5 Surprising Truths We Learned About Open Source in Government

In order to help governments implement open-source technologies, we must first understand the global policy implementation landscape. To support this effort, the DPGA launched the Global Open-Source Policies and Practices Survey in June last year as part of our Call for Collaborative Action. The initiative culminated in a report published in November 2025 by the researcher Melissa Muñoz Suro, which outlines four key policy recommendations to strengthen government When we talk about digital transformation in government, it’s easy to imagine a single, sweeping decision: a new national policy is signed and open-source software is formally embraced. This clean, linear narrative is appealing, but the key finding from the research was that it rarely reflects the complex reality of how public institutions actually change.To follow up on last year’s report, we spoke with digital leaders from eleven different countries and organisations. A different picture emerged; one that is far more pragmatic, incremental, and interesting. We discovered that the real story of open source in government isn’t written in formal policy documents, but in the unwritten rules of procurement offices, the strategic choices of agency-level teams, and the evolving motivations of countries.

Four Policies That Can Unlock the Promise of Digital Public Goods

Digital public goods (DPGs) are open-source technologies that countries can freely adopt to accelerate digital transformation, improve residents’ lives, and drive economic growth. For governments and large organisations, DPGs hold the promise of increasing efficiency and technology transparency while preserving their digital sovereignty, and avoiding costly lock-ins.However, in order to better facilitate the potential of DPGs to deliver on these benefits, governments and organisations should prioritise implementing policies, principles and frameworks. Doing so could allow them to more effectively implement DPGs that address country needs which may include evolving their digital public infrastructure.For this reason, the DPGA Secretariat included dedicated emphasis on this as part of the Calls for Collaborative Action that were launched in November 2024.

Launching the Global Open-Source Policies & Practices Survey

Today the DPGA Secretariat, in coordination with twenty-four organisations, is launching the Global Open Source Policies & Practices Survey. Directed at governments and organizations, this survey aims to significantly improve understanding of the current landscape of open-source policies, principles, and frameworks among governments and organizations.