On 28 March 2023 we held the seventh LEOS (Legislation Editing Open Software) community webinar.

It was an opportunity to share the latest updates with the LEOS community, as well as to connect with and hear from fellow LEOS community members. Presentations from Carlos Fernández Cubero, Ministry of the Presidency, Relations with the Parliament and Democratic Memory – Spain and Ahmed Immoun, Head of IT at the European Data Protection Board made us reflect on our open-source journey and the precious open-source culture we are part of.

The primary feeling we had after the webinar was that of ‘spring is in the air’. A feeling that nature’s buds have started to open and will soon bloom into beautiful flowers all around. The two testimonials by Carlos Fernández Cubero and Ahmed Immoun had strong messages such as ‘With a little help from my friends’ and ‘of course open source works’. Sharing experiences, expertise and code helps everyone, and, when it comes to drafting legislation, public organisations have the same requirements - which LEOS readily meets.

Open source is not only about free software, but also about being part of a community. It is not only about speeding up development, but also about increasing quality. Not only about a richer functionality, but also about having flexibility.

In our experience it is about all the above, but these benefits do not happen overnight. It requires a change of mindset, more transparency, good planning, intense interactions with those that are (or will be) using the solution and above all tenacity.

We share below, a brief insight into our LEOS open-source journey.

 

First steps as open source

Our journey as an open-source project started under the ISA Programme which ran from 2010 to 2015, continuing under the ISA2 programme between 2016 and 2020.

The LEOS journey continued from 2020 onwards within the Interoperable Europe initiative of the European Commission under the Digital Europe Programme (DIGITAL).

The goal of these programmes was to deliver digital solutions for public administrations, businesses, and citizens in Europe, specifically to benefit from interoperable cross-border and cross-sector public services. Once ready, usually these solutions are made available free of charge.

The funding programmes were implemented through rolling work programmes[1], where for each solution, the objectives, goals, expected outputs, costs and milestones are described. The selection of solutions is based on their impact and capability to support interoperability. This ensures higher transparency which helps to build trust.

Additionally, an annual work plan is drafted and extensively discussed with stakeholders. This provides certainty and gives confidence as the annual work plan addresses user requirements, sets priorities, considers available resources, and e.g., incorporates longer term challenges such as keeping technical debt manageable. Projects continue only if the milestones are met.

The participation of Member States in all project stages is strongly encouraged. It is therefore no surprise that the open-source model we have chosen is based on a combination of a government-leadership with a prominent role for a community of users and developers. A government-led model ensures that the project is focused on creating software for public use, although other uses are not excluded. Currently the European Commission is one of the primary users and developers. However, there is firm commitment to bring Member States into the front seat. And contributions from developers are very welcome and much encouraged. In fact, anyone who is interested and ‘signs-up’ to the project can contribute. Processes designed to make it easy to contribute are being put in place. Not only for developers, but users can contribute as well. At the webinar we presented the proposed change management process.

Flexibility, one of the general principles of the funding programmes, is a key driver in the architectural design and implementation of LEOS. This is tightly coupled with the open-source approach which makes one even more observant when defining functionalities or APIs (Application Programming Interface) inter alia to facilitate their use, and perhaps even more important their reuse. And then there is of course the attention to achieve great quality and a high level of security. One thinks twice if the world is relying on you.

 

The path to success

The open source approach, embedded in the implementation rules of the funding programmes mentioned above, later on became a means to support the goals of the  Digital Strategy of the Commission when on 21 October 2020 the European Commission approved its new Open Source Software Strategy 2020-2023 of the Commission. The strategy sets out a vision for encouraging and leveraging the benefits of open source.

Looking back, we started as an open-source project as part of the programmes that had as goals to deliver (open-source) solutions to benefit citizens and business of Europe. We continue because the benefits of this approach and the cooperation with the Member States has been tested and consolidated as part of a vision, a new open-source culture under the flag of Open Source Software Strategy.

The community around open-source solutions is one of the key pillars of success, and probably the one that best defines ‘open-source culture’.  Building a community takes careful planning and dedicated resources, certainly in the beginning. An active strong community is essential for the uptake of an open-source solution because it gives trust to others that this is something, 1) of good quality, 2) widely used, and 3) well maintained.

What makes a community successful? Is it just a matter of luck, of finding people who work well together to reach a goal? Or is it a matter of “making your own luck”? And, if you can make your own luck, how do you do this? We do not claim to have all answers, we are learning as we go along. What is already clear is that it is about investing, sharing, and inspiring others to share. And of course, we need what any software project needs, a clear vision and well-articulated goals, up-to-date documentation, agile governance, clear and effective procedures, high attention to quality and security, early involvement of users, responsive support (especially when piloting), and … you could have guessed an open mindset.

 

EU open-source culture similar or different from others?

We have embarked on the open-source journey to deliver benefits to citizens and businesses in Europe, following clear implementation rules for rollout. To this extent, even if the set-up and the guiding principles may be specific to the role and objectives of European Institutions, the same open-source principles apply.

Regarding sustainability and the cost model – open source may be made available for free, but someone still needs to dedicate time and resources to build it – the core resources are often approved and allocated following an agreement between Member States and European Union (EU) Institutions. The additional resources will come by virtue of building the community.

Each community has its own identity and we had to build our own, one that embraces the openness of open source and the EU identity. It is an exciting journey, about which we are always happy to share our experience, like we did for the UN staff. In return we look forward to seeing more individuals and organisations joining this movement.

Interested to join us?

 

[1] The process for work programmes included submission, evaluation, adoption and implementation