Exchange of experiences on Open Source Digital Workspaces France and Sweden

Recording session

Background

DINUM, the Interministerial Directorate for Digital Affairs, operates within the French government and is tasked with coordinating and advancing digital transformation initiatives across various ministries. One of DINUM's current objectives is the development of an Open Source Digital Suite for public servants. Therefore, DINUM is reaching out to other European countries that have either implemented similar Open Source Suites or are planning to deploy one. The aim of this approach is to identify which open source or common modules could be developed and used by several member countries, with a view to rationalizing resources and building a strong community of stakeholders (developers, designers, etc.).

A digital workshop organized by NOSAD (Network Open Source and Data) and Bron Innovation, will take place on the 2 april 12.00-13.30. the event is open for everyone. Learn more about the event.

2024-04-02_NOSAD_Agenda-Frankrike.pptx

Summary

By Johan Linåker (Rise)

A lot of interesting things happening in France in terms of Open Source Software (OSS). Today there was a knowledge exchange between Sweden and France and our monthly NOSAD seminar.

  • Representatives from DINUM spoke on the need to leverage OSS to enable sovereignty, e.g., in gaining control and overview of how data is used, saved, and accessed. They see a need to have a greater level of understanding and knowledge on where that technology is going, and not being dependent on any single party.

  • While OSS also enables a means for gaining control it also provides a potential driver for innovation. The opportunity for collaboration with civil society and possibility to tailor tools on the lower levels are two examples.

  • They note the importance of the code not just being open, but also being backed and maintained by an active community. This is pivotal both for the sovereignty and resilience of the OSS and the services and products implementing the OSS.

  • There are several initiatives that support and enable OSS reuse and collaboration. Blue Hats, e.g., is a community that has been working inside the French public sector, to make people connect and share knowledge, grow communities, and foster reuse. A dedicated fund helps to help promote and grow resilience and capacity of key communities, e.g., related to digital commons for a digital workplace. Also, a digital commons accelerator is set up to help grow these communities and foster collaboration with and within these.

  • A specific effort is focused on building a coherent suite (Le Suite) of applications based on the needs of PSOs, including email, video conferencing, file sharing, instant messaging. Resources are being invested to make these applications work together in an easy way.

  • Similar effort by the German government and its Centre for Digital Sovereignty (Zendis) was echoed who are working on a similar suite of applications labelled OpenDesk. The two governments have signed a declaration of memorandum to step up collaboration between their two initiatives. SAFOS, a similar initiative from the Swedish Insurance Agency aims to create an open collaboration platform for the Swedish public sector.

  • All three examples are focused on leveraging standardized OSS building blocks to enable the anticipated sovereignty and collaboration that the OSS model may imply. Jitsi for video conferencing, Element for instant messaging, and NextCloud for document sharing and collaboration were some examples.

  • The initiatives further points to the potential in cross-border collaboration between governments and public sector organisations, and the new role they can and should take in engaging and contributing directly to the maintenance and development of the OSS components.

France

The applications within the Digital Suite with 50 applications are all open-source software and adhere to a unified visual identity.

Examples of Open Source Software in the suite:

  • Big Blue Button
  • Jitsi
  • Matrix
  • Collabora
  • Only Office
  • OpenXChange
  • Grist

Learn more about the French OSS Suite.

DINUM Presentations

Sweden

Unlike France, Sweden currently lacks a national open-source policy, although various government agencies have initiated their own policies or guidelines and have begun collaborating on open-source software. Below are examples of collaborations within the Swedish digital Open Source Software (OSS) realm. 2024-04-02_NOSAD_Regeringskansliet

Jitsi Outlook-plugin

The purpose of this plug-in is to simplify the process of adding video conference links to meeting bookings by just on click. It is developed and shared by the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management (HaV). To the code (Github).

Jitsi Moderator

A React Vite app that adds more features on top of Jitsi to help manage meetings through an intuitive dashboard. It allows you to either connect to a meeting by pasting the url or to create an entirely new meeting. To the code (Github).

Design system

Choosing an open source design system empowers development teams to improve digital services. By using a common design system and inviting experts to contribute we are ensuring accessibility for government agencies and lowering the workload for each development team. At the moment there are a collaboration between Arbetsförmedlingen (the Public Employment Service), Skolverket (the National Agency for Education) and eHälsomyndigheten (the eHealth Agency). To the Code (GitLab)

Presentation Design systems FOSS | Magnus Brodén

Municipalities OSS

290 Municipalities share the same mission, so instead of repeatedly procuring services, some Swedish municipalities are opting to collaborate on open-source software.

