OSPOs in Government – Workshop with Public Officials

Context

An OSPO (Open Source Program Office) is an institutional organisational construct that supports and accelerates the consumption, creation, and application of open source software. In Industry, OSPOs are well established and typically provide legal and support services for an organisation’s open source efforts.

An OSPO in Government should be considered a way to achieve and accelerate policy goals which rely on open source and open tools. This includes systemic policy goals including privacy, security, trust, diversity, participation, and access to technology. An OSPO enables EU governments and agencies to: 

• respond to demands for greater transparency and trust in technology and public institutions
• accelerate digital transformation
• participate, lead, and apply locally the enormous rivers of global innovation generated by OSS
• support the upskilling of EU’s developer community to participate in and lead in global OSS efforts
• enhance the EU’s strategic autonomy in the digital field

enable cross-government structured cooperation between EU governments and agencies of all sizes, from the EU Commission, to national & regional governments, to municipal administrations.

Participation

The workshop will be virtual, is invite-only and open to officials working within the public sector. Chatham House Rule applies. If you work within the public sector and run a Government OSPO or plan to found one, you are welcome to join the event. We are also thankful to receive suggestions for possible invitees. Please contact Astor Nummelin Carlberg.