Objectives

Our contribution to the developing science landscape and IT-dependent research is mainly, but not exclusively, in the area of research software development. We want to prepare science for the ever-increasing influence of new technologies and new IT concepts, and help to cope with the challenges of the increasing digitalisation of research as well as exploit the resulting opportunities. To this end, we aim to address the following challenges:

• Ensuring the sustainability and verifiability of research software development as part of research processes;
• Improving the perception of the role of software in research as the foundation of publications and research data, as well as the link between them;
• Opening up of research software as a key building block in Open Science;
• Linking software publications to the scientific reputation system through consistent application of DOIs, referencing, metrics and reviews;
• Supporting the professionalization of software development in research through trainings, and the application of minimally necessary best practices from software engineering;
• Establishing research software engineering as an essential core competence, especially among young scientists, the next generation of researchers;
• Integrating research software engineering with higher-level activities, e.g., in the context of e-Science and e-Infrastructures;
• Facilitating job advertisements and job searches by creating a generic term, as well as increasing the attractiveness of the related occupational field.

Last but not least, we give ourselves a voice, and represent our interests together in order to achieve our goals within the German science landscape.

In order to achieve our objectives, the following activities are already being carried out or are planned:

• Providing a forum for the exchange of computer scientists, software developers, RSEs and scientists developing in and for research;
• Running Software Carpentry (SWC) workshops or workshops that follow the SWC concept;
• Implementing a Fellowship Programme in which ambassadors represent and realise the aims of the German RSE community locally, regionally, nationally and internationally;
• Running an annual research software conference not exclusively covering software engineering and not exclusively addressing RSEs;
• Establishing RSE teams in research institutes, universities and other scientific institutions and organizations;
• Setting up a national center for research software, covering the German research landscape, and embedding it in the e-Science and e-Infrastructure movement