Standard for Public Code

Guidance for government open source collaboration

The Standard for Public Code is a set of criteria that supports public organizations in developing and maintaining software and policy together.

The Standard for Public Code provides guidance to public organizations seeking to successfully collaborate on open source solutions with similar organizations in other places. It includes advice for policy makers, government managers, developers and vendors. The Standard for Public Code supports the collaborative creation of codebases that are usable, open, legible, accountable, accessible and sustainable. It is meant to be applicable to codebases for all levels of government, from supranational to municipal.

The Standard for Public Code defines ‘public code’ as open source software developed by public organizations, together with the policy and guidance needed for collaboration and reuse.

The criteria of the Standard for Public Code are aligned with guidelines and best practices of open source software development.

Additional context and background can be found in the foreword.

Contents

Community calls

We usually have a community call on the first Thursday of the month at 15:00 (CET/CEST). The agenda is updated roughly a week before the call. It is possible to sign up to get a call invitation emailed to you.

Other resources