%0 Journal Article %J Telematics and Informatics, Elsevier Science %D 2014 %T Policy recommendations for public administrators on free and open source software usage %A Christos Bouras %A Anestis Filopoulos %A Vasileios Kokkinos %A Sotiris Michalopoulos %A Dimitris Papadopoulos %A Georgia Tseliou %X
 

Free and open source software, holding a strategic position in knowledge economy, reaffirms the critical role of governments and regional authorities in establishing strategies for integrating effective and sustainable Information Technology solutions in the public sector towards economic growth and social welfare. Moreover, public services, organisations and territorial administrations collectively represent a major software user with great impact on the software market. In this sense, software selection in the public sector is a highly political and strategic process; various collateral implications and policy aspects should be considered in order to reach the best possible decisions. Within this context, this manuscript provides policy recommendations on issues and challenges pertaining to the use of free and open source software by European public administrations. The recommended policy actions are mainly based on review of the current policy framework. The main goal of this manuscript is to contribute in providing policy orientations and proposing actions that can help governments, public administrations and European institutions fully harvest the benefits of open source.

%B Telematics and Informatics, Elsevier Science %V 31 %G eng %0 Conference Paper %B IADIS International Conference Information Systems Post-Implementation and Change Management 2012, Lisbon, Portugal %D 2012 %T Guidelines for the procurement of free and open source software in public administrators %A Christos Bouras %A Vasileios Kokkinos %A Georgia Tseliou %A Anestis Filopoulos %A Sotiris Michalopoulos %A Dimitris Papadopoulos %X

This paper provides a concise guide on Free and Open Source Software procurement for European Public Administrations to be used by elected representatives and decision makers, procurement and Information Technology managers and staff in addition to any existing national or European Union guidelines and regulations. This work provides definitions of basic terms, outlines the legal context and the main principles of software procurement and highlights good practices and recommended actions for Public Administrations. Although the adoption of Free and Open Source Software as a strategic choice has certain advantages for public organisations, the guidelines and resources provided in this paper also apply to both open source and proprietary software procurement procedures and scenarios, such as downloading and purchasing, in-house development and outsourcing. The main aspects addressed and guidelines provided include: planning and defining a procurement method, estimating costs and benefits, setting interoperability and the use of open standards as a priority, avoiding discriminating practices such as naming trademarks, understanding and assessing licensing schemes, software provision models and suppliers, and establishing fair tendering processes.

%B IADIS International Conference Information Systems Post-Implementation and Change Management 2012, Lisbon, Portugal %P 29-36 %8 17-19 July %G eng %0 Conference Paper %B IADIS International Conference ICT, Society and Human Beings 2012, Lisbon, Portugal %D 2012 %T Policy recommendations for free and open source software usage by public administrators %A Christos Bouras %A Vasileios Kokkinos %A Georgia Tseliou %A Anestis Filopoulos %A Sotiris Michalopoulos %A Dimitris Papadopoulos %X Free and open source software, holding a strategic position in knowledge economy, reaffirms the critical role of governments and regional authorities in establishing strategies for integrating effective and sustainable Information Technology solutions in the public sector towards economic growth and social welfare. Moreover, public services, organisations and territorial administrations collectively represent a major software user with great impact on the software market. In this sense, software selection in the public sector is not a neutral process but highly political and strategic one; various collateral implications and policy aspects should be considered in order to reach the best possible decisions. Within this context, this paper provides policy recommendations on issues and challenges pertaining to the use of free and open source software by European public administrations. The recommended policy actions are mainly based on review of the current policy framework. Main goal of this paper is to contribute in providing policy orientations and proposed actions that can help governments, public administrations and European institutions fully harvest the benefits of open source. %B IADIS International Conference ICT, Society and Human Beings 2012, Lisbon, Portugal %P 90-97 %8 21-23 July %G eng