Editor’s Note: The document released by the Cabinet Office of HM Government, “Open Standards Principles: For software interoperability, data and document formats in government IT specifications” is attached here. The paper has the potential to help inform federal decisions on information sharing and IT acquisition policies.
The paper notes that “Respecting data protection, privacy and security requirements, information and data must be shareable across government IT systems in line with the Information Principles for the UK Public Sector.” For extension to the US government, there is also the need for policy prinicples to encompass information sharing with the private sector. The Open Standards Principles specified in the doucment are summarized below:
1. We place the needs of our users at the heart of our standards choices
2. Our selected open standards will enable suppliers to compete on a level playing field
3. Our standards choices support flexibility and change
4. We adopt open standards that support sustainable cost
5. Our decisions on standards selection are well informed
6. We select open standards using fair and transparent processes
7. We are fair and transparent in the specification and implementation of open standards
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