One example of collaboration is Open ePlatform. Open ePlatform is an open-source e-service platform that enables organizations to create and publish electronic services for visitors. To the Code.

The municipality of Sundsvall has developed a suite of OSS-tools suitable for other municipalities. "When we develop a solution, we make sure it can be used by others", therefore we choose open Source, says Per Persson.

Presentation: Open Source in Swedish municipality sector | Per Persson (Sundsvall municipality)

e-Archives

Given that e-Archiving holds significant importance for the public sector, it should be regarded as a digital commons, thereby making it open-source software (OSS). In Sweden, there are several e-archive solutions, with at least three of them based on open-source technology: Archivematica, Roda, and Essarch.

The Roda network specifically requires participating authorities to be at the state, regional, or municipal level and to have chosen Roda; presently, there are 11 authorities in the network. Contact the network

Archivematica: 38 municipalities and one region have joined forces in a membership in Kommunalförbundet Sydarkivera and having one eArchive for all the members. Any organization can join the network as long as they currently use or intend to use Archivematica. The composition of members attending network meetings varies, and compiling a comprehensive list of organizations has proven challenging. Contact the Network

Presentation eArchive networks | Malin Åkerlund, Försäkringskassan

SAFOS

SAFOS a cloud-based collaboration platform by Försäkringskassan (Swedish Social Insurance Agency), offers document sharing and management, with upcoming video and chat features for meetings. Managed internally by certified staff, it's ideal for agencies restricted from foreign cloud storage. SAFOS advocates for open-source software, aligning with principles of security, independence, avoiding lock-in, and fostering collaboration, ensuring resilience, flexibility, freedom, and community-driven innovation.

Opportunities and challenges

Sweden: Opportunities and challenges | Karin Bredenberg, Sydarkivera

Open Source Catalogs

Where Public Sector declare which free and open source software they use

Swedish Networks mentioned

NOSAD

NOSAD is a Network initiated by civil servants to adress the difficulties in sharing and using data and collaborating on open source software. NOSAD is part of the EC OPSO network.

  • NOSAD arranges monthly recorded and open workshops on the themes open source, open data, open standards.
  • NOSAD uses the Discussion forum on the Swedish national dataportal.
  • Organisations share guidelines,templates and risk and assessment documents under NOSAD.se/tips, making it easier for others to practice the principle of open by default.
  • The Swedish public code catalog is a open collaboration within NOSAD.

Learn more on https://nosad.se. (In Swedish).

Presentation of NOSAD in English NOSAD_English.pptx

eSAM

eSAM is a member-driven program for collaboration in the public sector. Today 38 government agencies (authorities) are part of eSAM and the current work is around three focus areas:

  1. Develop digital solutions for individuals' and businesses' life events/needs and create shared solutions contributing to members' digital transformation and efficiency.
  2. Consolidate expertise in complex and shared areas to develop guidelines that benefit members.
  3. Drive and actively participate in public digitization, making statements and addressing issues hindering digital development.

Relevant for OSS is the Digital collaboration platform for the public sector.pdf (esamverka.se)

OSS Framework Collaboration ASOM

In the context of Jitsi-plugin and Moderator there is also a framework workingroup aiming to facilitate digital collaboration among government agencies for open-source projects. Its strategy involves providing a shared space for development (at the moment DiggSweden), contributing primarily to existing projects, and developing guidelines for open management. Project requirements include dialogue with upstream projects, a common government interest, governance plans, WCAG 2.1 compliance, financing for accessibility, and adherence to quality frameworks. Participating agencies have decision-making power, while other participants offer advisory support. Learn more (in Swedish).

Bron Innovation

Serves as the central hub for the IT sector in Västernorrland, fostering growth and regional development by facilitating collaboration among around 100 private and public stakeholders. Its primary aim is to leverage the region's significant IT expertise and innovation capabilities to attract new talent, investments, and businesses while supporting the expansion of existing ventures. As a Digital Innovation hub, Bron acts as a catalyst for cooperation, innovation, and economic advancement within the local IT industry.

Through Govtech4all, Bron innovation is in collaboration with DINUM.