Get Involved
Help Fix Research Software
Every stakeholder in the research ecosystem has a role to play. Whether you allocate budgets, write grants, maintain software, or make policy—you can help solve this crisis. The 0.1% contribution can be made from the University’s overhead budget, or from the grant itself. This is a bottom-up approach to solve the problem. Waiting for policy changes, while important, may not be enough.
Researchers
Make Your Voice Heard
- Include software sustainability in your grant proposals
- Cite software properly in publications (not just papers about software)
- Advocate for maintenance funding in your community
Take Action
Grant Template
Copy this text for your grant proposals:
"This research depends on open-source tools [list specific software]. To ensure long-term sustainability of these critical research infrastructure components, this project will contribute to sustainable funding models such as the OpenScience Collective."Copy Template
Universities & Institutions
Lead the Change
- Establish or strengthen your Open Source Program Office (OSPO). This is a great opportunity to build a sustainable funding model for open-science maintenance.
- Recognize software contributions in tenure and promotion decisions
- Pilot the OSC model with select departments. The 0.1% contribution can be made from the University’s overhead budget. While non-significant for the University, it is a significant contribution to the software maintainers
Software Maintainers
Prepare for Sustainability
- Track your impact with usage analytics
- Document who uses your software and how
- Connect with other maintainers facing similar challenges
Resources
Impact Tracking
Tools to measure and document your software's research impact
Maintainer Network
Join our community of research software maintainers
Sustainability Planning
Templates for creating long-term sustainability plans
Funding Agencies
Policy Innovation
- Pilot OSC integration in select funding programs
- Require software sustainability plans in grant applications
- Collaborate internationally on sustainable funding standards
Implementation Support
Policy Templates
Ready-to-use policy language for grant programs
Impact Assessment
Methods to measure software sustainability outcomes
Join the Community
Ready to Act?
Choose your level of engagement—every contribution helps build sustainable research infrastructure.