Develop advocacy plan to reimagine public software contributions as high-quality research products

[dr-eric-jensen]

Potential Activity Scope
Create a strategic advocacy plan aimed at reframing contributions to public software as vital scientific contributions, akin to traditional research outputs. The plan would promote acknowledgement that building top-notch public software is itself a high-value form of science, involving both discovery and creation. To articulate this perspective, the plan would seek to amplify existing efforts to build a taxonomy of such contributions, clarifying their nature, value, and significance.

A key aspect of the advocacy is encouraging individuals to claim, talk about, and take pride in their public software contributions. This involves fostering a culture of recognition, celebration, and professionalism around software development within the scientific community.

Providing a roadmap for collaboration with publishers plays a crucial role in this advocacy plan. By working with publishers to highlight public software contributions and the people behind them, the plan aims to enhance visibility, credibility, and impact. This may involve special features, awards, or platforms dedicated to software contributions.

This advocacy task extends to various levels and stakeholders within the academic community, including deans, faculty, science societies, review panels, and funders. Through targeted materials, webinars, ambassadors, and other means, the plan seeks to educate, persuade, and mobilize these stakeholders to explicitly recognize and support public software contributions as legitimate and valuable research.

Cross-disciplinary collaboration with respected groups, such as national academies, can further amplify the advocacy, lending authority, and breadth to the message. By engaging diverse voices and perspectives, the plan aims to build a broad-based consensus and momentum around the issue.

In essence, this advocacy plan represents a strategic and multifaceted effort to redefine the way public software contributions are perceived, valued, and supported within the scientific community. It seeks to bridge the gap between traditional research paradigms and the evolving landscape of technology-enabled discovery and innovation. By doing so, it contributes to a more inclusive, dynamic, and impactful research ecosystem.

Potential Objectives
The objectives to deliver the advocacy plan could include:

• To develop a comprehensive understanding of the current perception, status, and challenges related to public software contributions within the scientific community.
• To create a clear and compelling narrative that reframes public software contributions as vital scientific contributions.
• To amplify existing efforts to build a taxonomy of public software contributions, working with experts, practitioners, and stakeholders to clarify their nature, value, and significance.
• To foster a culture of recognition, celebration, and professionalism around public software contributions, and encouraging individuals to claim, talk about, and take pride in their work.
• To establish a roadmap for collaboration with publishers, identifying opportunities and strategies to recognize/highlight software contributions and the people behind them.
• To engage with various levels and stakeholders within the academic community, including deans, faculty, science societies, review panels, and funders to educate, persuade, and mobilize.
• To facilitate cross-disciplinary collaboration with respected groups, such as national academies, to lend authority and breadth to the advocacy plan (and involve a range of stakeholders in its delivery), building a broad-based consensus and momentum.
• To monitor, evaluate, and adapt the advocacy plan continuously, ensuring that it remains relevant, effective, and responsive to changes, feedback, and emerging opportunities.

Targeted Impacts

• To help to change the perception, valuation, and support of public software contributions within the scientific community, aligning them with the principles and practices of discovery, creation, and innovation.
• To empower individuals who contribute to public software to recognize, articulate, and leverage their work as valuable scientific contributions, enhancing their visibility, credibility, and impact.
• To influence policies, standards, and cultures within academic institutions, publishers, professional organizations, and funding agencies.
• To enhance collaboration, networking, and engagement within the scientific community, by promoting and facilitating diverse ways of contributing to public software, bridging disciplines, domains, and perspectives.
• To contribute to the broader movement towards open science, technology-enabled research, and community engagement, by championing a more dynamic, adaptive, and impactful approach to software contributions.
• To create a lasting legacy and resource that continues to inspire, guide, and support public software contributions, shaping the future of scientific research and collaboration.
• By achieving these objectives and realizing these impacts, the strategic advocacy plan can play a role in redefining and enriching the scientific community's relationship with public software contributions.

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This potential activity was curated as part of "Charting the Course: Policy and Planning for Sustainable Research Software," a Sloan Foundation-funded project within URSSI dedicated to supporting the future of research software through evidence-informed policy work (Project contacts are: @danielskatz and @dr-eric-jensen). If you are interested in working on this, please add a comment.