Call for Experts: Digital Commons EDIC Advisory Board
The Digital Commons EDIC invites Member States, observers, and open source communities to put forward experts for its Advisory Board by 7 September 2026.
Deadline: 7 September 2026
The Digital Commons EDIC invites Member States, observers, and open source communities to put forward experts to serve as members of its Advisory Board. This Call for Experts provides information about the tasks of the Advisory Board, the expert profiles being sought, how nominations may be submitted, and the process of selection and conditions of appointment.
Background
The Digital Commons EDIC is a European consortium that develops, maintains, and scales digital commons: open-source software, open standards, and shared digital infrastructure for public administrations, enterprises, and citizens. Established under the EU Digital Decade programme, we bring together EU Member States to pool resources and invest collectively in open technologies that reduce Europe’s dependency on external providers.
Five founding members (France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands), seven observers, and growing. We launched in December 2025 and are now assembling our founding team in Paris.
The EU Open Source Strategy, as one of the four pillars of the EU Technology Sovereignty Package, places open source at the centre of the EU’s technological sovereignty by promoting European open alternatives to non-EU proprietary solutions in critical domains. The European Commission reaffirms the objective to support the uptake of open source alternatives to proprietary solutions together with Member States and the Digital Commons EDIC: cloud, workplace tools, secure e-mail, and decentralised social media. As part of the actions to achieve this ambition, an Advisory Board will be established to advise the Assembly of Members. This is a rare chance to help shape a brand new international organisation from its earliest months.
Tasks of the Digital Commons EDIC Advisory Board
In its capacity as an advisory body to the Digital Commons EDIC, the Advisory Board shall have the following tasks:
- To assist the Assembly of Members in the preparation of strategic initiatives by providing solicited and unsolicited advice, such as orientations, recommendations and expert opinions on initiatives, as well as answering questions. The Assembly of Members may consult the Advisory Board on any matter relating to digital commons.
- Supporting the development of strategies and objectives for the Digital Commons EDIC’s participation in European and international initiatives with a primary focus or significant impact on digital commons and open source.
- To work closely with the DC-EDIC community network, as mentioned in Article 18 of the Statutes of the DC-EDIC.
Operations of the Digital Commons Advisory Board
The Advisory Board shall normally meet 2 to 3 times each year. Meetings will in principle be held virtually, with at least one in-person meeting per year, in Paris or another location as determined by Digital Commons EDIC. The working language will be English.
Who can be nominated
The Advisory Board will be composed of up to 10 experts, who collectively represent a broad and multidisciplinary range of technical knowledge, skills and experience relevant to the work of the Digital Commons EDIC.
The Digital Commons EDIC welcomes expressions of interest from applicants with expertise or background in or across the following disciplines, but not limited to:
- Technical infrastructure / architecture
- Legal and regulatory expertise, including open source licensing and digital governance
- Digital policy and strategy
- Standardization
- Product / user experience and accessibility
- Investing in and financing of digital commons, including sustainability models
Given that the objective of DC-EDIC is to strengthen digital sovereignty and interoperability, it is critical that members of the Advisory Board have a good understanding of the European framework and relevant technical standards.
The Advisory Board will be composed of experts from:
- Open source communities
- Civil society
- Public Administration
- Academia
- Private sector
Priority will be given to experts from digital commons umbrella organizations and/or companies whose business model is based on digital commons and that have demonstrated expertise and knowledge of sustainable digital commons business models.
The Digital Commons EDIC will review nominations and select the members of the Advisory Board, taking into account expertise, diverse multidisciplinary and multistakeholder representation, geographical and gender balance, in accordance with its Statutes and the Advisory Board Terms of Reference.
Submitting a nomination
Member States, observers, and open source communities are invited to submit nominations by 7 September 2026 to HR@digital-commons-edic.eu using the subject line Nomination for the Advisory Board.
Nominations should include:
- A cover letter, indicating the candidate’s motivation to apply and satisfaction of the selection criteria.
- The candidate’s curriculum vitae.
- A short indication of the nominating Member State, observer or open source community.
Experts may also submit an expression of interest directly, provided that it is accompanied by a letter of support from a relevant Member State, observer, or open source community.
Letters of support from such entities are an asset for all candidates. After submission, the nomination will be reviewed by the Digital Commons EDIC.
Selection process and conditions of appointment
Upon proposal of the Director of the Digital Commons EDIC, the Assembly of Members of the Digital Commons EDIC appoints the members of the Advisory Board for two years, renewable, in line with Article 13 of its Statutes.
The members of the Advisory Board are legally bound to uphold professional secrecy, which prohibits disclosing confidential information even after their duties cease. This obligation is reinforced by security rules under Commission Decision (EU, Euratom) 2015/444 and Commission Decision (EU, Euratom) 2015/443.
Candidates must declare any professional or financial interest that could conflict, or appear to conflict, with their role. Where a conflict arises on a specific matter, the member concerned will inform the Chair and abstain from the related discussion and recommendation.
Travel and subsistence expenses, in line with the Digital Europe Programme financial regulations, will be covered by the DC-EDIC.
Members of the Advisory Board shall in principle not be remunerated. However, the Assembly of Members of the DC-EDIC may decide to approve the provision of an expert fee, in line with the standard fee for independent experts working with the European institutions.
The Digital Commons EDIC may publish the names and a short biography of the selected members of the Advisory Board on its website.
If you have any questions about this Call for Experts, please write to HR@digital-commons-edic.eu well before the applicable deadline.
Timeframe
| What | Who | When |
|---|---|---|
| Approval of vacancy text and timeframe | Assembly of Members | 19 June 2026 |
| Opening of vacancy for nominations | DC-EDIC | 1 July 2026 |
| Closing of vacancy | DC-EDIC | 7 September 2026 |
| Appointment of Advisory Board members | Assembly of Members | November 2026 |