Introduction: The Case for Change

Collaborating on an open-source digital solution can simplify and streamline critical government services, which makes life easier for both families applying for services and the public servants working tirelessly to deliver for them. Leveraging a relatively straightforward technology solution, such as a dependable document management tool, can significantly enhance the accessibility and efficiency of public services while giving users more agency over their personal information.

There is a demonstrable need for governments to deliver meaningful, trustworthy, and reliable services, especially at a time when public trust in government is near all-time lows and income inequality is rising. Across federal, state, and local levels of government, digital solutions are purchased far more often than they are developed in-house. This leads to proprietary, often-redundant, technologies utilized across government, due to a fundamental misalignment of incentives between the public and private sectors.

There are ways to improve this status quo through human-centered best practices in the delivery of public services. Open-source code is one of them.

Open-source software solutions, sometimes referred to as FOSS (free and open-source software), are powered by a codebase that is freely accessible under an open access license and has more user and implementer benefits than proprietary vendor-led development.

Advantages of open-source solutions include:

• Cost savings.
• Customization to meet specific needs and ensure better alignment with operational requirements.
• Collaboration and community design, use, and management—contributes to security and improvements.
• Not dependent on a single vendor for updates, pricing, or support.

Any software incorporated into operations brings with it responsibilities. Open-source code must be maintained so it doesn’t become cumbersome or obsolete. It may be free, but it needs care.

Reconceptualizing how governments build solutions and provide public services and programs is a critical step to developing better outcomes for communities. Discussions around the feasibility of implementing open-source in government touch on a wide array of topics including cybersecurity, capacity, public procurement, sustainability of digital public goods, cloud computing, open data, and open government policies.

An open-first agenda for public solutions is achievable, and many governments, at all levels, are exploring this model for efficiencies and cost savings. Governments could also use their purchasing power and require solutions to be open by default. Much of today’s technology ecosystem is already powered by open source. Up to 96 percent of codebases include free and open-source software.

Examples of open-source software in the provision of public services in the United States include Code.gov, Simpler.Grants.gov, Login.gov (one account for access to participating government agencies), CiviForm, and the California Open Source Portal.

Among notable examples of open-source software in the administration of public programs outside of the United States: Switzerland requires all government software be open source, modeling a “public money, public code” approach; more than 21 million Ukrainians use the open-source Diia application to access public services; and the Mojaloop Foundation maintains software to build digital financial services.

The concept of digital public goods has been circulating among the tech-for-good community at least since 2017 and has gained some popularity in policymaking circles. Digital public goods can take the form of software, datasets, AI models, standards, or open content that are generally free, adhere to applicable laws and best practices, do no harm, and contribute to sustainable digital development.

The idea of open source has been around far longer, dating to the advent of computer software. The two concepts are very much intertwined, and although there tends to be a divide between implementation models of tech developed in the public interest in the United States and solutions created internationally, we believe momentum is building to close this gap as practitioners can more easily share what is working to create public value irrespective of locality.