2025-11-19 –, Main Room
This feasibility study reveals deep pockets of political will and momentum for the establishment of an EU Sovereign Tech Fund (EU-STF). It draws on conversations with two dozen policymakers, technologists, and advocates, as well as extensive economic and legal analysis.
Chronic under-investment in open source technologies creates systemic risks – exposing Europe to (amongst other things) cybersecurity threats, supply chain vulnerabilities, and strategic dependencies on non-European technology providers. In order to maintain, secure, and improve existing open source technologies to meet the EU’s public and industrial goals, it requires policymakers to understand the logics underpinning failures in investing in the maintenance of open source technologies as open digital infrastructure, in order to prioritise the use of public policy towards the unlocking of financial and nonfinancial resources that support the open source ecosystem.
The EU-STF is envisioned as a scaled-up, pan-European, and mission-driven initiative with a proposed budget of at least EUR €350 million over seven years to invest in maintenance, security, and improvement of key open source components, as well as help identify and map dependencies and invest in ecosystem strengthening activities. It is vital that the EU-STF embodies some key principles (many of which have made the German successful): pooled financing, low bureaucracy, political independence, flexible funding, community focus, strategic alignment, and transparency. Two active budgetary scenarios are worth considering for the EU-STF: (1) a standalone and centralised fund (e.g. a new funding body created by legislation and set aside via the MFF negotiations), and (2) a hybrid/shared management structure (such as leveraging established EU institutional frameworks like the EDIC that allow for pooled contributions of Member States alongside EU funding, and even industry co-financing).
Chronic under-investment in open source technologies creates systemic risks – exposing Europe to (amongst other things) cybersecurity threats, supply chain vulnerabilities, and strategic dependencies on non-European technology providers. To maintain, secure, and improve existing open source technologies to meet the EU’s public and industrial goals, it requires policymakers to understand the logics underpinning failures in investing in the maintenance of open source technologies as open digital infrastructure, prioritisng the use of public policy towards the unlocking of financial and nonfinancial resources that support the open source ecosystem.
This paper reveals deep pockets of political will and momentum for the establishment of an EU Sovereign Tech Fund (EU-STF). It draws on conversations with two dozen policymakers, technologists, and advocates, as well as extensive economic and legal analysis. The EU-STF is envisioned as a scaled-up, pan-European, and mission-driven initiative with a proposed budget of at least EUR €350 million over seven years to invest in maintenance, security, and improvement of key open source components, as well as help identify and map dependencies and invest in ecosystem strengthening activities. The EU-STF must embody some key principles: pooled financing, low bureaucracy, political independence, flexible funding, community focus, strategic alignment, and transparency. Two active budgetary scenarios are worth considering for the EU-STF: (1) a standalone and centralised fund, and (2) a hybrid/shared management structure leveraging established EU institutional frameworks like the EDIC that allow for co-financing).
Nicholas (Nick‘) Gates is a Senior Policy Advisor at OpenForum Europe (OFE), where he works on research and advocacy related to open source software and other open technologies. Nick leads the organisation's research efforts, including the OpenForum Academy (OFA) Symposium, its annual research conference. He also leads OFE’s advocacy work on the NGI Commons and European Open Source Academy initiatives, which are focused on digital commons and public recognition of open source in Europe.
Nick's expertise is in open source in the public sector, open source for social good, and the funding and sustainability of the open source ecosystem. His background is in digital government policy and research, particularly on open source but also public financial management, and digital service delivery. He enjoys supporting development partners, governments, and international organisations to deliver on their agendas through applied policymaking and research.
Before joining OFE, Nick helped launch ODI Global's Digital Public Finance Hub, a new learning initiative around the digital transformation of public finance, as a consultant at Public Digital. He began his career working on research, policy, and advocacy at the Digital Impact Alliance — conducting research on topics including national digital transformation processes, open source in government, and digital transformation policy — and was a Fellow at the Portulans Institute.
Nick holds an undergraduate dual degree from the University of Massachusetts Lowell in Political Science and History, and graduated with an MSc in Global Development from the University of Copenhagen in 2018.
- Q&A Panel: Open Source and AI
- Closing Plenary: OFA Symposium 2025
- Registration Period and Welcome Coffee
- Q&A Panel: Sustainability and Security
- Registration Period and Welcome Coffee
- Q&A Panel: Open Technologies and Geopolitics
- Keynote #2: To Be Announced
- Opening Remarks: OFA Symposium 2025
- Keynote #1: To Be Announced
- Q&A Panel: Economic Impact of Open
Jennifer is an independent legal consultant and PhD Candidate (International Law x Computer Science) at the University of Cambridge as a World Ramsay Scholar. She researches global governance of open-source software. An experienced Australian public international lawyer, she has advised on a broad range of matters at the intersection of technology, human rights and policy, including for public and private sectors. She has worked as Senior Legal Advisor to the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, for leading international law firms and served on the International Law Association’s Global Board. Jennifer holds a LLM and BA/LLB (Hons.).