The concept of Open Source Program Office is well-known in the private sector and has been picked up by the public sector as a potential way to structure governments’ involvement in open source.

In this talk we will present what we have learned from over two years of researching, analysing and talking directly to public officials on what they see as a promise of OSPOs, how they could be organised, supported and made truly beneficial to public institutions and citizens they serve. There are several developments and activities to create OSPOs on all levels of institutions - starting with universities and cities, through regions, countries ending international bodies. At OFE, we try to compile that knowledge and skills and see what the other players of the open source landscape can do to interact with and join the initiatives that are happening.

Setting up a network of up to 20 OSPOs in Europe is one of the recommendations from the study on the impact of Open Source we conducted for the European Commission. Now, the question is how to leverage existing skills, networks and structures, and how to make the active and collaborative involvement of the public sector with open source come true.