If you are involved in research software development you may be concerned about the reproducibility and sustainability of your code. Software preservation is notoriously challenging, and the lack of established methodologies could affect our ability to meet funder requirements on research data sharing and archiving. Fortunately, there is a growing desire to understand the user requirements in this area and to identify ways to develop workflows and guidance.
For example, on 7th March 2018 the Software Sustainability Institute (SSI) ran a Software Deposit and Preservation Policy and Planning Workshop at Jisc’s London offices for the Jisc Research Data Shared Service (RDSS) project pilots. Dr Edward Ransley (Post-Doctoral Research Fellow in the School of Engineering) and James Long (IT Solutions Architect, TIS) represented the University of Plymouth, which is one of the RDSS pilot institutions.
The key findings and outcomes from the workshop have now been published in a draft report. The SSI are looking for feedback from the research software development community, and we would like to take the opportunity to encourage researchers to get involved and help shape the requirements of software preservation. A follow up workshop is planned for Wednesday 11th July in Oxford.
Want to know more about research software preservation?
Check out these resources: