Pose: phase i: scoping opendqm ? An open-source ecosystem for distributed quality management

The National Science Foundation awarded Public Invention $291,848 on August 1, 2026, under the NSF Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships program (CFDA 47.084) to scope an open-source ecosystem for distributed quality management.

The project, conducted in Austin, Texas, through July 31, 2027, addresses quality control and assurance challenges in distributed manufacturing environments where multiple producers collaborate to manufacture complex products. The team will map stakeholder needs across manufacturers, regulators, and other parties; analyze existing quality management tools and their limitations; and develop a taxonomy to guide future ecosystem design. The work includes prototyping models for data exchange, governance structures, and shared validation processes, as well as engaging regulatory bodies to identify compliance barriers and opportunities. The effort supports supply chain resilience, competitive positioning for small manufacturers, and consumer confidence in distributed production systems.

Abstract

Ever since the industrial revolution, the predominant paradigm for manufacturing has been based on ?economies of scale? Through repeatability, mass production and centralized processes. However, in the internet age, new paradigms of production have emerged that distribute the manufacturing of even complex products. Digital fabrication, online collaborative design and now AI-supported technologies are enablers of new production approaches that are based on ?economies of scope? Where lots of different products, rather than the same product over-and-over, can be made profitably. Quality management has not yet adapted to this new digital, distributed reality and now the biggest barrier to the adoption of distributed manufacturing is the challenge of distributed quality management. This pathways to enable open-source ecosystems (pose) project aims to improve quality control and quality assurance for manufacturing in which many people and organizations produce goods in a distributed ecosystem safely and reliably. The project will explore how an open, shared ecosystem could help producers standardize and coordinate testing, documentation, and verification. This effort supports the national interest by supporting resilient supply chains, helping small manufacturers remain competitive, and ensuring products develop under quality oversight. A coordinated approach will also strengthen consumer confidence in distributed manufacturing. The team will map the needs of manufacturers, regulators, and other stakeholders to understand requirements for a shared quality management system. They will analyze existing tools, study where they succeed or fail, and create a taxonomy to guide future development. The project will prototype models for data exchange, governance, and shared validation processes. They will also engage regulatory bodies to understand compliance challenges and opportunities. Findings will determine the readiness for a development effort to build a fully functional open-source quality management ecosystem. Overall, massive numbers of small manufacturers could be positively impacted if the challenge of distributed quality management can be met, which would support new high value jobs everywhere. Such distributed management could ensure consumer, public and environmental safety in the new paradigm of production, where almost anyone can make almost anything almost anywhere. 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 not planned for this award.