adopt open source, and answers common questions that decision-makers might have. These questions include “Is open source kept up to date?,” “What are open-source licenses,” and “Will using open source reveal policies prematurely?”
A first principal issue that appears frequently in discussions of open source is concerns around security and privacy. The US Department of Defense has compiled a comprehensive set of FAQs that addresses these questions about security and privacy in the context of open source in government.
What empowers governments’ adoption of open source?
In answering the above question, an in-depth tool to assess and create conditions to successfully facilitate the use of open-source government was released by Public Digital in its report “Open Source in Government: Creating the Conditions for Success.” Called the “Open Source Capability Model for Governments,” the tool was presented at the convening by Emma Gawen, partner at Public Digital. It is “intended to be a self-assessment tool assisting governments to adopt open-source practices and calibrate their current policy and technical environment.”
Public Digital’s report postulates that strengthening capabilities in each categorized area will allow governments to increase the probability of successfully and sustainably implementing open-source initiatives.
How can governments working in the open collaborate and grow?
Interoperability and reuse are important advantages of using open-source software and fosters innovation. However, the mere adoption of open-source software does not translate to an ecosystem of collaboration. A concerted effort toward software sharing is necessary to ensure that open-source adoption leads to collaboration and growth. In their report titled “Sharing Government Software: How Agencies Are Cooperatively Building Mission-Critical Software,” Waldo Jaquith and Robin Carnahan from the Beeck Center study how intergovernmental software cooperatives have facilitated software sharing across the US and the world.
The Beeck Center team in their report stresses that “working in the open,” which includes the use of open-source software, increases the chances of a successful software cooperative. Jaquith joined the convening panel to discuss important findings from the aforementioned report. He discussed crucial drivers needed to create a successful intergovernmental software cooperative, which included identifying shared needs, the importance of starting and building small, establishing and architecting governance and needs, deciding between insourcing or outsourcing, emphasizing agile development, contracting, and using modern software development practices. Examples of successful software cooperatives can be found referenced across the report and provide an idea for government agencies looking to follow a similar path.
What governance considerations go into facilitating a value-creating, sustainable open source in government effort?
The Beeck Center report clearly articulates that “the success of a cooperative hinges on its governance.” David Eaves, the panel’s moderator, couldn’t agree more as the author of the recently released report on “Best Practices for the Governance of Digital Public Goods.”(formatting note: report yet to be published).[AP1] What applies for DPGs is relevant to open-source products as well given that DPGs are inherently open source in nature.
In the discussion on facilitating a value-creating, sustainable open source in government effort, it is necessary and prudent to ponder on the governance best practices necessary to achieve such an outcome. Eaves’s report details six such best practices that are studied through the strategic triangle framework of creating public value, ensuring legitimacy and support, and strengthening operational capability. The report provides existing and potential open source in government effort an in-depth view into the governance considerations required to ensure their efforts lead to sustainable and intentional value creation.
Conclusion
Participants in the open-source panel at the Digital Services Convening agreed on the growing importance of open source in the digital government of the future. While panelists felt that open source might not be the answer each time, they felt that in most cases it is always the better choice. Given this reality and the general trend among digital teams across the world to embrace open source, research and discussion on this topic must continue and grow. This article is an attempt at consolidating existing bodies of thought and research on the adoption of open source in government. It can never be exhaustive, and thus if you know of research that deserves a mention here, do write to us or share in the comments section.
