Develop and implement an advocacy campaign to encourage funding agencies to mandate software management/maintenance plans (SMPs)

[dr-eric-jensen]

Potential Activity Scope
The traditional focus on software development, while essential, has often overlooked the equally vital aspect of ongoing maintenance. This has led to a growing recognition of the need to couple the idea of maintenance with development, acknowledging that development without maintenance is not a sustainable practice.

The Role of Funders

Funding agencies play a pivotal role in shaping the priorities, practices, and paradigms of the research community. By requiring software management/maintenance plans (SMPs), funding agencies can send a strong signal that maintenance is not an afterthought but an integral part of the development process. This can foster a culture of responsibility, sustainability, and quality within the research community.

Challenges and Complexities

However, the implementation of SMPs is not without challenges and complexities. One of the key questions that arise is when maintenance should be stopped. Determining the appropriate duration of maintenance requires a nuanced understanding of the software's lifecycle, impact, relevance, and potential. It also involves balancing the needs for innovation, efficiency, and effectiveness.
Another critical issue is how long-term maintenance would be supported, given that grants are by definition time-limited. This raises questions about the mechanisms, models, and metrics for long-term support. It also highlights the need for collaboration, coordination, and creativity among various stakeholders, including researchers, funders, users, and policymakers.

Strategic Considerations

Encouraging funding agencies to require SMPs is not merely a technical or administrative task. It is a strategic and systemic endeavor. It requires a comprehensive approach that considers the technical, organizational, cultural, ethical, and societal dimensions of software management and maintenance.

Potential Objectives

• To engage with funding agencies to understand their perspectives, priorities, and practices related to software management and maintenance.
• To develop a compelling rationale and framework for requiring software management/maintenance plans (SMPs), integrating technical, organizational, cultural, ethical, and societal considerations.
• To identify and address the key challenges and complexities associated with SMPs, including the determination of maintenance duration and the support for long-term maintenance.
• To foster collaboration, coordination, and creativity among various stakeholders, including researchers, funders, users, and policymakers, to ensure the robustness, relevance, responsiveness, and respectfulness of SMPs.
• To align the initiative with the broader goals of open science, responsible innovation, and public value, enhancing its credibility, impact, and sustainability.
• To monitor, evaluate, and adapt the initiative, ensuring its continuous improvement, learning, and growth.

Targeted Impacts

• Funding agencies will recognize and require software management/maintenance as an integral part of the development process, fostering a culture of responsibility, sustainability, and quality within the research community.
• Researchers will gain a nuanced understanding of the lifecycle, impact, relevance, and potential of software, enhancing their capacity for innovation, efficiency, and effectiveness.
• The research community will benefit from robust, relevant, responsive, and respectful SMPs, reflecting diverse perspectives, interests, and values.
• The initiative could contribute to the broader discourse and movement towards responsible, innovative, and inclusive technology, aligning with the values and visions of a dynamic and diverse society.

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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.