Resources

	Related links Click here to access the toolkit Click here to download the country policy table

Free/open source software (FOSS) policy in Africa: A toolkit for policy-makers and practitioners

08/30/2005 (Bridges) -- Over the last few years free/open source software (FOSS) has emerged as an alternative to proprietary software and touted as a solution to Africa's digital divide. FOSS comes with a number of rights that distinguish it from proprietary software, including access to the source code in order to make modifications; the right to use and share it freely; and is usually available without license costs.

A variety of interest groups such as the local ICT industry, multinational software vendors and industry associations, academia and civil society are increasingly lobbying their governments to take action. The suggestions that are being put forward range from mandating the exclusive use and procurement of free/open source software to a completely unregulated free-market approach, and they watch every government decision and statement closely. In addition, African governments are urged to define their positions regarding the inclusion of FOSS in the official proceedings leading up to Phase II of the World Summit for the Information Society in Tunis. However, a practical overview of the areas in which governments can make interventions, and the strategic approaches they can take have been missing, and many advocacy efforts fail to address the link between FOSS and broader social and economic development goals.

The bridges.org report, "Free/open source software (FOSS) policy in Africa: A toolkit for policy-makers and practitioners" is targeted at governments that are investigating whether and how they can integrate FOSS into their strategies for social and economic development. It provides a broad overview of how FOSS fits into national ICT policy-making, outlines the areas where governments can take policy decision related to FOSS as well as some of the possible approaches, and lists activities related to FOSS policy from across Africa. It recommends an approach to FOSS policy-making linked to national development goals and discusses some example development goals and how FOSS policies could address them. In addition, a set of annexes provides a collection of useful resources that complement the report, including a background reading list of key documents and reports on FOSS and a list of organisations working in the field.

One of the key components of the toolkit is a table that presents information on FOSS Policy in Africa, with a list of FOSS-policy activities for the continent that can be modified and extended by others interested in keeping it current as a "living" resource.

The development of the Toolkit was supported by the UK Department of International Development Catalysing Access to ICTs in Africa (CATIA) programme.

The full report and policy table are available at
http://www.bridges.org/foss/
Contact:

Philipp Schmidt
research@bridges.org

Date: 08/30/2005
Location: South Africa
Theme: Software
Source: Bridges