Open Source Government

Principles for e-Government and Government-Funded Research Software Development.

December 27th, 2006

Bruce Perens has posted a paper on Technocrat.net which outlines some of the considerations to be addressed by technical policy makers in the public sector.

The choice of technology in e-government projects and government-funded research can result in unfair discrimination and unintended harm. This set of guidelines will help the technologist avoid that harm.

Goals

Government should be fair to all citizens, while giving preference to none. It’s important for government and society to protect people who are at a disadvantage - for example those with physical handicaps - and to make sure that they can participate in society and interact with their government to the same extent as the more normally able. And government should give the people the most possible benefit for their tax dollars, and should use those dollars efficiently.

Entry Filed under: Standards, Formats