From open source policy to working systems
Europe has set out its strategy for open digital ecosystems. The harder question is implementation: how public administrations and businesses turn an open source-first commitment into procurement that works, infrastructure they can sustain, and governance they can defend.
That is the work Open Digital does.
The moment
The EU now spends in the order of EUR 264 billion each year on mostly non-European proprietary IT, and depends on suppliers outside the Union for over 80% of its digital products and services. The European response treats open source not as a preference but as strategic infrastructure: an open source-first principle in public cloud and AI procurement, a "public money, public code" expectation on software the public sector buys, sustained funding for the maintenance of critical components, and new structures to steward them.
Where we work
Open source strategy most often fails not at the level of intent but at the level of execution. Procurement designed around proprietary vendors quietly excludes open alternatives. Governance frameworks arrive after implementation has begun. Maintenance obligations and contributor provenance go unaddressed until they become liabilities. Open Digital works in the gap between the commitment and the working system.
Open source procurement
Designing procurement that separates software from services, keeps the supplier market competitive, and preserves the right to switch.
Governance and provenance
Frameworks for how organisations contribute, account for obligations, and handle AI-assisted code - built for how software is made today.
Foundations and stewardship
Governance design, sustainable funding, and operating models for the organisations that steward open source infrastructure.
Implementation and funding
Sequencing adoption programmes, and navigating the European funding landscape so that what gets delivered matches what was promised.
Open Digital works with public administrations, digital agencies, and corporate digital leaders across the UK and EU. Engagements are selective and shaped by context.