g that public access and transparency are inseparable in the government context. Answers to the questions determined the score of each agency, with the use of open source technologies and open formats weighing most heavily. This included items such as publishing public documents in open file formats, participating in open source software creation and providing guidance on procurement policies surrounding open technologies.
This study was conducted three months after the agencies submitted their Open Government Plans and is intended to demonstrate baseline data in the beginning of a long journey towards openness and transparency in the federal government. While some of the agencies scored very well, most agencies fell below the 50 percent. Given that this is the first year that the agencies are operating under the Directive and the Open Government Plans, Open Source for America feels the results demonstrate a positive beginning, but with some room for improvement.
The Department of Defense (DOD) achieved the highest score. The DOD has issued procurement policies for open technologies as well as guidance facilitating participation by government employees in open source projects. The Department is demonstrably ahead of the curve in terms of recognizing the benefits and using open technologies. OSFA would encourage other agencies to use DOD policies and practices as a model for implementation within their own departments. Other findings, according to the survey:
• The highest scorers (Defense and Energy) have published agency-created software code as open source and provide clear guidance identifying open source as a permitted procurement option.
• All agencies publish at least some forms in open file format standards and accept files from the public in multiple document formats.
• Agencies generally scored well on transparency questions, by publishing budgets in search-able formats and Freedom of Information (FOIA)information on their websites.
As previously discussed, Open Source for America recognizes that this is the first year under which agencies are operating under their Open Government Plans. As such, the results show solid commitment to transparency and public feedback, as well as recognition and growing use of open technologies within the federal government. Based on this initial benchmark, it will be essential for agencies to evaluate and incorporate open technologies into their IT plans. For most agencies, there is certainly room for improvement in the coming year. OSFA encourages agencies to take the following actions to achieving the Administration’s goals of openness, transparency, and collaboration within the federal government:
1. Adopt policies and guidance allowing for procurement of open source software and recognizing it as ‘commercial’ software
2. Adopt policies that favor open standards in technology procurement and development
3. Adopt policies that allow government employees as well as citizen volunteers to collaborate on open source projects
4. Release all public data in open, search-able formats on the agency’s website Open Source for America hopes government agencies will use the Federal Open Technology Report Card and its results to continue working toward the exchange of open information and the use of open source technologies and open formats within their department.
ABOUT OPEN SOURCE FOR AMERICA
Open Source for America (OSFA) is an organization of technology industry leaders, non-government associations and academic and research institutions dedicated to advocating the use of open source software in the U.S. federal government. Participation in Open Source for America is open to any individual or entity signing the campaign’s mission pledge at: www.opensourceforamerica.org.
This study represents OSFA’s first effort to evaluate this historical policy initiative. Comments, suggestions, and input regarding this and future research projects are always welcome and can be sent to firstname.lastname@example.org.