Executive Summary : Opening source codes in Higher Education and Research (HE&R) Considerations in terms of use and value

This executive summary in english is based on the french report Étude relative à l'ouverture des codes sources au sein de l'Enseignement Supérieur et de la Recherche (ESR) : Considérations en termes d’usage et de valeur. The report (CC-BY 4.0 license and Open License 2.0) is available on HAL (France’s national academic open access platform) and a browser-friendly version is also available via PubPub. It was conducted for Etalab with the support of the french open science committee (CoSO).

It presents findings in 4 areas and makes 30 recommendations for opening source codes within Higher Education and Research (HE&R).

1. Source code publication: a common practice among different HE&R institutions

2. Opening source codes: making France’s public HE&R more reliable

3. Open source practices and dissemination: from contradictory requirements to productive collaborations

4. National strategy: support for open source software development and publication in French HE&R

Objectives :

• Provide an overview of source code publication practices in French HE&R (challenges, obstacles and needs) ;
• Identify and define existing or would-be open source projects ;
• Describe the various institutionally held positions and policies around open source and connect them to value-creation strategies.