In June 2010, the study Guideline on public procurement of Open Source Software, which contains information to explain the usefulness for public agencies in adopting open source, was updated based on recent procurement policies in Spain, Malta and Italy.
In addition to the guidelines for procurement of open source software, the study provides practical information on how to accomplish this within the existing legal framework of procurement regulations, as well as including ready-to-use templates for legal texts.
The guide stresses that the information contained therein is not legal advice, but merely practical information, as such law is still interpreted by the courts. Since there are no procurement policies at European level, it allows individual public agencies at regional, national or local levels to obtain open source software, even if there is no policy in place regarding open source. This guideline explains to public agency rocurement stakeholders and IT managers how to go about doing this following European procurement regulations alone, with no need for any specific open source policies.
The study was commissioned by the European Commission as part of the 'Dissemination of good practice in Open Source Software (GPOSS)' measure under the 'Interoperable Delivery of European eGovernment Services to public Administrations, Businesses and Citizens (IDABC)' programme. The initial version of the study was made available to the public in October 2008.