Open Research Software

With the advancing digitization of research and teaching, the number of software solutions created at scientific institutions and used to gain scientific knowledge is increasing. For the traceability and reproducibility of scientific results, the referencing and accessibility of the software used or developed is essential. In many cases, the simultaneous provision of corresponding software is also of great importance for the traceability of data analyses and for the subsequent use of research data. These challenges are addressed by the Helmholtz Open Science Office under the heading of Open Research Software.

With the launch of the Software Services Cluster of the Helmholtz Federated IT Services (HIFIS) platform within the Helmholtz Incubator Information and Data Science in 2019, the goal is to create a powerful IT service platform that connects knowledge from all Helmholtz centers. Both the working group and the HIFIS platform are dedicated to the sustainable use of research software in the Helmholtz Association, which is documented by a high overlap of personnel among the stakeholders.

In order to further advance the topic in Helmholtz in a coordinated manner, the Task Group Research Software and the Software Services Platform of HIFIS have formed the Forum Research Software in the Helmholtz Association since 2020, which is supervised by the Helmholtz Open Science Office.

The UFZ RSE Knowledge Base provides a brief introduction to all topics that a research software engineer (RSE) may encounter in everyday life at the UFZ while working on research software. The RSE community at the UFZ also networks via Mattermost and GitLab.