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What is required to comply with Federal Source Code Policy? [138]

By Office of Science Quality and Integrity

Generally, source code associated with USGS software releases must be made available at minimum for Federal Government-wide reuse. Source code for USGS software releases must include an appropriate open-source license or secured re-use rights; be included in the USGS source code inventory; be accompanied by documentation to facilitate reuse and participation by third parties. [Read more]

To comply with the 2016 Federal Source Code Policy (as described in OMB M-16-21) and USGS FSP requirements, conduct a strategic analysis of mission goals and consider existing open, mixed, and proprietary software solutions free of preconceived preferences prior to starting a new software project. Custom developed code may be considered only if existing solutions do not adequately satisfy USGS needs or the purpose of science and innovation.

With limited exceptions, all source code associated with USGS software releases must be made available at minimum for Federal Government-wide reuse. Source code for USGS software releases must:

  • Include an appropriate open-source license. For contract work, agencies must secure re-use rights sufficient for Federal Government-wide reuse at minimum.
  • Be included in the USGS source code inventory. This requires the source code to be hosted on one of the Bureau-wide source-code repositories and include a code.json snippet.
  • Be accompanied by documentation and other supporting materials sufficient to facilitate reuse and participation by third parties.