Open Standards

What are Open Standards?

Open Standards serve as cornerstones of effective digital transformation across diverse contexts. At their core, they’re publicly available technical specifications that set clear rules for data formats, interfaces, and protocols. Unlike closed proprietary standards, they emerge from transparent, collaborative processes and remain accessible without steep fees or restrictive licenses.

These standards create essential bridges between different systems, allowing them to share information smoothly despite running on completely different technologies. This interoperability becomes particularly crucial when building Digital Public Infrastructure, where systems from various vendors and time periods must work together to deliver public services effectively.

Key Characteristics of Open Standards

Several defining features mark truly open standards in practice:

1. Transparency - The development process remains visible and accessible to all interested parties, with clearly documented decisions.

2. Collaborative development - Various stakeholders work together through consensus rather than having a single company control the process.

3. Free access - Specifications remain available without prohibitive costs or licensing restrictions.

4. Vendor-neutral - The standard doesn’t tie users to specific technology providers or platforms.

5. Practical implementation - Different groups can build systems using the standard without facing significant barriers.

6. Ongoing stewardship - A recognized organization or community keeps the standard updated as technology changes.

The most effective standards strike a critical balance: stable enough for reliable implementation while remaining flexible enough to adapt as technology evolves.

Real-World Examples of Open Standards

Open Standards power much of our modern digital infrastructure. Here are some of the most impactful examples that enable interoperable systems worldwide:

• TCP/IP - The foundational protocol suite that defines how data is packaged, addressed, transmitted, and received across networks. This open standard literally makes the internet possible.

• HTTP/HTTPS - The backbone of web communication, enabling browsers and servers from any vendor to exchange information securely. Without these standards, web browsing as we know it wouldn’t exist.

• DNS - The Domain Name System translates human-readable domain names into IP addresses, creating a distributed directory service that’s critical to internet navigation.

• JSON - A lightweight, language-independent data interchange format that has become the standard for APIs and web services, enabling systems to share structured data easily.

• XML - Extensible Markup Language provides rules for encoding documents in a format that is both human-readable and machine-readable, facilitating data exchange between disparate systems.

• OpenAPI - Defines a standard, language-agnostic interface for describing RESTful APIs, making it easier to develop, document, and consume web services.

• TLS/SSL - Transport Layer Security provides encrypted communication between web applications and servers, ensuring private information remains secure during transmission.

• OAuth 2.0 - Enables secure delegated access to resources without sharing credentials, forming the backbone of modern API authorization across applications.

• FHIR - Revolutionized healthcare data exchange, making patient information more portable across providers.

• Verifiable Credentials - Enables secure, portable digital credentials that can be verified by any system that supports the standard.

What makes these standards so powerful is how they’ve created vast ecosystems of innovation. When technologies build on open standards, they establish foundations that allow countless applications and services to work together seamlessly, generating value far beyond what any closed system could achieve.

Challenges and Considerations

Despite their benefits, implementing Open Standards comes with recurring challenges:

• Resistance from legacy systems - Older systems with proprietary interfaces often push back against adopting standards.

• Governance balancing act - Balancing inclusive decision-making with efficient progress proves consistently difficult.

• Different interpretations - Even with clear documentation, organizations may implement standards differently, creating connection problems.

• Version management - Standards need to evolve without breaking systems that use older versions.

• Technical expertise gaps - In resource-constrained environments, finding people who understand how to implement standards correctly can be challenging.

Successful standards adoption requires more than technical understanding - it demands change management strategies and stakeholder alignment.

Connection to Other Concepts

Open Standards provide essential foundations for other digital concepts:

• They enable Digital Public Infrastructure by defining how components communicate.

• They enhance Digital Public Goods by clarifying how open-source solutions can connect and interoperate.

• They make meaningful interoperability possible, especially in complex fields like social protection and healthcare.

• They support data sovereignty by establishing how information gets structured, shared, and protected.

Open Standards create the most value when paired with sound governance frameworks and thoughtful data sharing agreements.

Further Resources

• W3C Standards Process - A solid example of open standards development
• IEEE Standards Association - Major organization behind many technical standards
• Digital Public Goods Alliance - Registry including open standards that qualify as digital public goods