NSF PESOSE March 2027 deadline
NSF PESOSE funds US teams to plan, grow, or secure open source ecosystems, with awards up to $1,500,000. The next deadline is March 2, 2027.
The NSF Pathways to Enable Secure Open Source Ecosystems program, solicitation NSF 26-506, funds work that turns open source research products into safe, lasting ecosystems. The next full proposal deadline is March 2, 2027, at 5 p.m. in the submitting organization's local time. The solicitation was posted on February 19, 2026.
Track 1 awards are up to $300,000 to scope and plan an open source ecosystem. Track 2 awards are up to $1,500,000 to establish and expand a sustainable ecosystem. Track 3 awards are up to $1,500,000 to improve the safety, security, and privacy of an existing ecosystem. NSF estimates 40 to 60 awards and an anticipated funding amount of $40,000,000, subject to available funds.
Proposals may be submitted by US institutions of higher education, US nonprofits tied to research or education, US based for profit organizations, state and local governments, Tribal Nations, and eligible federal agencies and FFRDCs. University PIs, co PIs, and senior personnel must hold a tenured or tenure track post, a primary research or teaching appointment, or a staff leadership role in an open source program office at a US campus. For other eligible organizations the PI must be an employee who is normally resident in the United States. People whose primary appointment is at a non US organization are not eligible as PI.
Submit a full proposal through Research.gov or Grants.gov. Track 1 and Track 2 awardees must take part in I-Corps for PESOSE unless a Track 2 team already completed that activity as a Track 1 awardee. NSF says it looks for work that can manage an ecosystem with strong governance, distributed development, and a broad user community across academia, industry, and government.