This article was written by Jaakko Karhu.
The Danish Government is embarking on a new initiative to explore the use of open source software in public administration. This decision follows a political agreement reached earlier this year within the governing coalition, setting in motion a broader digitalisation strategy. The agreement cautiously states that “there may be potential in using open source in the development of public IT solutions in the right contexts” and commits to investigating specific areas where open source software could be an appropriate solution for public digital services.
Denmark's digitalisation efforts are guided by an overarching national strategy. Complementing Joint Digital Government Strategy has been collaboratively shaped by local, regional, and central governments since 2002. In addition, the main strategy is further supported by plans for cybersecurity and artificial intelligence.
Rasmus Frey, Chief Executive and Secretary of OS2, a Danish association of municipalities that collaborate on open source projects, believes the inclusion of open source in the Danish digitalisation strategy is largely due to the support and understanding of open source by key parliament members and the establishment of the Digitization and IT Committee:
“This brings attention to digitalisation and hence that attention also an openness to new knowledge. Also, because it [open source] is so much on the agenda around Europe and in the EU open source is something also Danish politicians must know about and have an opinion about”, says Frey.
The recent political agreement outlines specific objectives derived from these strategy files, with a total budget of DKK 740 million (nearly €100 million). The primary focus areas include enhancing digital skills, promoting a digital green transition, and advancing artificial intelligence. Notably, DKK 1 million (€134,000) is earmarked for investigating the use of open source software in public services during 2024-2025.
Municipal Successes and National Challenges
Previous Danish digitalisation strategies have encouraged software reuse, but with limited success. For instance, the Danish National Open Government Partnership Action Plan for 2013-2014 initiated a software exchange platform that ultimately failed due to lack of use by public administrators. In contrast, municipalities have been the frontrunners in adopting open source solutions within the public sector, not only successfully implementing these solutions but also fostering collaboration among themselves.
According to Frey, the transition to open source in national public administrations has been slow in Denmark due to a lack of knowledge and supportive structures, making widespread adoption challenging.
“I think it is successful at the municipal and local levels because there is more room to manoeuvre and greater leeway. In that sense, open source is a better match and a better fit for the way Danish municipalities are organised,” explains Frey.
However, he is optimistic about the future of open source in the public sector: “I think we will see a snowball effect, and once it starts rolling, it will be hard to stop. Open source is the means to achieve many political goals, and people are beginning to realise this.”
Featured photo by Svend Nielsen on Unsplash.
