COVID-19 Maker Response
Download the Impact Report
OSMS and Nation of Makers produced a joint report on the open source maker and manufacturer response to the COVID-19 PPE crisis, Design | Make | Protect. Download your copy now.
The maker response to COVID-19 has been vast and far reaching. Nation of Makers has partnered with Open Source Medical Supplies (OSMS) to capture this moment in time and document the maker response to the pandemic through the Community Impact Survey (CIS).
The CIS builds off of our joint mapping project with Find the Masks. This in-depth survey examined technologies employed, group status, partnerships, and funding sources, among others, which enabled PPE production at a rapid and vast scale.
The initial data is in, and since March 2020, makers around the world have reported more than 48 million units of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and medical supplies made! That’s over 48 million cloth masks, face shields, protective gowns, ear savers, and more.
Data Collection Methods
Data Collection Methods
OSMS held an informal public weekly tally from March to August of 2020, in which it surveyed members of its Facebook group of 72,000 people from across the globe (see example). Data publicly submitted by over 300 response groups was vetted by our staff before being included in this dataset.
OSMS and Nation of Makers (NOM) then teamed up to create and release a Community Impact Survey to more-fully understand the technologies used, activity status of the groups, and partnerships that were built as part of supply production and distribution. We also have incorporated response data from a parallel Fab Foundation survey of its global network of FabLabs. In January 2021, we released a full data analysis in our report, Design | Make | Protect. Sign up to receive the Full Report
Your work has made a difference!
“…it meant the world and literally, in some cases, probably our lives to have this equipment and protective equipment produced and distributed by this army of volunteers. And…I don’t know that we can ever say thank you enough.“
-David Rainosek, MD, Associate Medical Director of St. Vincent Rehabilitation Hospital, Arkansas