In 2019, as the free software officer at the french ministry of digital affairs (hereafter referenced as "DINUM" for "Direction du numérique"), I mainly focused on three tasks: releasing code.etalab.gouv.fr, maintaining a list of recommended free software for the public sector and building the BlueHats community.

Using free software and publishing source codes is a good first step.

We could do more in both directions: (1) not just use free software but participate in sustaining existing open source solutions and (2) not just publish our source codes, but identify public sector projects with the potential of being used and financed/developed by multiple public agencies - or even: identify projects that would benefit from a mixed governance, open to non-public stakeholders.

France does not have a small business act at the national level, and the Digital Republic Act of 2016 only "encourages" public agencies to buy free software. Because the french open source ecosystem is mainly composed of small and medium entreprises (SMEs) and because our public procurement processes still favor big companies and traditional software licensing schemes, the whole french open source ecosystem is not doing as much business as it could with public agencies.

The french open source ecosystem is very dynamic, with many companies covering the whole spectrum of new technologies. Reaching the right companies should be easier for public agencies: as a public buyer, if I am convinced that I want to buy an open source solution, I need a single entry point to find companies that can compete to make the best offer. I need to look for "technology X" and see what french company is offering expertise on "technology X". The french open source ecosystem could build such a registry.

Also, open source french SMEs and public agencies are both competing with big IT companies to recruit skilled people and offer lucrative positions. But they have something else in common: they both offer meaningful careerpaths for people in search of ethical commitment, either by contributing to the free software ecosystem or by building enhanced digital services for their fellow citizens. The same way that the public interest entrepreneurs and the beta.gouv.fr programs have built relationships with the "tech for good" movement to tap into this resource of "young talents", the french open source companies could get closer to this movement to find human resources - and later build more bridges between what they do and what the public sector is looking for, perhaps by participating in the BlueHats community.

Europe is already doing a lot through the EU FOSSA 2 initiative, the the ISA² program or the Joinup platform. The last Open Source beyond 2020 conference in Brussels was a nice opportunity to see that Europe is pushing forward its efforts on Open Source in the Public Sector.

Here are a few ideas on what to do next:

code.europa.eu

Every european country can list free software published by the public sector, the same way France is doing with code.etalab.gouv.fr. Once several countries have such a list, then Europe could publish a search engine indexing every repository published by all European countries.

BlueHats Summer of Code

Following the example of the Google Summer of Code or the Open Summer of Code, Europe could start a program allowing IT students to do payed internships for public agencies answering their needs for maintainance and development of free software, while being mentored by maintainers of these free software from European open source companies.

The Foundation for European Public Code

Joinup is publishing a catalogue of 122 reusable solutions. Italy is publishing a catalog of open source softwares built by its administration, collaborating with the Foundation for Public Code on defining a shared standard for public code. France will use this standard to help identify reusable free softwares from and for public agencies. There is an emerging pattern here: open source comes with the implicit promise of reducing costs by allowing reusability, let's make it real. And to foster key european open source solutions for the public sector, let's build a shared shelter to market, develop and sustain these solutions.

European Grants to Sustain Open Source Libraries

Free software is key to any IT infrastructure. Because open source mostly comes for free, we don't pay enough attention to the hidden parts of it. The same way EU FOSSA 2 help raise our level of awareness about security of open source softwares, Europe should raise its commitment to the maintainance of open source libraries. There is a long tail of open source libraries: instead of a one-size-fits-all approach, let's give the possibility to open source maintainers to apply for grants. As an inspiration, you can check the funding.communitybridge.org and clojuriststogether.org initiatives.

As a postamble: I do not like the motto "As open as possible, as closed as necessary", I feel like it paves the way for less open source. I would rather use "Open on purpose", which intentionally contrasts with "Open by default".

I hope these few remarks above make it clear that using free software and publishing source codes of the public sector are goals that both have a value per se and should also be aligned with a global strategy on how to let Europe gain sovereignty on its IT infrastructure and components.