Michael Downey leads the Open Source Ecosystem Enabler (OSEE) team at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the UN's lead international development agency. OSEE is a multi-agency initiative co-led with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to speed countries' progress toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by organizing their efforts around open source policy and ecosystem activity for public service innovation.

Michael’s career in IT and open source spans over decades in the healthcare and financial services industries, as well as the nonprofit world. At UNDP, he helps the Chief Digital Office build a vibrant and active global open source software community for high-impact digital-focused international development. Previously, he led open source projects at the United Nations Foundation and was director of community for OpenMRS, an internationally-focused health IT platform. As a long-time participant in the digital development community, he is excited about UNDP’s unique opportunity to help build a digital society that serves everyone.

He did undergraduate study in electrical and computer engineering, and PhD research on cross-cultural computer supported cooperative work. A long-time supporter and advocate for free and open source software, Michael has also on various open source project & foundation boards, including GNOME, F-Droid, and LibreHealth.