PolicyEngine POSE Phase 1

NSF Pathways to Enable Open-Source Ecosystems (POSE) Phase 1 program materials for PolicyEngine.

Program overview

• Program: I-Corps™ for POSE Winter 2026
• Goal: Complete 100 Ecosystem Discovery Interviews
• Duration: ~7 weeks (Kickoff → Finale)

Interview pacing

Milestone	Target interviews
End of Kickoff Week	10
Weekly Session 1	25
Weekly Session 2	40
Weekly Session 3	55
Weekly Session 4	70
Weekly Session 5	85
Finale Presentation	100

Stakeholder types

Interview across all ecosystem segments:

• Users - People who use PolicyEngine directly
• Supporters - Funders, advocates, policy champions
• Contributors - Developers, data contributors, documentation writers
• Competitors - Alternative tools and approaches
• Distributors - Organizations that embed/redistribute PolicyEngine
• Partners - Organizations that integrate with or complement PolicyEngine

Required deliverables

Weekly slide presentations covering:

1. Team - Team members and roles
2. Thesis - OSE thesis statement (AdLib format)
3. Assumptions - 2-3 riskiest assumptions to test through interviews
4. Interview Log - Chronological list with name, role, org, dates, notes link
5. Interview Records - Detailed notes from each interview
6. Ecosystem Map - Visual showing interview coverage across segments
7. Open Source Ecosystem Canvas - Updated weekly based on discovery
8. Ecosystem Segment Profiles - Deep dives into each segment
9. Impact - Impact thesis and metrics
10. Governance - Current and future governance models
11. Sustainability - Funding and operational sustainability
12. Partnerships - Distribution and integration partners
13. Timeline - Milestones during and after POSE grant
14. Team Charter - Shared commitments, roles, agreements

Directory structure

pose/
├── README.md                    # This file
├── materials/                   # Course materials from NovoEd
│   ├── pose-slides-templates.md # Slide template guide
│   └── readings/                # Recommended readings
├── interviews/                  # Interview records
│   ├── log.csv                  # Master interview log
│   └── notes/                   # Individual interview notes
├── presentations/               # Weekly slide decks
│   ├── kickoff/
│   ├── week-1/
│   └── ...
├── canvas/                      # Business Model Canvas iterations
│   └── ecosystem-canvas.md
└── analysis/                    # Synthesized insights
    ├── ecosystem-map.md
    └── segment-profiles/

Tools

• NovoEd - Course materials and submissions
• Innovation Within - Business Model Canvas and interview logging
• Slack - Team communication (POSE Winter 2026 workspace)
• CRM - Teamverse for contact management and interview funnel tracking

Key readings

1. Talking to Humans - Giff Constable & Frank Rimalovski (interview methodology)
2. Value Proposition Design - Osterwalder et al (framing value to ecosystem)
3. The Business of Belonging - David Spinks (community building)

CRM candidates

Top POSE interview candidates from Teamverse:

Contact	Organization	Role	Meetings
Sekhar Paladugu	My Friend Ben	CTO	49
Katie	Code the Dream	CTD Labs	14
Caton Brewster	My Friend Ben	Program Lead	12
Kyle Pomerleau	AEI	Senior Fellow	8
Josh Mejia	My Friend Ben	CEO	21

External advisor: Daniel Feenberg (NBER, TAXSIM creator) - 70 meetings