[evanprodromou]

Why not? Don't you think local government has a stake in building the startup ecosystem in the city?

I think there's some serious opportunity for some jurisdiction to pwn Open Source startups with significant tax incentives for Open Source development.

What about tax incentives on salaries for developers who release code under an OSI license? Incentives for "soft" Open Source work like community management? Infrastructure like an accelerator space, business development aid?

Building a market helps, too. Vancouver has made it city policy to put Open Source software on an equal footing with proprietary software.

http://eaves.ca/2009/05/14/vancouver-enters-the-age-of-the-o...

Other governments have chosen to use OSS exclusively.

If there's not yet an established Open Source startup hub (and I think there's not), there's an opportunity for cities around the world to claim that mantle. And that's going to take the contributions of all stakeholders.

[danielharan]

Procurement is definitely an area that should be looked at. Open data too, since it creates opportunities - it's a disgrace that we give Google transit data but locals can't compete.

Cheap, fast internet connections: the city could engage with Ile Sans Fil. Municipal fiber too.

The biggest challenges are not technological. On the political front, I think we're falling far short of what we'd need to compete.

[p90x]

"it's a disgrace that we give Google transit data but locals can't compete"

my city and transit system offers that info to locals if they want to compete.