Open Sourcers Aim Selves at US Gov

Advocates who helped shape a major US government department's policy paper on using open-source in IT projects are stepping up their lobby.

Open Source for America plans to push for clear statements on the rules around using open source in government IT across a number of federal departments next year.

The idea is to dispel lingering misconceptions about open source and misinterpretations of the rules around procurement and community licenses that it feels have hampered government's broader use of open source in public projects.

OSA director Bill Vass told The Regin a recent interview the group will push for policy statements similar to the one issued recently by the US Department of Defense (DoD) inside each major federal agency. The DoD document outlined the cost and technology advantages of open-source and encouraged agencies to consider open-source when pitching projects for tender.

Vass said the OSA will try to meet members of the influential federal chief information officer council. The council develops guidelines for IT policy, procedures, and standards across all US federal government. The council's director is president Obama's federal CIO Vivek Kundra, whose already shown strong early support for open source, in addition to cloud computing, with members including civilians and generals.