How can the United States build its Open Source Software policy?

Open source software (OSS) is critical to the global digital infrastructure, with 97% of codebases incorporating it, yet there is a need for governments to play a more significant role in supporting the OSS community. Although security has been a primary focus, the development of a comprehensive federal OSS policy requires collaboration between policymakers and practitioners. A roundtable discussion in Washington, D.C., highlighted the need for a federal Open Source Program Office (OSPO) to coordinate OSS efforts across government agencies. Participants discussed the challenges and opportunities in federal open source publishing, emphasizing the importance of strategic funding and learning from private sector practices. The event also explored international perspectives, such as the EU's open source policy objectives and Germany's Sovereign Tech Fund, while stressing the necessity of sustained funding and global cooperation. GitHub, a participant in these discussions, aims to promote OSS as a public good and has initiated research projects to analyze platform usage and economic impact. The roundtable encouraged diverse stakeholders to envision the transformative potential of OSS, with GitHub advocating for open source collaboration across government levels and sectors.