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OSOR Awards 2023

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The EU Public Services Open Source Achievement Awards

The European Commission’s Open Source Observatory (OSOR) has organised the EU Public Services Open Source Achievement Awards to honour and showcase the best open source solutions and initiatives created by or for the public administrations in Europe. 

The submissions for the Awards are closed as of 21 September 2023, 23:59 CEST.  We received 101 entries from 23 countries! They were all tested against the eligibility criteria described in the contest rules. As a result, 92 entries from 20 countries were deemed eligible (66 solutions and 26 initiatives). You can check all the eligible entries here.

The Evaluation Team consisting of 2 OSOR Team members and 3 experts from the European Commission evaluated all the entries to shortlist best ones for the next contest phase. As the entries vary enormously when it comes to their character, scale, type, and size of submitting organisations, shortlisting them was a very challenging task.  22 projects progressed to the the Jury evaluation and community vote. Now the Jury has selected 6 finalists and the OSOR community has casted its vote.

Finalists

Meet the six jury-chosen finalists, which are invited to present their project at the OSOR conference on 21 November in Brussels. The winners will be announced at the Awards Ceremony at the end of the conference.

Geotrek | France

gvSIG Suite | Spain

Decidim | Spain

Demarches-simplifiees.fr | France

OS2 - Public Collaboration & Open Source | Denmark

publiccode.yml Standard | Italy

As the title of the Awards indicates, the Jury focused on achievements of open source solutions and initiatives: the ambitious goals, determination in overcoming challenges, contribution towards furthering democracy, transparency and active participation of citizens in creating digital infrastructures serving constituents, the impact on their communities, and effective usage of public resources and exceptional response to solving problems.

The meeting of the Jury took place on 6 October. You can read more about its members and the criteria here. The Jury nominated top 6 projects: Decidim, Demarches-simplifiees.fr, Geotrek, gvSIG Suite, OS2 - Public Collaboration & Open Source and publiccode.yml Standard. Their representatives will join a panel of the OSOR Turns 15 conference in Brussels to present their solutions and initiatives and the winner will be announced at the Awards session during the event.

Meet the OSOR Community Award winner

OSOR Community Award voting has concluded, and we're delighted to announce that the winner is BlueHats, the French public sector open source community initiative! BlueHats will be presenting their project at the "OSOR Turns 15: From Pioneering to Mainstreaming Open Technologies in Public Services" conference in Brussels on 21 November. They will take the stage alongside the six finalists of the EU Public Services Open Source Achievement Awards, as chosen by the jury. 

We thank the community for casting their votes and congratulate the winner!

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Award categories

The best solutions and initiatives were selected for two Awards: 

1) EU Public Services Open Source Achievement Award, chosen by a Jury according to the dedicated selection criteria.

2) OSOR Community Award, voted on via the Joinup platform by OSOR users and anyone who will log in to the platform. 

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Who could participate?

The Awards were for organisations and teams who:

  • have successfully implemented an Open Source solution(s) within public administrations
  • developed initiatives using and advancing the use of Open Source within public services. 

The submitters may represent public administrations; public service institutions such as schools, universities, and hospitals; third sector organisations crucial for the functioning of public services and working directly with administrations. Businesses developing the solutions could apply only together with a public entity they have worked with.

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Benefits of participation

The Awards are European Commission’s recognition of the most impactful solutions and initiatives. Awarded teams got publicity as the representatives of the top entries were invited to Brussels to present their achievements at the OSOR Conference on 21 November 2023.  This will increase their potential for further development, scalability, networking, and collaboration opportunities.

The winners will be promoted on the OSOR website, in newsletters, and at events. While the Awards are non-monetary, they aim to support the uptake of the best European Open Source solutions and initiatives.

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Eligibility criteria

A solution or initiative was eligible for the OSOR Awards 2023 if it fulfilled the following criteria: 

  1. Must be developed for or implemented by a public organisation from an EU Member State, EFTA country associated with the Digital Europe Programme, or an EU candidate country whose Association Agreement with the Digital Europe Programme has entered into force. 
     
  2. Must have a representative (an organisation/a natural person) to submit the application.
     
  3. The solution or software released, used, and implemented by the initiative must be licensed under an open source software licence.

    Open source software (OSS) is a type of software whose source code is released under a royalty-free licence in which the copyright holder grants users the rights to run, study, modify, enhance, and distribute the software to anyone and for any purpose. An OSS solution is OSS software used as a building block for providing a public service.
     
  4. Must be submitted in English via the official submission form on EU Survey. Description of each eligible solution was published on Joinup by the OSOR team.

                                                                   

 

Selection criteria

The eligible solutions and initiatives were assessed against the following criteria: 

  • Motivation, impact, and goals: Recognising the driving force behind the development of a solution or initiative, the positive effects it has on communities and its stakeholders, and the clear objectives it aims to achieve.
  • Governance: Acknowledging strong leadership, transparency, and inclusivity in decision-making processes, ensuring accountability, and promoting the principles of open governance.
  • Sustainability and maintenance: Honouring long-term viability, effective resource management, and ongoing support to ensure the sustainability and continuous improvement.
  • Uptake and reuse: Recognizing successful adoption and implementation, showcasing the scalability and adaptability of the solutions and initiatives, and good practices leading to more potential for widespread reuse.
  • Collaboration and community: Celebrating vibrant and engaged communities that encourage active collaboration, knowledge sharing, and mutual support among contributors, users, and stakeholders.

The Jury seek to award the solutions and initiatives that can serve as an inspiration for other European public services, that ‘thought outside the box’, that solved a difficult issue for their constituency, that made a complicated process easier for their entities, that contributed to democratic participation in digital transformation of public services, or that in some other way used Open Source Software as a tool to add value to citizens and public services.

The submission guidelines for the Awards are available here.

 

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Selection phases

26 July

Call for submissions opens 

 

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21 September

Submissions close

 

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29 September

OSOR community voting launch

 

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30 October

OSOR community voting closes

 

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21 November

Award Ceremony at the 15 years of OSOR event

More detailed description of the selection process can be found in the procedure guide.

 

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Award ceremony

The representatives of the top 6 entries and the winner of the OSOR Community Award have been invited to Brussels for the event celebrating 15 years of our Observatory - OSOR Turns 15: From Pioneering to Mainstreaming Open Technologies in Public Services on 21 November 2023. The conference organisers supports them in arranging travel and accommodation and will cover the costs for 1 person per nominated project.

The representatives of these top entries are invited to present their solutions or initiatives during this large event convening participants from the EU Member States public administrations and private sector, European Institutions, NGOs, and various open source communities and associations. The Award ceremony will follow this dedicated session.

 

 

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Contact us

You can send us an email at EU-OSOR@ec.europa.eu.