OSPOCon Europe 2021

The establishment of OSPOs to achieve open source goals is gaining momentum in the public sector. We see these developments on a city, regional, national and supranational level. This matters because the OSPO construct was a key enabler in unlocking vast amounts of value for the ICT industry. Now the question is how OSPOs in government can help deliver value for citizens the world over at scale. This development matters, and should be supported. Astor Nummelin Carlberg of OpenForum Europe will present the data and analysis behind the policy recommendation in the European Commission study on the economic impact of open source software of building a network of 20 OSPOs in government and academia. Clare Dillon of Mosslabs will discuss how governments can define their open source goals and build an OSPO as an enabler of these. Like in the private sector, public authorities have diverse policy goals, which undoubtedly will lead to a diverse range of OSPOs, which will create both opportunities and challenges when it comes to networking them for impact at scale. Together, Astor and Clare will outline their view of the rationale behind the latest public sector developments and the potential impact.