The US National Science Foundation announced an investment of up to $40 million through a new initiative to secure and sustain the digital infrastructure that powers research and innovation. The program, titled Pathways to Enable Secure Open-Source Ecosystems, or NSF PESOSE, aims to transition early-stage research results into secure, dependable, and scalable technologies. By funding these ecosystems, the agency hopes to help transform promising open-source tools and technologies into widely used resources that contribute to national security and economic competitiveness.

Open-source software is ubiquitous across the scientific community, supporting artificial intelligence applications, data science workflows, cloud computing architecture, telecommunications, and specialized research tools. Despite these widespread benefits, the number of active open-source developers remains relatively small. Many critical projects lack the resources required for routine maintenance, which can slow innovation and limit long-term sustainability. Vulnerabilities within software programs, including security flaws, supply chain risks, and insider threats, can also affect many interconnected systems and organizations that depend on them.

Addressing vulnerabilities in open-source ecosystems

The new initiative focuses on building robust managing organizations that can facilitate the creation and long-term growth of secure, sustainable ecosystems around existing open-source products and technologies. Rather than funding entirely new tools from scratch, the investment targets open-source products, software, hardware, data platforms, and other technologies that have already demonstrated significant potential for broader adoption and impact.

"Building on the success of prior NSF programs in this space, the NSF PESOSE initiative will double down on our commitment to accelerate technology to the market," said Erwin Gianchandani, PhD, NSF assistant director for technology, innovation, and partnerships. "By investing in the growth of secure open-source ecosystems that will spark further innovation and impact, we will enable another translational pathway for the outputs of basic science."

A multi-tiered framework for software sustainability

To address these challenges systematically, the agency has organized the funding opportunity into three distinct tracks:

• Track one helps managing organizations scope and plan the initial establishment of a secure ecosystem
• Track two focuses on establishing and expanding a sustainable ecosystem based on a robust product that meets emergent societal or national needs
• Track three funds direct enhancements to the security, privacy, and resilience of existing ecosystems by addressing potential vulnerabilities

By investing in security and sustainability, the program aims to strengthen the open-source infrastructure that supports scientific research, technology development, and other critical activities.

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Why lab managers should pay attention

For lab managers, the announcement highlights the growing importance of software governance, sustainability, and cybersecurity within research operations. Many laboratories depend on open-source software for data analysis, computational workflows, and other digital processes, making the health of these software ecosystems an increasingly important consideration.

Security vulnerabilities in widely used software can create operational and cybersecurity risks for organizations that depend on those tools. At the same time, projects that lack adequate maintenance and governance resources may struggle to keep pace with evolving user needs and security requirements.

The NSF initiative underscores the value of evaluating not only a software tool's technical capabilities, but also the strength of the ecosystem supporting it. Factors such as community engagement, governance structures, long-term maintenance plans, and security practices can influence the reliability and sustainability of software resources used throughout the laboratory.

As laboratories continue to expand their reliance on digital tools and data-intensive workflows, secure and sustainable open-source ecosystems will play an increasingly important role in supporting research productivity and operational resilience.

This article was created with the assistance of Generative AI and has undergone editorial review before publishing.