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Open Source in Belgian e-Government: A Strategic Case Study

This case study examines the Belgian Federal Government's strategic approach to implementing open source solutions in e-government initiatives. Led by the State Secretary for E-Government, Peter Vanvelthoven, the focus has been on improving efficiency, transparency, and administrative simplification while minimizing costs to users. Key elements include collaboration among public bodies, interoperability using open standards, and the development of tools like FedMAN and the Belgian portal. The study highlights the transition to open-source software, pilot projects, and the necessary validation processes involved.

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Open Source in Belgian e-Government: A Strategic Case Study

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  1. oliver.schneider@e-gov.be Expert – Cellule stratégique Open source in (e)Governmenta real alternative?Belgian case study 01-04-2005

  2. FedICT • Belgian Federal Government • State Secretary for e-government, deputy to the Minister for the Budget and Public Enterprise (Peter Vanvelthoven) • FedICT : the federal public administration for ICT

  3. Some principles To build e-government based on : • Administrative simplification • Conviviality • Transparency – based on intentions • Single data collection • Visible improvement of efficiency / optimization of resources • No additional cost for the user

  4. Our strategy (1/2) Conséquences Main elements of our strategy : • Define the intentions – portal • Collaboration between the different public bodies • Interoperability – open standards • Structured information exchange (XML - UME) • Roll-out of authentic sources of data • Data dictionaries • Development of generic tools • Support to specific vertical ICT projects (e-justice, e-finance, e-healthcare...)

  5. Our strategy (2/2) Some tools developed by FedICT : • High speed data exchange (FedMAN) • Integrated communication towards the citizens, companies and public servants (Belgian portal, e-mail2all...) • Structured data exchange between public institutions (UME and e-services) • User management, teleworking, eID, e-payment

  6. Open standards vs Open Source Conséquences Two different topics : • Standards : data saved or communicated by a software. Elements that enable interoperability between IT systems. • Need for standardization • Software : it is a tool • Need for customization and diversity of solutions

  7. Open standards Conséquences Belgian Federal government position : • For new IT systems : open standards and/or open specifications • For existing IT systems : migration plans have to be decided • The IT managers of the federal government have to agree on a first list of standards before end 2004. -> Belgif Example : the case of open document formats

  8. Open software (1/2) Conséquences Belgian Federal government position : • Difference between tailor-made software and standards solutions. • Tailor-made : intellectual rights have to be handed over to the government. Source code can be mutualised between different public bodies and published as open-source. • Standard solutions : choice has to follow the TCO criteria. • No obligation to migrate to free software but strong incentive. Open and proprietary solutions have to be compared prior to any IT investment.

  9. Open software (2/2) Conséquences Belgian Federal government position : • Pilot projects will be organized. • Pingo : the free-software pilot currently running at SPF P&O (Service Pubic Federal Personnel et Organisation) • FedICT will give methodological and technical support IDA Open-Source observatory : not a marginal phenomenon.

  10. Pingo (1/8) Conséquences Introduction • About 40 people and 3 teams (ICT, administration and cabinet). Scope : end-user softwares • Pilot project : not a migration but a real test to assess the feasibility of a large migration • Technical, methodological and organizational validations

  11. Pingo (2/8) Conséquences What needs to be validated • Scope of the migration : where is OSS a serious alternative • What is the real need for training. How do users react to change. • Impact on productivity. Impact on interoperability. • Ability of the local ICT team to cope with open-source (installation, maintenance, support). • TCO

  12. Pingo (3/8) Conséquences Methodology • User-centric : if “change” is imposed, user will react negatively but if “change” is the result of the implication of the user in the change process itself then we will have a positive reaction. • Organizational impact • Legitimation, resource allocation, implication of the different protagonists, technological watch... • Internal communication, individual follow-up, iterative approach, regular feed-back

  13. Pingo (4/8) Conséquences Different strategies are possible • Open-source on top of Windows (Openoffice, Mozilla, Gimp...). Possibility to emulate Linux on Windows. • Proprietary on top of open-source : Linux desktop with some proprietary applications • Open-source only

  14. Pingo (5/8) Conséquences Technical context • Different technical solutions co-exist supported by one or more vendors. • Different levels of service and support are available. Multilingual support (FR, NL). • Different levels of integration with current proprietary solutions

  15. Pingo (6/8) Conséquences Some technical aspects • Choice of the softwares to be tested • Check the possibility of bi-directional transfer and/or migration of data • Analyze constraints of a large deployment • Usage of e-mail and agenda

  16. Pingo (7/8) Conséquences Some technical aspects • Access to shared data and authentication • Anti-virus, security • Read-write access to inter/intranet • Text processor, spreadsheets, presentations

  17. Pingo (8/8) Conséquences Some technical aspects • Databases and reporting tools • Migration of macros and personal applications • Project management tools and/or other specific tools

  18. A real alternative? Conséquences • More at stake for organisations : value proposition is increasingly linked to IT. • Complexity rises : PKI, e-procurement, middleware, archives (metadata, ontologies)... • Critical size is rising. • Necessity of cross-structure collaboration (customer, supplier) in order to diminish costs and risks. • The Open-Source model facilitates those new collaborations and extends the sources of know-how. • Try to have the largest possible concensus around a framework – toolbox to turn it into a de facto standard in order to diminish risks.

  19. Mutualisation Conséquences • Pooling open-source software (IDA) • Objectweb.org initiative (92 softwares, Jonas, middleware architecture, standards and tools) • FedICT strategy to develop and share building blocks • Modular architectures • Good practice : checkdoc.org • IT sector has adapted to the new context.

  20. Checkdoc.org Conséquences • Document and mail management for public administrations • Initially developed by SPF P&O and released under GPL license • Used by different Belgian institutions • Round table for mutual developments and financing of the next steps.

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