The OSFA Mentors maintain this list of resources that can help you make the case for open source in government.
You may also be interested in our Case Studies, which are sometimes the best way to tell the story of open source.
Presentations
Jim Stogdill, Accenture. “Creating Open Source Government“, Ignite Philly 2, 2008.
Red Hat, “Open Source Government“, May 19, 2009
Gunnar Hellekson, Red Hat. “Applying Open Source Principles to Government“, O’Reilly Open Source Conference 2009.
Macon Phillips, “Obama’s New Media Director Backs Open Source“, Gov 2.0 Summit, 2009
FLOSS Weekly #160 with Randal Schwartz and Simon Phipps, Interview with David Wheeler, April 6, 2011
Jay Nath, City of San Francisco. “Open Source Government“, TEDxSoMa, June 28, 2011
Helpful Guides
Total cost of ownership of open source software: a report for the UK Cabinet Office supported by OpenForum Europe
A proposed TCO model for open source software from Maha Shaikh and Tony Cornford.
Free and Open Source Software Use: Benefits and Compliance Obligations
A good intro to best compliance and governance practices in government from Philip Koltun of the Linux Foundation.
Government Computer Software Acquisition and The GNU General Public License
B. Scott Michel, Lt. Cmdr., PhD, USN(RC)
Eben Moglen, Software Freedom Law Center
Mishi Choudhary, Software Freedom Law Center
Dorothy Becker, Navy OGC, SPD Patent Counsel
Published October 2011
Publicly Releasing Open Source Software Developed for the U.S. Government
September 2011. Includes a very valuable chart describing which rights the government has to software, and under which circumstances.
The DOD Open Source FAQ
Updated frequently. Helpful for civilian agencies, as well.
Open Technology Development (OTD): Lessons Learned & Best Practices for Military Software
Released May 16, 2011
Government Open-Source Software (GOSS) “Handbook for Govies”
Released June 29, 2011 — Version 1.7
How to Evaluate Open Source Software / Free Software (OSS/FS) Programs
An outstanding step-by-step process for determining if an open source project is right for you.
Policy Documents
States
Cities
Federal
OMB Memorandum M-04-16, “Software Acquisition”
Declares that open source software is permitted under Federal procurement regulations.
Issued July 1, 2004
DoN Policy Memo – Department of the Navy Open Source Software Guidance
Issued June 5, 2007
DoN Instruction Memo – IM/IT Policy for Fielding of Commercial Off the Shelf Software (SECNAV5230.15)
Issued April 10 2009
Army Regulation 25-2 Information Assurance See Section II, 4-6 g
Revised March 23, 2009
DoD Policy Memo – Clarifying Guidance Regarding Open Source Software
Issued October 16, 2009
OMB Policy Memo – Open Government Directive
Issued December 8, 2009
DoD Policy Memo – Better Buying Power: Mandate for Restoring Affordability and Productivity in Defense Spending
Issued June 28, 2010
OMB Policy Memo – Technology Neutrality
Issued June 28, 2010
Revised AppDev STIG for DOD
October 31, 2011. David Wheeler explains why recent changes to DISA’s Applications Development Secure Technical Implementation Guidelines make it easier for open source in the DOD.
Government-Sponsored Papers
NPS – Investigating the Acquisition of Software Systems that Rely on Open Architecture and Open Source Software
Released March, 2010
Use of Free and Open-Source Software (FOSS) in the U.S. Department of Defense (pdf)
The MITRE report that started it all.
Released January 2, 2003.
Acquiring and Enforcing the Government’s Rights in Technical Data and Computer Software Under DoD Contracts
Released January, 2011