NSF invests nearly $8 million in inaugural cohort of open-source projects

The new Pathways to Enable Open-Source Ecosystems program supports more than 20 Phase I awards to create and grow sustainable high-impact open-source ecosystems

The U.S. National Science Foundation announced the first Pathways to Enable Open-Source Ecosystems, or POSE, program awards to more than 20 Phase I projects. Researchers will create ecosystems for materials science research, renewable energy adoption, natural hazards, health data sciences and informatics, supply chain monitoring, and many other important applications.

Launched by NSF's Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships, or TIP, and supported by all NSF directorates, the POSE program harnesses the power of open-source development for the creation of new technology solutions to problems of societal, economic and technological importance. The POSE program supports managing organizations that will facilitate the creation and growth of sustainable high-impact open-source ecosystems, or OSEs, around already-developed open-source products, many of which are the result of prior NSF-funded research. Each managing organization will establish capabilities critical to the growth of its OSE, including security, privacy, developer and end-user coordination, and efficient technology delivery.

"The POSE program offers researchers a novel pathway for translational impact, and I want to congratulate the first Phase I awardees on their important work," said Barry Johnson, director for NSF's Division of Translational Impacts within TIP. "This program will ensure more secure open-source products, increased coordination of developer contributions and a more focused route to impactful technologies."

The POSE program has two types of awards, Phase I and Phase II. Phase I awards provide up to $300,000 for one year to enable scoping activities that will inform the development of an efficient, safe and secure OSE around the foundational open-source product. Phase II awards provide up to $1.5 million over two years to support the transition of a promising open-source product into a secure, sustainable and impactful OSE. A POSE Phase I award is not required for submission of a Phase II proposal. Proposals for Phase II awards are being accepted through October 21, 2022.

Browse the full list of the first Phase I POSE awards. More information can be found on the POSE program website