Proposal for NIBS Innovation 2026

High Integrity Data the Foundation of High Quality AI

Our collaboration responding to the NIBS Request for Topic Abstracts is not about any one product, company, agency, strategy or system, it is “all of the above, with preference for none”. 

There are no technical or political issues with respect to financial data standards, those have been solved. XBRL for financial reporting is already widely implemented by a number of stakeholders engaged in the built environment and aligned with the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) creating an International Digital Ecosystem Architecture (IDEA) that is in place and functioning at scale.

To enable the digital ecosystem that next generation infrastructure requires there is only the issue of consensus, which comes from trust and certainty.

The National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS) is an international source of trust, and a convener of stakeholders that creates certainly.

Good science for the built environment requires data that is accurate, auditable, and interoperable. By engaging with the XBRL taxonomy expansion, Treasury T List modernization, ADCMS alignment, and the AI seed contract pilot, NIBS can enable the certainty of a standards based data foundation that enables trustworthy AI, resilient digital twins, and fairer capital access across the nation’s infrastructure projects.

The 2026 NIBS Innovation Summit in May is an example of NIBS convening stakeholders. A perfect venue to share the collaborations roadmap for leveraging mature data standards like XBRL.

Our presentation with share actions that will accelerate digital construction management systems by enabling the digital ecosystem based on open data standards.

• Modernizing the Treasury List of Acceptable Surety Companies (T-List) to include the surety Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) in XBRL that also enables digital surety bonds should be undertaken, starting with a Request for Comments.

• DOT “application for payment” data as models for how to transition to digital will create a durable public/private digital ecosystem that: (1) delivers high integrity, machine readable data; (2) enables reproducible, auditable AI for infrastructure decisions; and (3) unlocks faster, fairer capital access for public works stakeholders - particularly for small business. 

• Review and Comment period to expand the XBRL taxonomy.

• XBRL Interoperability between federal agencies engaged in the bult environment - DOE, DOT, SBA, NIST, FERC, SEC, Treasury

This initiative aligns with NIBS mission and the Building Innovation summit focus on system of systems alignment.