[11] There are many OSI approved licenses but each one differs in the degree of openness, reciprocity obligations and restrictions.
If there is a choice in licence, then the more reciprocal obligations will ensure community engagement and
sustainability. If monetary returns are the more pressing concern, then a less reciprocal license will be effective.
[12] Please refer to Terms and Definitions section for a definition of this term.
[13] Our research shows that having political support for any type of OSS project is a pre-requisite for a sustainable public sector OSS project. More specifically, 62% of our survey respondents believe the support of the political level is a ‘very important’ factor in the sustainability of any community.
[14] According to our survey respondents.
[15] 54% of our survey respondents consider a clearly defined budget as a ‘very important’ or an ‘important’ sustainability factor.
[16] Hiring developers was seen as a ‘very important’ factor by 47% and as an ‘important’ factor by 22% of our survey respondents.
[17] The State Secretary of the Interior and Kingdom Relations outlined the policy “open, unless” (“Open, tenzij”) in his letter sent to the House of Representatives on 17 April 2020.
[18] Our survey highlighted the importance of having a clear governance structure. Indeed, survey respondents underlined the importance of having a clear leadership structure (74% of respondents) and clearly defined roles and responsibilities (76% of respondents).
[20] Public Digital (2021), Open source in government: creating the conditions for success. Available at https://public.digital/
[21] 45% of our survey respondents deem a community’s capacity to attract new members as a ‘very important’ or ‘important’ sustainability factor.
[22] 64% of our survey respondents highlighted the importance of communication in the sustainability of an open source project.
[23] According to our survey respondents, the community’s capacity to attract new members and retain current members are key sustainability factors, deemed as ‘very important’ by 46% and 53% of our survey respondents respectively.
[24] 61% of our survey respondents consider that documentation is an important element of the sustainability of the open source project. Some of our interviewees even believe that 50% of developers’ time should be dedicated to documentation.
[25] Our research shows transparency of the decision-making hierarchy to be a factor strongly influencing OSS contributors’ motivation.
[26] 43% of our survey respondents view the presence of coordination mechanisms among community members as a very important factor to its sustainability.
[27] Community’s vision states what the community wants to achieve in the future.
[28] Community’s mission states the purpose of the community.
[29] Overall, 41% of our survey respondents believed community guidelines to be very important and 41% an important factor for sustainability.
[31] 72% of our survey respondents deem the ability to get credit for one’s contribution to an open source community as a ‘very important’ or ‘important’ sustainability factor.
