Opportunity Information: Apply for 23 556
The National Science Foundation (NSF) Pathways to Enable Open-Source Ecosystems (POSE) program is designed to help promising open-source research outputs grow into durable, self-sustaining open-source ecosystems that can produce real-world, broad societal and national benefits. NSF points out that many NSF-funded efforts already release open, reusable products, not just software but also hardware designs, models, specifications, programming languages, and data platforms. POSE focuses on what happens next: moving beyond a standalone open-source artifact into a coordinated ecosystem with clear leadership, an accountable managing organization, a defined governance model, a distributed development approach, an active contributor community (external intellectual content developers), and a wide user base spanning academia, industry, and government. The central idea is that open-source impact scales more reliably when there is intentional structure around stewardship, contribution pathways, release processes, and community growth, rather than relying on informal or ad hoc volunteer coordination.
A key point in the solicitation is what POSE does and does not fund. It is not a program to build new open-source tools from scratch or to pay primarily for ongoing feature development of an artifact. It also is not meant to subsidize existing, well-resourced open-source communities that already have strong governance and funding. Instead, the program targets the creation of new managing organizations that can catalyze distributed, community-driven development and responsible maintenance. In that sense, POSE is positioned as an alternative translation pathway alongside NSF programs that help convert research into startups (such as I-Corps, PFI, SBIR, and STTR). Where those programs push toward venture formation and commercialization, POSE pushes toward ecosystem formation and long-term open governance and operations that make open-source solutions usable, trustworthy, and sustainable in operational settings.
POSE supports ecosystems across any STEM domain, as long as there is an existing open-source product (or a related class of products) with credible potential for wide adoption and societal impact. NSF emphasizes outcomes like expanding the pool of researchers and innovators participating in open-source ecosystem work, improving coordination of external contributions, and enabling safer and more secure development and maintenance practices so that open-source tools can be confidently adopted in real environments. The program also stresses that managing organizations should build the processes and infrastructure for efficient and secure ongoing work, which commonly includes contribution workflows, release and maintenance practices, governance and decision-making mechanisms, and community onboarding and engagement.
The solicitation offers two proposal tracks, reflecting different stages of readiness. Phase I, called OSE Scoping and Planning, is meant for teams that have an open-source research product with a small external user community, even if they do not yet have a meaningful external contributor base. The purpose of Phase I is to fund structured discovery and planning activities that clarify whether an ecosystem is feasible and how it should be designed. Phase I proposals are expected to describe the current state of the product and articulate the long-term vision and potential impact of an ecosystem built around it. They must also lay out specific scoping activities covering ecosystem discovery, governance and organizational design, approaches for continuous development/integration/deployment, and strategies for building both a user community and a contributor community. The scoping work should help teams answer practical readiness questions: whether the product is suitable to transition into an ecosystem, whether there are early adopters prepared to use it, and whether there is a realistic path to building a distributed developer community that can help maintain and extend the core technology. Phase I awards are capped at $300,000 total and can last up to one year, with a project description limit of 7 pages. NSF notes that Phase I in this solicitation is a specific category and applicants should submit it as a "Research" proposal type (it is not the general NSF "Planning" proposal type referenced elsewhere in NSF policy guidance).
Phase II, called Establishment and Expansion, is aimed at teams whose open-source product already has both external users and some external content developers, and who are ready to formalize and scale into a sustainable ecosystem. Phase II proposals are expected to be built on prior scoping and planning (though not necessarily funded by NSF through a Phase I award). The core goal is to support the transition from a promising open-source tool into a robust ecosystem with community-driven distributed development and deployment into operational environments. Phase II proposals must include a community outreach plan that details how the team will engage and grow the contributor community that will develop and maintain the technology, and they must identify user communities and/or organizations positioned to act as early adopters. Beyond stating the current context and long-term vision, Phase II proposals are expected to provide a cohesive, execution-ready plan for ecosystem establishment and growth, governance and organizational structure, continuous development/integration/deployment practices, evaluation methods to assess ecosystem effectiveness, and concrete activities addressing security and privacy, community building, and long-term sustainability. Phase II awards are capped at $1,500,000 total with durations up to two years, and the project description can be up to 15 pages.
