Preliminary agenda announced for the Open Technology Research Symposium 2026
The preliminary agenda for the first Open Technology Research (OTR) Symposium is now available. Taking place on26 and 27 October 2026at theUniversity of Barcelonaas part of Barcelona Open Tech Week, the. . .
The preliminary agenda for the first Open Technology Research (OTR) Symposium is now available. Taking place on26 and 27 October 2026at theUniversity of Barcelonaas part of Barcelona Open Tech Week, the Symposium is convened by Open Technology Research’s founding members:OpenForum Europe, theOpen Source Initiative, theOpen Knowledge Foundation, and theDigital Infrastructure Insights Fund. This year’s Symposium is guided by the theme“Shaping the Open Transition”, reflecting a shared ambition to move from diagnosis to action: from mapping the landscape of open technologies to charting the path forward for their adoption, sustainability, and impact. The response to the Call for Proposals exceeded expectations, withmore than 140 submissionsfrom researchers, practitioners, governments, foundations, companies, standards bodies, and community organizations around the world. The final program represents only a fraction of the proposals received and reflects the growing interest in research that advances open technologies. This year’s Symposium is supported by an outstanding group of content partners, including theMozilla Foundation, theOpen Research Community Accelerator(ORCA), theSovereign Tech Agency, theDigital Commons Policy Council(DCPC), theOpen Science Hardware Foundation, theOpen Future Foundation, andInvest in Open Infrastructure. The program showcases the global nature of the open technology research community, featuring speakers from Fiji, Ireland, Australia, India, Slovenia, Brazil, the Netherlands, Canada, Sweden, Nigeria, Italy, Taiwan, Germany, Spain, and the United States. The agenda is organized around six research tracks:Governance, including governance and AIOpen source hardwareSustainability and business modelsBehavioural change and adoptionOpen science and research infrastructurePublic procurement ecosystemThe event will also feature keynote sessions, dedicated discussions on advancing the shared OTR research agenda, and the presentation of the Basil Cousins Award for an emerging researcher. Preliminary agendaMonday, 26 October09:30Governance Before Technology: Lessons from Integrate Pasifika for Open Knowledge Infrastructure and Digital Sovereignty in the Pacific–Koto Qalo09:50How Open Should We Go? A Decision Framework for Open Sourcing, InnerSourcing, or Closing Public Sector Code–Clare Dillon11:00Tech Sovereignty, Digital Public Infrastructure, and Open Source AI Models: Bringing the Pieces Together–Marco Germanò11:30Digital Commons as Civic Infrastructure: Governance Frameworks for Open Source AI and Public Accountability–Yigakpoa L. Ikpae12:30Mapping the OSH Manufacturing Landscape: Facilitative Models for Open Source Hardware in Europe and Beyond–Pen Yuan Hsing13:00Extending Digital Sovereignty Beyond Software: The Role of Open Source Hardware–Johan Linåker14:40From Volunteer Heroics to Public Infrastructure: A Talent Pool Model for Funding Disaster Response Open Technology–Rosalind Liu15:00A Multidimensional Assessment Framework for Evaluating the Sustainability of Open Infrastructures–Mohit Garg15:30Building a Method: Challenges and Lessons from Developing an Impact Evaluation Framework for Open Source Software Fundingv –Laia Domenech Burin17:20Political User Experience (PUX): Reimagining User Experience for Digital Participatory Policymaking–Olivier Schulbaum (platoniq)17:50Inside the InnerSource Program Office: An Activity Theory Analysis of How Organizations Enable Open Collaboration at Scale–Clare DillonTuesday, 27 October09:25Reclone: Open Research Infrastructure for Equitable Access to Biotechnology Reagents–Cibele Zolnier11:30From Open Source to Open State: Shifting the Pareto Frontier of Public Procurement–Rithikha Rajamohan12:20The Ecosystem Blueprint: Reframing Vendor Survival Psychology in Digital Procurement–Henry PooleandFarooq ZakhilwalRegistration is free. The complete preliminary agenda, including abstracts and additional speaker information, is available at:https://symposium. opentechresearch. org/The OTR Symposium 2026 is part of Barcelona Open Tech Week, featuring Mozilla Festival, Decidim Fest, 4D Conference, Open Source Policy Summit, and the Global Assembly for Open Source:https://ajuntament. barcelona. cat/innovaciodemocratica/ca/actualitat/barcelona-es-prepara-per-ser-la-capital-mundial-del-codi-obert-40099