Hi, I would like to share my thought about it. Yes, this is the best option to start moving AEC industry as starting massive funding on developing a new platform for industry, that anyone would be interested in. The founding must come from government structures. Many governments issued new requirements to use BIM, however commercial software venders failed the process, unable to provide affordable software to improve BIM workflow in the country. After 10 years trying (at least this is what happens in UK) the best result was only ISO 19650. During this BIM journey between two major crises - financial collapse and COVID we are figured out, that Revit is expensive and poor quality and Autodesk not able to provide solid answer to everything, BIM teams don't know how to work together, all that expensive and complicated. As a result - the use of BIM today is not bringing enough efficiency to construction sites (that means do not cut carbon footprint etc).
Commercial software vendors cannot provide enough transparency how they are spending money they receive from their software users (who were forced, by the way, to purchase BIM software by new government regulations and suppose to be 'legal ticket' into BIM world), their also not able to provide yet advanced systems for construction process control - so we cannot know how efficient they are developing their platforms. The government request to use BIM was dictated by financial crisis, the crisis that showed to all the world, that the world cannot be corrupted and must start counting money instead of constantly counterfeit it. However BIM technology been turned into another machine for money printing.
Of course it is possible just be patient and wait for another 20 years until new tools will be adjusted and construction industry will start to feel lightness, but there is no guarantee that in next 20 years the situation will dramatically change. 30 years gone of active research and development and we are not getting working system yet (but to compare to that huge progress been done in imaginary, communication and firms productions).
Definitely various organisations like national architects and engineers institution, can be involved. Overpriced real estate market, crisis in hospitals, homelessness, climate change - these problems are directly related to construction and BIM technology, and are priorities number one for any government. I can imagine, with the right organisation of financial flow, some membership payment as 20 dollars per year can provide solid funding of Open Source projects around the country and even internationally.
I did hear, that European Union wants to launch new project as restoration of Bauhaus movement in Europe - as New Bauhaus, that would help to fight with economical damage made by lockdowns. Starting conversation in EU parliament about need of development new international open source platform - also can be important. Especially knowing how EU commission do not like monopolies set by IT companies.