Administratively, POSE is an NSF discretionary grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number 23-556) in the Science and Technology and other Research and Development activity category, listing CFDA numbers 47.041, 47.049, 47.050, 47.070, 47.074, 47.075, 47.076, 47.079, 47.083, 47.084. The opportunity anticipated around 50 awards, with the maximum award ceiling matching the Phase II cap of $1.5 million. Eligibility is listed broadly as "Others" with additional details referenced in the solicitation. The original closing date shown for submissions was September 7, 2023, for both Phase I and Phase II proposals. Finally, NSF makes it explicit that Phase I awardees are not required to submit Phase II later, and Phase II applicants do not need to have received a Phase I award to apply, which keeps the program open to teams that have already done ecosystem planning through other means.Apply for 23 556
- The National Science Foundation in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Pathways to Enable Open-Source Ecosystems" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 47.041, 47.049, 47.050, 47.070, 47.074, 47.075, 47.076, 47.079, 47.083, 47.084.
- This funding opportunity was created on Feb 01, 2023.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Sep 07, 2023 Phase I and Phase II Proposals. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $1,500,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 50 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).
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NSF POSE (Pathways to Enable Open-Source Ecosystems) - FAQs
1) What is the NSF POSE program?
NSF's Pathways to Enable Open-Source Ecosystems (POSE) program helps promising open-source research outputs grow into durable, self-sustaining open-source ecosystems that can deliver real-world, broad societal and national benefits.
2) What does POSE mean by an "open-source ecosystem" (not just an artifact)?
POSE is focused on moving beyond a standalone open-source artifact into a coordinated ecosystem with clear leadership, an accountable managing organization, a defined governance model, distributed development, an active external contributor community (external intellectual content developers), and a wide user base across academia, industry, and government.
3) What kinds of open-source outputs can be the basis for a POSE project?
POSE can support ecosystems built around existing open, reusable products from NSF-funded efforts and related research outputs, including software as well as hardware designs, models, specifications, programming languages, and data platforms.
4) What is the central idea behind POSE funding?
NSF emphasizes that open-source impact scales more reliably when there is intentional structure around stewardship, contribution pathways, release processes, and community growth, rather than relying on informal or ad hoc volunteer coordination.
5) What does POSE fund (in general terms)?
POSE funds the creation and structuring of a managing organization and the processes and infrastructure needed to enable community-driven, distributed development and responsible maintenance. This commonly includes contribution workflows, release and maintenance practices, governance and decision-making mechanisms, and community onboarding and engagement.
6) What does POSE specifically NOT fund?
POSE is not intended to build new open-source tools from scratch, and it is not meant to primarily pay for ongoing feature development of an existing artifact. It also is not meant to subsidize existing, well-resourced open-source communities that already have strong governance and funding.
7) How is POSE different from NSF programs focused on startups and commercialization?
POSE is positioned as an alternative translation pathway alongside NSF programs that support venture formation and commercialization (such as I-Corps, PFI, SBIR, and STTR). Instead of pushing toward startup creation, POSE pushes toward ecosystem formation with long-term open governance and operations so open-source solutions are usable, trustworthy, and sustainable in operational settings.
8) Are there domain restrictions for POSE proposals?
POSE supports ecosystems across any STEM domain, as long as there is an existing open-source product (or related class of products) with credible potential for wide adoption and societal impact.
9) What outcomes is NSF emphasizing for POSE?
NSF emphasizes outcomes such as expanding the pool of researchers and innovators participating in open-source ecosystem work, improving coordination of external contributions, and enabling safer and more secure development and maintenance practices so open-source tools can be confidently adopted in real environments.
10) What proposal tracks (phases) are available under POSE?
The solicitation offers two proposal tracks: Phase I (OSE Scoping and Planning) and Phase II (Establishment and Expansion). Each phase aligns to a different stage of ecosystem readiness.
11) What is Phase I (OSE Scoping and Planning) designed for?
Phase I is meant for teams with an open-source research product that already has a small external user community, even if the project does not yet have a meaningful external contributor base. Phase I supports structured discovery and planning to determine whether an ecosystem is feasible and how it should be designed.
