The Association of Portuguese Open Source Software Companies (ESOP) reports that the number of Open Source communities has accompanied the growing popularity of open software systems (OSS), but according to surveys conducted, the public sector has shown sustainability problems.
In this sense, the European Commission is conducting a survey on the development of sustainable OSS communities in the Public sector, which could serve as a basis for building guidelines for dynamization and sustainability.
These guidelines can serve as a practical tool for use in any public sector community or enthusiasts in general in creating solutions and sustainability. According to ESOP, the survey appears at an event held by the European Commission dedicated to the theme, which took place in November, under the name Open Source Beyond 2020 Powering a Digital Europe.
The event was attended by two Portuguese speakers who contributed their knowledge over 13 topics discussed. Linkare's Paulo Ribeiro integrated two panels, one dedicated to "Lowering the barriers for SMEs to provide their open source services to the public sector" and another under the theme "Support and operational threads of Open Source in public services" where proposals were debated for the creation of a new legal framework dedicated to public procurement of ICT, through the adoption of Open Standards.
The second Portuguese present was Raul Oliveira from IPBRICK, participant in the Knowledge transfer panel, where the importance of knowledge sharing, best practices in development, protection, maintenance and offer of Open Source solutions was discussed.
As stated in the statement, ESOP believes that there is a European Commission commitment to the adoption and promotion of OSS, and that it may have a role in the development of Digital Europe.
The survey is available for consultation at the following address. And it aims to hear the opinion of all developers, designers, leaders and project managers and testers, among other members of the OSS community in the public sector.
