How Open Will Open-Source Be?

I want to bring you all up to date on the effort to establish an open-source software development project at the U.S. Veterans Affairs Department.

On Friday, the VA awarded a nearly $5 million contract to Reston, Va.-based Tiag to serve as the custodial agent of the project to upgrade the VA's VistA electronic health-record system.

Of keen interest regarding the VA's open-source project is: Will the remodeled VistA remain as open as the current VistA is, or will it become more proprietary, subjecting users to an increasing number of software license fees? To look for answers, I've asked the VA to send me a copy of Tiag's winning bid, but some clues can be found in a 72-page document linked to the contract award notice posted June 20 on the FedBizOps website.