Research and Data Analysis for the Open Source Enablement Compass

Host entity: ODET

Areas of expertise: Knowledge management, research, reporting, Data science, information management, Artificial Intelligence, Information technology and telecommunications

Application deadline: 04/11/2026

Mission and objectives

The United Nations Office for Digital and Emerging Technologies (UN ODET) was established on 1 January 2025, with a mandate to: (a) advise the senior leadership of the United Nations on key trends in technology, so as to guide the strategic approach taken by the Organization on such issues; (b) serve as advocate and focal point for digital cooperation, through engagement with Member States, the technology industry, civil society and other stakeholders; (c) facilitate multi-stakeholder policy dialogue on digital and emerging technologies; (d) strengthen system-wide coordination within and across the United Nations system on digital and emerging technologies; (e) support the follow-up and implementation of the Global Digital Compact (A/RES/79/1 Annex 1).

Through the Under-Secretary-General and Special Envoy for Digital and Emerging Technologies, UN ODET also leads the implementation of the Secretary-General's vision on digital cooperation by working closely with various UN entities and multi-stakeholder groups, facilitating dialogue to accelerate global digital cooperation, seizing on the opportunities that are presented by technology - while mitigating the risks - so that progress towards achieving the Goals by 2030 can be made collectively, as well as carrying out other related duties and responsibilities assigned by the Secretary-General, including follow up actions from the Secretary-General's Roadmap for Digital Cooperation and the report "Our Common Agenda".

Assignment context

As part of its work to advance inclusive and effective digital cooperation, ODET is supporting efforts to strengthen understanding of open-source software adoption in the public sector.

In this context, ODET is seeking Online Volunteers to support research and analysis on open-source software adoption across public administrations and contribute to the development of the Open Source Enablement Compass. The assignment will focus on identifying and analysing Member State initiatives, collecting qualitative and quantitative evidence, and synthesizing findings into comparative analyses, country profiles and actionable insights.

Task description

Under the guidance of the designated ODET focal point, each of the three Online Volunteers will contribute across all three areas of work outlined below: Research and Data Collection, Expert Consultations, and Analysis and Synthesis. Work will be allocated across countries and/or thematic areas to avoid duplication, while all contributions will feed into one common research resource and the development of the Open Source Enablement Compass.


Research and Data Collection

- Research open-source adoption initiatives: Conduct desk research to identify and analyse initiatives, policies, strategies and projects launched by Member States to advance open-source software adoption across public administrations. Each Online Volunteer is expected to research approximately 5-8 Member States and/or relevant initiatives, depending on the availability and complexity of the evidence.

- Design and implement data collection methods: Develop surveys, questionnaires and other structured data collection tools to gather information from Member States on their open-source adoption initiatives, implementation progress, challenges and lessons learned.

- Identify and analyse relevant data sources: Map and leverage relevant public sources, databases, repositories and existing research to collect qualitative and quantitative evidence on open-source software adoption in the public sector.



Expert Consultations

- Conduct expert consultations and interviews: Engage with open-source experts, government officials and public administration leaders to gather information on emerging trends, good practices, policy approaches and implementation experiences. Each Online Volunteer is expected to support approximately 3 consultations/interviews, subject to stakeholder availability.

- Consolidate stakeholder inputs: Organize and synthesize information collected through surveys, consultations and interviews to identify common approaches, implementation challenges, good practices and lessons learned across Member States.



Analysis and Synthesis

- Analyse and synthesize findings: Integrate evidence collected through desk research, data collection and stakeholder consultations to identify relevant trends, policy approaches, implementation experiences, challenges and lessons learned.

- Develop comparative analyses and country profiles: Structure findings to enable comparison of open-source adoption approaches and experiences across Member States and document relevant country-level initiatives and practices. Each Online Volunteer is expected to contribute approximately 3 concise country profiles or equivalent comparative analytical inputs, with country profiles generally expected to be approximately 2 pages each.

- Support the development of the Open Source Enablement Compass: Translate research findings and stakeholder inputs into actionable insights and evidence-based inputs to inform the development of the Compass and support decision-making by Member States.



Deliverable:

One contribution to the updated Open Source Enablement Compass and its supporting research resource/database, including:

- A research and data collection framework on open-source software adoption across Member States.
- Data collection tools, including surveys, questionnaires and interview guides.
- A mapping of relevant Member State initiatives and data sources on open-source software adoption in public administrations.
- A synthesis of research and stakeholder inputs, including comparative analyses and country profiles.
- Consolidated findings and actionable insights to inform the Open Source Enablement Compass.

Each Online Volunteer will contribute to this single consolidated research product.

Skills and experience

- Experience in technology, digital policy, legal or regulatory research and analysis, including comparative research.

- Strong ability to collect, structure, analyse and synthesize qualitative and quantitative information.

- Experience developing research methodologies, datasets, benchmarks or other structured analytical tools.

- Familiarity with emerging technologies, technology governance, digital government or open-source technologies is desirable.

- Experience engaging with policymakers, industry, researchers or other relevant stakeholders is an asset.

- Excellent research, analytical, writing and communication skills.

Full eligibility requirements, conditions of service and application instructions are available on the official UNV platform.