F1000Research (Jan 2021)
An environment for sustainable research software in Germany and beyond: current state, open challenges, and call for action [version 2; peer review: 2 approved]
- Hartwig Anzt,
- Felix Bach,
- Stephan Druskat,
- Frank Löffler,
- Axel Loewe,
- Bernhard Y. Renard,
- Gunnar Seemann,
- Alexander Struck,
- Elke Achhammer,
- Piush Aggarwal,
- Franziska Appel,
- Michael Bader,
- Lutz Brusch,
- Christian Busse,
- Gerasimos Chourdakis,
- Piotr Wojciech Dabrowski,
- Peter Ebert,
- Bernd Flemisch,
- Sven Friedl,
- Bernadette Fritzsch,
- Maximilian D. Funk,
- Volker Gast,
- Florian Goth,
- Jean-Noël Grad,
- Jan Hegewald,
- Sibylle Hermann,
- Florian Hohmann,
- Stephan Janosch,
- Dominik Kutra,
- Jan Linxweiler,
- Thilo Muth,
- Wolfgang Peters-Kottig,
- Fabian Rack,
- Fabian H.C. Raters,
- Stephan Rave,
- Guido Reina,
- Malte Reißig,
- Timo Ropinski,
- Joerg Schaarschmidt,
- Heidi Seibold,
- Jan P. Thiele,
- Benjamin Uekermann,
- Stefan Unger,
- Rudolf Weeber
Affiliations
- Hartwig Anzt
- Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Karlsruhe, Germany
- Felix Bach
- Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Karlsruhe, Germany
- Stephan Druskat
- German Aerospace Center (DLR), Berlin, Germany
- Frank Löffler
- Friedrich Schiller University, Jena, Germany
- Axel Loewe
- Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Karlsruhe, Germany
- Bernhard Y. Renard
- Hasso Plattner Institute, Digital Engineering Faculty, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
- Gunnar Seemann
- University Heart Centre Freiburg Bad Krozingen, Freiburg, Germany
- Alexander Struck
- Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Elke Achhammer
- Technische Universität München, München, Germany
- Piush Aggarwal
- Universität Duisburg-Essen, Duisburg, Germany
- Franziska Appel
- Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Transition Economies (IAMO), Halle (Saale), Germany
- Michael Bader
- Technische Universität München, München, Germany
- Lutz Brusch
- Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
- Christian Busse
- Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, Heidelberg, Germany
- Gerasimos Chourdakis
- Technische Universität München, München, Germany
- Piotr Wojciech Dabrowski
- Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Peter Ebert
- Saarland Informatics Campus, Saarbrücken, Germany
- Bernd Flemisch
- University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany
- Sven Friedl
- Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany
- Bernadette Fritzsch
- Alfred Wegener Institute, Bremerhaven, Germany
- Maximilian D. Funk
- Max-Planck-Gesellschaft e.V., München, Germany
- Volker Gast
- Friedrich Schiller University, Jena, Germany
- Florian Goth
- Universität Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
- Jean-Noël Grad
- University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany
- Jan Hegewald
- Alfred Wegener Institute, Bremerhaven, Germany
- Sibylle Hermann
- University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany
- Florian Hohmann
- Universität Bremen, Bremen, Germany
- Stephan Janosch
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany
- Dominik Kutra
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Heidelberg, Germany
- Jan Linxweiler
- Technische Universität Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany
- Thilo Muth
- Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing, Berlin, Germany
- Wolfgang Peters-Kottig
- Konrad-Zuse-Zentrum für Informationstechnik Berlin (ZIB), Berlin, Germany
- Fabian Rack
- FIZ Karlsruhe - Leibniz Institute for Information Infrastructure, Karlsruhe, Germany
- Fabian H.C. Raters
- University of Goettingen, Göttingen, Germany
- Stephan Rave
- University of Münster, Münster, Germany
- Guido Reina
- University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany
- Malte Reißig
- Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies, Potsdam, Germany
- Timo Ropinski
- Ulm University, Ulm, Germany
- Joerg Schaarschmidt
- Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Karlsruhe, Germany
- Heidi Seibold
- Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, München, Germany
- Jan P. Thiele
- Leibniz University Hannover, Hannover, Germany
- Benjamin Uekermann
- Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
- Stefan Unger
- Julius Kühn-Institut (JKI), Quedlinburg, Germany
- Rudolf Weeber
- University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.23224.2
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 9
Abstract
Research software has become a central asset in academic research. It optimizes existing and enables new research methods, implements and embeds research knowledge, and constitutes an essential research product in itself. Research software must be sustainable in order to understand, replicate, reproduce, and build upon existing research or conduct new research effectively. In other words, software must be available, discoverable, usable, and adaptable to new needs, both now and in the future. Research software therefore requires an environment that supports sustainability. Hence, a change is needed in the way research software development and maintenance are currently motivated, incentivized, funded, structurally and infrastructurally supported, and legally treated. Failing to do so will threaten the quality and validity of research. In this paper, we identify challenges for research software sustainability in Germany and beyond, in terms of motivation, selection, research software engineering personnel, funding, infrastructure, and legal aspects. Besides researchers, we specifically address political and academic decision-makers to increase awareness of the importance and needs of sustainable research software practices. In particular, we recommend strategies and measures to create an environment for sustainable research software, with the ultimate goal to ensure that software-driven research is valid, reproducible and sustainable, and that software is recognized as a first class citizen in research. This paper is the outcome of two workshops run in Germany in 2019, at deRSE19 - the first International Conference of Research Software Engineers in Germany - and a dedicated DFG-supported follow-up workshop in Berlin.
