Articles tagged ‘opengovernment’

Come on Linus, wake up! There are ogres out there…

There is increasing recognition that when governments sponsor basic research they spawn a virtuous cycle between government, industry and academia. This interaction between players can result in technology leadership that has interesting and beneficial consequences for social and economic growth. But great technology does not just spontaneously appear out of a vacuum.

Because the software industry is a relatively new and complex human endeavor, growth in the sophistication of the FOSS community, in its small way, mirrors similar stages in the evolution of civilization. Now, at their current stage of evolution, the software and technology industries are most advanced in the developed economies. But they are facing broad new competition from the developing world. The two sides of the digital divide can choose to compete each other out of existence, or they can rise and together meet the challenges created by their global interdependence.

To ensure growth of a nation's digital economy, government information technology policy must foster innovation and openness. But good technology is not enough. Government policy must also promote an economic framework that enables good business practices.

Governments are in the cross hairs of the forces of globalization. For everyone to benefit fairly, governments in the developing world must adopt an information technology policy that balances the interests of international trade and collaboration with increased self-reliance and knowledge creation.

National Linux distributions have special responsibilities. They should encourage a nation's open source activities as broadly as possible rather than present an isolated solution based on inevitably limited resources.

OSS can be harnessed to its full potential to help build knowledge economies in developing countries.

Real decision makers could use the lessons they learn from experimenting in v-government to implement policy and practice in real government.

OSS can break the cycle of red-tape and budget limitations hindering the effectiveness of government information services.

Open source software and traditional knowledge are close cousins in the same family of shared human knowledge. In the digital age, misapplication of concepts of property rights may strain the natural harmony of the family.