Pose: phase i: openconstruction: scoping a sustainable open-source ecosystem for the architecture, engineering, and construction community

The National Science Foundation awarded Kent State University $299,996 on August 1, 2026, under the NSF Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships program (CFDA 47.084) to scope and plan a sustainable open-source ecosystem for the architecture, engineering, and construction sector.

The project, titled OpenConstruction, addresses fragmentation of digital assets across the AEC community—including field imagery, design documentation, and engineering workflows—that currently reside in proprietary platforms with inconsistent metadata. The award funds Phase I planning activities to assess stakeholder needs, participation patterns, and contribution incentives for transitioning OpenConstruction into a community-driven open-source ecosystem for organizing and sharing datasets, models, workflows, and educational resources in the AEC domain. The scoping work supports broader digital transformation in infrastructure and construction, workforce development, and translation of research knowledge into practice, with the goal of improving access to reliable engineering knowledge and strengthening the nation's capacity to maintain and improve critical infrastructure.

The assistance type is a Project Grant. Performance takes place in Kent, Ohio, with a period of performance from August 1, 2026, through July 31, 2027.

Abstract

This pathways to enable open-source ecosystems (pose) project focuses on establishing the foundation for a sustainable open-source ecosystem in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) sector. The AEC sector supports the nation?s built environment and infrastructure systems, which are essential to public safety, economic productivity, and community resilience. However, digital assets needed to improve safety, productivity, resilience, and workforce development in this sector, such as field imagery, design documentation, and engineering workflows, remain fragmented across institutions, firms, and proprietary platforms, often with inconsistent metadata and limited contextual information. These conditions make IT difficult to coordinate and share reliable technical knowledge across organizations, slowing the adoption of new technologies, constraining workforce preparation, and weakening the sector?s capacity to deliver and maintain safe, efficient, and resilient infrastructure systems. By planning an open-source ecosystem that enables coordinated discovery and responsible sharing of digital assets across the AEC community, the project lays the groundwork for broader digital transformation in infrastructure and construction, supports workforce upskilling and reskilling, and strengthens the translation of research knowledge into practice. The resulting ecosystem will improve access to reliable engineering knowledge and enhance the nation?s capacity to maintain and improve critical infrastructure systems. This pose project plans the transition of openconstruction into a community-driven open-source ecosystem for organizing and sharing datasets, models, workflows, and educational resources in the AEC domain. The project assesses stakeholder needs, participation patterns, and contribution incentives through structured interviews, workshops, and community engagement activities involving researchers, educators, industry professionals, and public-sector partners. These efforts inform the design of governance structures, contributor onboarding processes, community engagement mechanisms, and technical priorities needed for long-term ecosystem sustainability. The project also identifies policies and reviews procedures to support reliable and accountable resource sharing in safety-critical engineering domains. Anticipated outcomes include a validated ecosystem framework, governance and sustainability models, and a practical roadmap for scaling and sustaining an open-source ecosystem that supports trustworthy knowledge sharing across the AEC community. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.- subawards are planned for this award.