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Advocates for open-source software are urging governments to embrace the concept, which they argue will save money, offer more flexibility and create better computer programs by encouraging collaboration.

Open-source programs — which allow anyone to change or modify them — have been gaining popularity in recent years, from free consumer software such as the Firefox web browser to Internet servers and other complex applications.

But supporters say despite many potential advantages of using open software rather than their more expensive commercial equivalents, governments in this country have been slow to even consider them.

“The biggest obstacle so far has been inertia,” says Evan Leibovitch of Canadian Association for Open Source.

“This has been a battle with people's comfort zones. All of the sudden, here comes this open-source stuff, there's choices to be made. People have been used to doing things in the same way.”

Open-source is essentially organized sharing, this idea that you have this body of knowledge that is contributing and that isn't being hoarded by people Evan Leibovitch of Canadian Association for Open Source

Open-source generally refers to free software whose source codes — the underlying programming language — are available for anyone to change or modify.

Observers say using open-source software could mean several things for governments looking to acquire software for everything from running their websites to keeping track of tax information.

First, they could simply opt for open-source alternatives when they already exist, saving money by using the free OpenOffice suite, for example, instead of Microsoft Office or running Linux instead of Microsoft Windows.

But for Leibovitch, the more promising possibilities would come when governments are searching for contracts to build custom software programs.

Using the open-source model, whoever wins a public IT contract could use existing open software as a starting point, and the finished product would be open-source as well.

That would allow government departments to easily modify and customize software when they need to, and even open them up for governments elsewhere to use for their own purposes.

The software wouldn't be necessarily be free — governments would still need programmers to build, implement and support the software — but Leibovitch argues the end product would be cheaper and better.

“Open-source is essentially organized sharing, this idea that you have this body of knowledge that is contributing and that isn't being hoarded by people,” he says.

There are examples of federal and provincial departments that are beginning to use open-source software.

The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat has an open-source software policy, and some provincial governments are working toward their own policies.

Earlier this year, the federal Public Works Department received attention when it issued a request for information seeking industry feedback on open-source software.

The Public Works request asked for information about “no-charge” software such as operating systems, web browsers, office suites, servers and other utilities. No one from the department was available for comment.

City councillors in Vancouver passed a resolution last month requiring municipal staff to place open-source software on equal footing as traditional commercial software when awarding public contracts. It also called on the city to store data using open standards that would be more accessible to the public.

In Quebec, an advocacy group is trying to force the government's hand with a lawsuit that alleges the province's procurement policies effectively exclude open-source contacts.

Most examples are typically one-off projects that don't represent broad government policies, says technology expert Michael Geist.

“At best we get these very small so-called pilot projects, but they have really proven unwilling to really embrace the opportunities that open-source software presents,” says Geist, who teaches in the University of Ottawa's law faculty.

“That's in stark contrast to a growing number of other countries, who recognize both the long-term cost savings as well as the benefits of moving to a platform where you're not relying on a single provider.”

Geist says the federal government needs to create a “national digital strategy,” leading by example to promote open-source software.

“I think that's all part of embracing a principle of openness,” says Geist.

A study released earlier this year by the Georgia Institute of Technology, sponsored by open-source developer Red Hat, ranked Canada 34th out of 75 countries in what it called “open-source activity” within government.

The report considered factors such as whether governments have developed detailed strategies and policies for open-source software, says author Doug Noonan, and in Canada the study found just one.

“Canada is right in the middle of the pack as far as Western countries go,” says Noonan.

European governments, which are seen to be far ahead in promoting open-source software, ranked near the top of the list.

The United States, where governments spend billions of dollars a year on open-source projects, ranked 28th.

The study also looked at what it called the “open-source environment,” and Canada did better, ranking 11th for potential growth within government.

“Countries that rank high in potential but have much less activity, you might suspect that they're underachieving,” he says.

“For Canada, it looks like it has a lot of potential, which speaks to lots of opportunity.”