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About The NOC

The UK is to benefit from a landmark programme which will reinforce the significant work already undertaken in open source and open standards and stimulate improved performance and the future success of UK companies. Unlike other countries, there is no national focal point for strategic thinking on open source and open standards. This leads to ineffectiveness, less innovation and missed opportunities. Building on existing initiatives, an inclusive National Open Centre is being established in Birmingham to secure a sustainable competitive advantage for all concerned.

Partners can help to shape and influence the future by driving the strategic direction of open source and open standards and, accelerate its adoption whilst realising their vision.

Delivering value

The NOC will be the home for developing strategic thinking about open source and open standards in the UK creating a clearer context for specific investments and initiatives and thereby reducing risk and increasing innovation. Facilitating research and creating competitiveness in the UK reinforces this unique programme. For the first time the diverse UK interests in open source software technologies and standards, their application and economic impact will be brought together.

There is “lively debate” within the IT industry and amongst innovation and competitiveness policy makers around the world and in Europe, yet there is no national focal point for such matters in the UK. As a consequence, the UK is relatively ineffective and inarticulate in contributing to and benefiting from the outcomes. The NOC will address these deficiencies. Engaging leading authorities, it will set the stage for, and ensure the UK participates in the major debates, nationally and internationally, that will influence policy and the effective use of open source and open standards in the UK. The rich insights into the challenges and opportunities will enable stakeholders to deliver value and realise their vision.

What it is

The NOC will bring together, for the first time, diverse UK interests in open source software technologies and standards, their application and economic impact.

The NOC will:

  • be concerned with nationally relevant issues associated with OS&S
  • publish a schedule of key issues and hold events leading to authoritative papers on these topics
  • initiate research studies of issues where understanding is lacking
  • hold conference(s) to disseminate information on strategic matters
  • be linked into public initiatives on innovation and management.
  • collaborate with other OS&S initiatives

The NOC will provide this through;

  • physical building – The NOC will have a location that will be the focal point for activity.
  • web site – The NOC will have a trusted web site on OS&S in the UK with extensive sign posting to existing resources, organisations and initiatives.
  • events programme – To describe debate and determine the directions for progress on key issues. Research will be initiated where it is needed. These would lead to the publication of authoritative and influential papers. Example could be;
    • is the public sector suffering from procurement policies which militate against OS&S?
    • who would benefit from open network protocols?
    • what is the role of OS&S in transformational government?
    • how can the market for embedded software be expanded by OS&S?
    • can open standards be compatible with Digital Rights Management?
    • does trans European collaboration require open source methods and licences?
    • what will be the impact of shared web services and thin clients on end user licences?
    • where are OS&S in the converging technologies?
    • can trust and secure computing be aided by open technologies in the emergent UK government architecture?
  • conferences – To present the current thinking to a wider audience. This will be linked in with related events, e.g. the next annual Gnome international developers’ conference (GUADEC) will take place in Birmingham in conjunction with the NOC.

The NOC will be national and strategic. It will provide thought leadership and ensure the UK participates in the major debates that will influence policy and the effective use of ICT in the UK.

What this will deliver

The NOC will stimulate discussion and collaboration leading to greater value in the UK economy and greater impact of UK interests in the EU arena. Specifically, the programme will be leveraging the capabilities of the partners and other programme stakeholders to:

  • produce policy papers aimed at decision makers on OS&S topics that are of key importance in the UK
  • develop national strategic thinking on OS&S creating a clearer context for specific investments and initiatives and thereby reducing risk and increasing innovation
  • make better use of public sector expenditure through strategic and effective use of OS&S in government itself, during procurement and when fostering economic growth
  • create private and community sector benefits by identifying trends and future opportunities for users and providers to exploit
  • ensure that OS&S initiatives have maximum impact by signposting their work and improving their linkages
  • encourage UK participation in OS and standards programmes of the EU, gaining insight and influence.