Do you want source with that?
by Paul Miller
Our long fascination with open source continues with a new report out tomorrow, jointly published with the Young Foundation. It's called Wide Open: open source methods and their future potential, and asks whether the success of open source in creating software such as Linux and Mozilla could be mirrored in other areas such as public policy.
I'll leave you to read the piece and make up your own mind, but one idea I like is for an Open Commission for Accuracy in the Media (OCOM) to keep track of Press Complaints Commission complaints. It would allow people involved in complaints to submit evidence, discuss and decide what should escalate to the formal adjudication panels. The adjudication panel and processes could themselves also be determined by the participants.
The report is by Geoff Mulgan (director of the Young Foundation, former Head of Policy in the PM's Office and founder and director of Demos), Tom Steinberg (mySociety) and Omar Salem (Young Foundation).
Margot Margot
Hi David,
I suspect that the Wide Open pamphlet is of use in a variety of contexts. I've sent the link to a group working on a 'Knowledge Management Strategy' because there are great lessons to be learned about knowledge sharing and creation from the Open Source movement.
Cheers,
Margot
David Wilcox
Paul - couldn't get trackback to work, so just to say I've posted an item at Partnerships Online starting:
I find it difficult to explain the idea of open knowledge sharing and collaborative development, modelled on Open Source Software, to non-techies. That maybe partly because I like the idea, but I'm a bit fuzzy on the just how it works.
Fortunately Demos have just published a very understandable pamphlet Wide Open: open source methods and their future potential.