The Statistical Open Source Software (SOSS) Guiding Principles (previously referred to as “The Charter”) were endorsed by the Conference of European Statisticians (CES) at the Seventy-third plenary session in Geneva, Switzerland, 16–18 June 2025.

Open source software is essential for producing official statistics in an open, shareable, and transparent matter.

The principles are intended to guide both the production and adoption of open source software for official statistics.

Open by default

 

Work in the open

 

Improve and give back

 

Think generic building blocks

Test, package and document

 

Choose permissive

 

Promote