The profitability of digital commons: a point of dialogue between public and private actors for an open and sovereign digital landscape

At Numérique en commun[s] 2025 in Strasbourg, a panel of experts explored a topic too often only indirectly raised: what if digital commons were, in the long run, the most profitable path for everyone? Between case studies and proposed actions, the exchanges were rich and fruitful. The panel was also the occasion to announce the very recent recognition of the EDIC “Digital Commons” by the European Commission, which marks a decisive step between public strategies, European sovereignty and the sustainability of open digital infrastructures. This post recaps the main exchanges captured live by the moderator (with all the limitations of the exercise).

Introduction -​- When Numérique en commun[s] challenges profitability with the commons

In Strasbourg, on 29 October 2025, as part of Numérique en commun[s] -​- the annual flagship event for actors of public innovation and digital commons -​- a panel brought together six European speakers around a bold question: “Why might digital commons be the most cost-effective solution for everyone?”.

Moderated by Benjamin Jean, founder and CEO of inno³, the discussion explored the economic and political drivers of a model long perceived as alternative, but now at the heart of public and private digital strategies.

More than 15 years ago, François Élie reminded us that “a piece of software is free once it has been paid for”. This observation can be picked up and developed today in matters of digital commons. Talking about money and profitability -​- without taboo and without calling into question the central matter of the (shared and durable) value underlying the choice of digital commons.

A few opening remarks helped frame the various interventions:

• such a reflection requires a comprehensive view of the digital commons ecosystem: from the maintainers of the commons to end users, including the public and private actors who use and contribute to these resources.
• The tools we can mobilise can only be found within a European approach -​- since the single market is our preferred playing field -​- but they must be considered against the backdrop of international dynamics, since digital resources do not recognise our physical borders, and the communities that use, contribute to and maintain these resources may be spread all over the world (with externalities flowing in both directions).
• This reflection invites us to go beyond the question of initial development alone, and to think over the long term: if it is about rationalising, then we must think about resource maintenance and community governance, and integrate them -​- pun intended -​- into the “total cost of ownership” (TCO).
• Finally, it must dovetail with other issues that are constraints in terms of cost and models: sovereignty, security, inclusion and competition. The commons are not an end in themselves, but a means -​- a vehicle we can use to reach our shared objectives.

What better occasion than Numérique en commun[s] to address such a question? What better experts than the panel gathered here to share their experiences and visions?

1 -​- Digital commons: definitions tested by usage

Opening the panel, Valérian Guillier, researcher at the Centre Internet et Société (CNRS) and particularly involved in the NGI-Commons project, recalled the founding triptych of the commons: resource, community, governance. Digital commons are defined less by their being free of charge than by their ability to bring together a community of actors around a shared good and open rules of operation. Open Source projects are, for some of them, fully consistent with this definition; others may stray from it (in particular when a single company can decide alone on the evolution of a resource’s roadmap).

For Stéphanie Schaer, interministerial director for digital affairs (DINUM), the commons represent a pragmatic response to budgetary constraints. The commons-based approach makes it possible to correct certain deviations of digital and the internet. At the scale of public administration, these dynamics make it possible to mutualise investment, control spending, and strengthen the coherence of public services.

Audran Le Baron, director of digital affairs for education (DNE), illustrated this principle through the educational ecosystem. Resources produced by and for teachers constitute commons of various forms (teaching resources, software, databases, web applications, etc.). Their collective governance ensures their distribution and adaptation over time and across contexts.

Florian Caringi, vice-president of TOSIT and head of Data & AI Platform at BPCE, stressed the importance of strong governance structures. He emphasised in particular that what is missing today is the political and collective will for a strong European foundation. The OW2 initiative was offered as an example of a pre-existing initiative which, given the means to match its ambitions, could meet such needs.

Zuzanna Warso, director of research at Open Future, recalled a fundamental principle: “Public money must create public value.” A maxim that sums up the philosophy of the Public Money, Public Code movement, and which resonates with the expectations of European institutions.

Tara Tarakiyee, Open Source Technologist at Sovereign Tech Agency (Germany), recalled the importance of thinking about the maintainers of the commons we use, and on which we build our infrastructures and our products.

2 -​- Digital sovereignty: mutualisation as a European lever

The debate quickly broadened to the question of digital sovereignty. Tara Tarakiyee recalled the importance of open standards and interoperability, warning of the invisible costs of proprietary lock-in (vendor lock-in). Public administrations indeed pay dearly for their dependence on a handful of suppliers. Interoperability, grounded in open standards, is the key to a more efficient and less costly digital landscape.

