Do you ever think about soft skills when you think about software? It might not be the first thing that comes to mind. Yet software that's shared, reused, and improved by a community is far more likely to have a lasting impact on science than code that never leaves your editor. Functionality matters, but if you want it to last, you must allow it to live.
To provide for that, the eScience Center, in collaboration with Open Science NL, is running the research software sustainability programme, which aims to improve the sustainability of existing research software through investments in quality and adoption. The programme consists of two tracks: a project track, in which we run two rounds of calls where we'll collaborate with applicants to improve the quality and adoption of their research software; and a fellowship track, in which we support three rounds of fellows to become ambassadors of research software sustainability in their own communities. In both tracks, communities play a central role: incentivizing collaboration, coordinating efforts, providing training and mentoring, ensuring continuity, setting standards for interoperability, hosting software, and so forth.
In this session you'll get an overview of the programme and discover how software quality and adoption go hand in hand. You'll hear about the approach we take to address challenges in both aspects, including the proposal development workshops we've designed to connect applicants with the wider research community. If this resonates, you'll find out how you can get involved.