Today, while those of us deeply involved in the open source ecosystem have heard increasing discussion in Washington DC of open source’s relationship in critical supply chain concerns within the software industry, its easy to miss that the US government has historically viewed open source not only an asset for rapid innovation and flexibility, it has also been considered a cyber asset.
Category Archives: Policy
Leaning into Public Policy for the Open Source Initiative
I’m pleased to share the news that I’ve accepted a role as US Policy Director for the Open Source Initiative (OSI). A bit of back story – up to the 2019 Pandemic, the OSI’s board of directors had for many years met twice yearly in person. In 2012 I floated the idea of creating anContinue reading “Leaning into Public Policy for the Open Source Initiative”
Up Next: Open Source Initiative Board of Directors
I’m headed to Chicago. No, not a delegate to the NATO Summit, but expect to share the same traffic jams. This weekend thirteen Open Source Initiative (OSI) directors meet face-to-face in Chicago. Three directors are recently elected, myself included, and a full agenda awaits. If you’re not familiar, here’s the nutshell background: The Open SourceContinue reading “Up Next: Open Source Initiative Board of Directors”
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Source Code Policy: Open and Shared
On April 6th, 2012 the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFBP) rolled out their brand new Source Code Policy, setting the direction for their agency to consume and contribute to open source software. As a brand new agency, CFBP is in the enviable position of creating their technology road map on a while sheet ofContinue reading “The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Source Code Policy: Open and Shared”
US Gov Memo Spells Out Open Source Inclusion in Federal Acquisition
First the musings: Because I’ve been involved with open source adoption in Government nearly since Al Gore invented the Internet, I get a lot of questions about what the White House is thinking about Open Source. Joking aside, this has been present on people’s minds since the new administration took office. For those familiar withContinue reading “US Gov Memo Spells Out Open Source Inclusion in Federal Acquisition”
Australia’s Open Source Initative Matures
CIO Magazine has noted Australia’s maturity in the Open Source Software in government, interviewing Gartner Research’s leading OSS analyst for that sector – Andrea DiMaio – in an article entitled “Public Sector Warms to Open Source“. It’s been over two years since the country released its “Guide to Open Source Software for Australian Government Agencies”.Continue reading “Australia’s Open Source Initative Matures”