open-source-guidance is the Danish common public-sector guidance on the use of open source.
June 8th it was decided by the Committee on Architecture and Standards under the Danish Agency for Digitisation to provide guidance on the use of open source in the Danish public sector.
The project and the first version of the guidance will be finished by the end of 2021.
There is a development in the direction of increased incitements for the use of open source in the EU and the public sector.
Therefore there is a need to analyse the possible barriers to the use of open source by Danish publich authorities. In addition, there is a joint desire to provide an overview of key considerations, recommendations, and practical guidance on open source.
Open source is particularly relevant now, as the methods supports more modular and agile ways of developing, sharing, and reusing components. For Denmark, open source can help in building digital solutions without or with less vendor lock-in. It is in coherence with the principles of the Danish common public-sector digital architecture and the EU guidelines for increased use of open source.
There is currently no common guidance that public authorities in Denmark can rely on when it comes to using open source. As the EU has pointed to an increased use of open source as an obvious path to increased trust and transparency between authorities and citizens, work has begun providing practical guidance on the use of open source.
The guidance will include best practice recommendations as well as an overview of requirements and existing open source software.
The work is being led by Local Government Denmark, which is the association and interest organisation of the 98 Danish municipalities. A reference group of experts will follow the work and provide input.
The guidance is expected to include:
- Recommendations about and potential gains from using open source
- What to be aware of in relation to e.g. licenses
- Tools and methods for using open source
- Overview of where to find open source and open source software
- Inspiration in the form of case studies
- Considerations regarding competencies and community building
A draft version 1.0.0 of open-source-guidance is under development in close coordination and collaboration between Local Government Denmark and a reference group consisting of participants from municipalities, regions and state authorities.
- Link to open-source-guidance 1.0.0-alpha (under development)