These remarks echoed those of Zuzanna Warso, for whom Europe must now design an industrial policy of digital commons, relying on sustainable funding mechanisms and inter-state coordination.

It was in this context that the news was announced by Stéphanie Schaer -​- and welcomed enthusiastically by the entire room -​- of the official recognition (that very day) by the European Commission of the EDIC “Digital Commons”, an inter-governmental structure aiming to support the building of sovereign and open digital infrastructures. This recognition, the result of more than two years of collective work, marks the first step of a European governance of digital commons. The EDIC will bring together member states and remain open to private co-funding -​- a major step forward towards a shared and inclusive sovereignty. For Stéphanie Schaer, this European endorsement is the signal of a change of scale, the cornerstone of a shared roadmap for digital commons in Europe.

3 -​- From economic profitability to collective value

One of the (unexpected, though predictable) running threads of the panel was the questioning of the very notion of profitability by Valérian Guillier: he reminded the audience that talking about profitability in the public sector is almost a misnomer. What counts is the public value generated. This “public value” comes in the form of resilience, autonomy, knowledge sharing, and so on. Zuzanna Warso reacted by adding that the value of the commons also lies in their democratic dimension: open code, transparency of decisions, citizen participation.

In response, and at the suggestion of the DNE Director, the term efficiency was proposed to address these issues in a public-sector context, stressing that “using public money well is already a way of maximising its profitability”. Economic indicators are therefore necessary for steering public action, even though they are not the only ones.

Returning to the practices of large groups, Florian Caringi nevertheless demonstrated that the total cost of ownership (TCO) of the commons is often lower than that of proprietary solutions, once long-term maintenance is factored in. This calls for long-term thinking, with often unexpected and beneficial opportunities for mutualisation.

The question of value is therefore considered differently depending on the scales involved:

• for the state and local authorities, the commons reduce dependencies and increase sovereignty;
• for businesses, they create a ground for shared and accelerated innovation;
• for citizens, they ensure services that are more reliable, inclusive and interoperable.

4 -​- Funding sustainability: from short-term to maintenance

Everyone agrees on one point: the economic sustainability of the commons remains a challenge and a major issue in the model’s viability.

Tara Tarakiyee recalled the importance of funding maintenance, beyond innovation alone. Open infrastructure is a prerequisite for innovation. If it falls, everything collapses. As such, digital commons must be funded in the same way as innovation.

For Zuzanna Warso, public procurement is a strategic tool: it can structure the market around open standards and interoperable infrastructures. As such, it can be complementary to the establishment of European funds dedicated to the long-term sustainability of Open Source projects.

Florian Caringi stressed cross-sectoral mutualisation: businesses, administrations and communities must share both risks and know-how. TOSIT is, in this respect, a virtuous example of a broader generalisation of approaches supporting the commons and implementing commons-based dynamics.

In this spirit, Audran Le Baron raised the need to work on economic models compatible with the economic stakes of the actors and commercial partners of administrations. Open Source can be a path favourable to greater collaboration between public and private actors, but it must not happen without taking into account the economic concerns -​- and the profitability -​- of these economic partners. To do so, he stressed the importance of internal acculturation: training staff, documenting practices, valuing contribution to open code as a public service mission. It is therefore a transformation of the ecosystem -​- public and private actors alike -​- that is needed to fully operate these dynamics.

5 -​- A governance to be invented

Governance came up many times: whether the governance of the communities gathered around projects (notably Open Source), the public-private collaborations needed for the emergence of an open digital infrastructure relying on both public and private investment, or finally a meta-governance that would make the model itself more efficient.

The announcement by Stéphanie Schaer, Director of DINUM, of the recognition that very day of the EDIC Digital Commons gave concrete substance to all these ambitions. This dynamic of cooperation outlines the contours of a polycentric governance, faithful to the spirit of the commons: open, distributed and rooted in local realities, while being part of a European framework.

Conclusion -​- The European moment of the commons

The panel concluded with a shared finding: digital commons are no longer a utopia for insiders, but a strategic pillar of European public policy. Talking about economic stakes makes it possible to bring together -​- and have an effective dialogue between -​- the public and private sectors committed to an open digital infrastructure.

The road remains long and demanding: operational implementation, funding of maintenance (of organisations, not just of the natural persons that compose them), articulation between national and European levels. But the path is open.