12) What should Phase I proposals describe about the current project?
Phase I proposals are expected to describe the current state of the open-source product and articulate a long-term vision and the potential impact of an ecosystem built around it.
13) What specific scoping activities are expected in Phase I?
Phase I proposals must lay out scoping activities covering ecosystem discovery, governance and organizational design, approaches for continuous development/integration/deployment, and strategies for building both a user community and a contributor community.
14) What kinds of readiness questions should Phase I help answer?
The scoping work should help teams determine whether the product is suitable to transition into an ecosystem, whether early adopters are prepared to use it, and whether there is a realistic path to building a distributed developer community to help maintain and extend the core technology.
15) What are the funding and duration limits for Phase I?
Phase I awards are capped at $300,000 total and can last up to one year.
16) What is the project description page limit for Phase I?
The Phase I project description is limited to 7 pages.
17) What NSF proposal type should Phase I be submitted as?
NSF notes that Phase I proposals in this solicitation should be submitted as a "Research" proposal type. It is not the general NSF "Planning" proposal type referenced elsewhere in NSF policy guidance.
18) What is Phase II (Establishment and Expansion) designed for?
Phase II is aimed at teams whose open-source product already has both external users and some external content developers, and who are ready to formalize and scale into a sustainable ecosystem.
19) Does Phase II require prior Phase I funding from NSF?
No. Phase II proposals are expected to be built on prior scoping and planning, but this planning does not need to have been funded by NSF through a Phase I award.
20) What is the core goal of Phase II?
Phase II supports the transition from a promising open-source tool into a robust ecosystem with community-driven distributed development and deployment into operational environments.
21) What community elements must Phase II proposals include?
Phase II proposals must include a community outreach plan describing how the team will engage and grow the contributor community that will develop and maintain the technology. They must also identify user communities and/or organizations positioned to act as early adopters.
22) What plan and operational components are expected in Phase II?
Beyond the current context and long-term vision, Phase II proposals are expected to provide an execution-ready plan for ecosystem establishment and growth, governance and organizational structure, continuous development/integration/deployment practices, evaluation methods to assess ecosystem effectiveness, and concrete activities addressing security and privacy, community building, and long-term sustainability.
23) What are the funding and duration limits for Phase II?
Phase II awards are capped at $1,500,000 total with durations up to two years.
24) What is the project description page limit for Phase II?
The Phase II project description can be up to 15 pages.
25) How many awards does NSF anticipate making under this solicitation?
NSF anticipated around 50 awards.
26) What is the maximum award ceiling listed for this opportunity?
The maximum award ceiling aligns with the Phase II cap: $1.5 million.
27) What is the Funding Opportunity Number for this POSE solicitation?
The Funding Opportunity Number is 23-556.
28) What activity category is listed for this NSF opportunity?
The opportunity is listed under the Science and Technology and other Research and Development activity category.
29) Which CFDA numbers are associated with this POSE opportunity?
The solicitation lists CFDA numbers 47.041, 47.049, 47.050, 47.070, 47.074, 47.075, 47.076, 47.079, 47.083, 47.084.
30) Who is eligible to apply based on the information provided?
Eligibility is listed broadly as "Others," with additional details referenced in the solicitation.
31) What was the submission closing date shown for this opportunity?
The original closing date shown for submissions was September 7, 2023, for both Phase I and Phase II proposals.
32) Are Phase I awardees required to apply for Phase II later?
No. NSF explicitly states that Phase I awardees are not required to submit a Phase II proposal.
33) Can teams apply directly to Phase II without receiving a Phase I award?
Yes. NSF explicitly states that Phase II applicants do not need to have received a Phase I award to apply.
34) What types of communities does POSE expect ecosystems to serve?
POSE describes a target user base spanning academia, industry, and government, supported by an active external contributor community and an organized approach to distributed development.
35) Why does POSE emphasize security, privacy, and safer maintenance practices?
NSF stresses enabling safer and more secure development and maintenance practices so open-source tools can be confidently adopted in real and operational environments, including attention to security and privacy as part of the ecosystem's ongoing practices.
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