SciLifeLab and Data Centre co-host two events: Elevating the importance of research software in Sweden
During the week of September 9-13, 2024, SciLifeLab and the Data Centre co-hosted two events: the EVERSE (European Virtual Institute for Research Software Excellence) Satellite Meeting and the 3rd International Research Software Funders Workshop, in partnership with EVERSE and the Research Software Alliance (ReSA). Both events were critical to elevating the importance of research software in Sweden, particularly in the context of the national guidelines for open science.
The workshop provided a valuable opportunity to learn from infrastructure experts and software funders, guiding future work at SciLifeLab and the Data Centre. It opened with an overview of the organization and the challenges of sustaining research software, highlighting the need for long-term support. Discussions focused on the central role of software engineers in the Data Centre’s products and how these events are raising the profile of research software in Sweden’s open science initiatives. New efforts were also announced, including the launch of monitoring services to help shape policy and engage with local and global research software communities.
Both events placed a strong emphasis on supporting research software, focusing on monitoring, evaluation frameworks, and community-driven approaches.
With over 50 funding organizations and infrastructure providers in attendance, co-hosting the events underscored SciLifeLab and the Data Centre’s commitment to supporting software in the research ecosystem and driving research software discussions in Sweden. The events highlighted the value, impact, and success metrics tied to supporting research software projects, while offering opportunities to connect with cutting-edge tools and infrastructure providers. Additionally, discussions generated roadmaps for supporting research software, confirming the Data Centre’s strategy to engage with the research software community and implement new Open Science and FAIR metrics at national and international levels.
The events also fostered cross-collaboration and team building, allowing SciLifeLab and the Data Centre to work closely with ReSA and EVERSE, while also connecting team members across the organization including Harshita Gupta, Anna Henriksson, Suné Joubert, Joanna Sendecka, Hanna Kultima, Johan Rung, Arnold Kochari, Aishling Cooke, Wojtek Potrzebowski, Parul Tewatia, Jonas Windhager, Natashia Benzian Olsson, Katarina Öjefors Stark. Thank you to all that added to the success of these events.
For more information about ReSA and EVERSE, visit their respective websites:
- Research Software Alliance (ReSA)
- EVERSE (European Virtual Institute for Research Software Excellence)
A group of invited speakers shared details about selected research software:
- Melissa Harison – Europe PMC
- Paolo Manghi – OpenAIRE
- Tim Vines – DataSeer
- Laetitia Bracco – French Open Science Monitor
- Colette Bos – Research Software Directory and the ADORE declaration
- Sean Goggins – Community Health Analytics for Open Source Software (CHAOSS)
Key talks included Fotis E. Psomopoulos on EVERSE, Michelle Barker on ReSA, and Dario Taraborelli from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) Open Science group and his keynote on their work mapping the impact of software in scientific research and their Essential Open Source Software for Science (EOSS) program. Colette Bos also spoke on ADORE, emphasizing how both individuals and organizations can support or sign the Declaration, with SciLifeLab being among its supporters. Evaluation expert Eric Jensen (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) facilitated the Funders Forum Workshop group discussions. These focused on principles for monitoring and evaluation frameworks, strategies for clarifying impact, leveraging the theory of change to plan outcomes, and the development of effective evaluation surveys.
