Fish and Shark Data
Exploreabout Fish and Shark Data
Software is not recognised as a first-class research output in the same way our journal papers and datasets are. Yet it deserves to be.
Making research software a first-class research output ensures Australia can maximise the value that software represents. Research software infrastructure is software capturing ideas, methods and models that are more broadly accepted and needed to do research. Even though it underpins a range of research areas, it struggles to be maintained. Developers and maintainers of this infrastructure also struggle with career stability and recognition.
Our research software program began with an activity to define a community-validated national agenda for research software. Informed by priorities raised during community validation, we’re now applying that framework to subsequent activities designed to sustain research software.
Sustainable research software:
Best-practice software engineering is also a feature of sustainable software. For more information read about our Shape Research Software project.
With our partners, we are undertaking a range of activities to build areas of infrastructure, guidance, community and advocacy.
Both creators and users of research software infrastructure will benefit from greater stability and continuity. Robust research software infrastructure, providing accepted methods and models used across all areas of research has clear benefits for the economy, environment and society.
The people and institutions who support developers and maintainers of research software infrastructure will benefit from the policy and processes we’re developing to drive and support this culture change in Australia’s research sector.
Our partners for this project are:
This project will result in the following outcomes:
Sustainable research software infrastructure is understood broadly as the combination of maintained code and the stable careers of those maintaining it.
Outcomes include the Research Software Capability in Australia report, which analyses the results of a survey to measure the scale and distribution of software engineering and development capability for Australian research organisations.
It is easy for developers and maintainers to identify what pathways their projects can follow to achieve sustainability.
Outcomes include events and guidance on sustaining research software.
Strong advocacy for the value of research software engineering is achieved through a vibrant, diverse and growing community of research software engineers.
Outcomes include the following:
Maintain research software infrastructure.
Outcomes include:
Additional activities will be developed and will deliver new outcomes over the course of the project.