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Copy file name to clipboardExpand all lines: paper.tex
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@@ -221,7 +221,7 @@ \section{Vision}
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However, these nine modules together with assumed weights for each are part of a simple model of an RSE group which provides both a quick overview of an individual group as well as a way to compare groups.
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The nine modules are defined as follows:
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\subsection{Foster a network of RSEs}
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\subsection{Foster a Network of RSEs}
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\label{sec:network}
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One of the core responsibilities of an RSE department is to act as a coordinator of RSE activities within that organization.
For more complex software development projects, a central RSE department can offer individual teaching, either through consultation or by lending out RSEs into projects of research departments.
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In both cases the expert RSEs from the central RSE department can pass on their knowledge precisely adapted to the concrete needs of those that they support.
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\subsection{Create a network of institutional partners}
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\subsection{Create a Network of Institutional Partners}
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\label{sec:partners}
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Within a research institution, a lot of groups or departments touch the topic of research software one way or another.
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In contrast to most other organisations mentioned within this section,
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the requirements on their respective members and members of an RSE group are so similar that organisations might consider focus on one merged RSE \& FDM department.
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\subsection{RSE infrastructure provisioning}
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\subsection{RSE Infrastructure Provisioning}
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\label{sec:infrastructure}
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Although IT infrastructure provisioning is usually the purview of an institution's IT department and/or the computing center,
Once this bilateral collaboration between RSE and IT departments has been established, a stricter policy-based involvement of the RSE department for infrastructure requests is envisioned.
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Overall, by acting as an intermediary for RSE infrastructure related requests, the central RSE department can relieve the IT department and provide decentralized RSEs with the specific support they require.
If software engineering research about research software is conducted at the research institution, an RSE department can serve as a valuable resource and experimentation field to these researchers.
When setting up a new RSE department, it is important to find the best service portfolio composition for the local environment.
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This depends on the demand by scientists at the institution, existing structures and the available funding.
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\section{Realization strategy}
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\section{Realization Strategy}
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\label{sec:realization}
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We propose a realization strategy for a central institutional RSE department.
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We start by listing different possibilities for funding RSE positions at a research institution.
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Following that, we describe a potential transition pathway, starting from existing structures that have grown in research alliances such as collaborative research centers or also in research departments of an institution.
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This is complemented by discussing the opportunity of outsourcing RSE services and the challenging task of identifying and hiring suitable RSE candidates.
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\subsection{Funding possibilities}
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\subsection{Funding Possibilities}
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\label{sec:funding}
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We see four basic options for financing RSE positions, which we will briefly explain below:
% From the side of the funding agencies this can be supported by requiring a digital support strategy from proposals similar to RDM plans.
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% If this strategy/policy is followed institution-wide, we believe that a consistent stream of income can be generated that enhances the bare-level support that is generated by the fixed funding from the central budget.
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\subsection{Transition pathway}
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\subsection{Transition Pathway}
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We present a possible transition pathway from RSEs distributed over an institution and associated purely with research working groups and corresponding projects towards an institutional RSE department.
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After starting with initial measures not necessarily requiring dedicated funding, we discuss the conceptualization phase, followed by the department's foundation, and concluded by measures for promoting its growth.
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\subsubsection{Initial measures}
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\subsubsection{Initial Measures}
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The following measures initialize the two modules presented in \autoref{sec:network} and \autoref{sec:teaching}.
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While dedicated funding certainly is beneficial already for this initialization, it is not mandatory.
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Once the two measures are in place, they can be used to illustrate the need for institutional RSE activities and therefore support funding proposals.
One of the decisions to be made is if the department head is supposed to be part of the department itself or if the department will be headed by a person outside of it.
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Additionally, installing an advisory board can be proposed in the concept, recruiting from the prospective institutional partners.
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\subsubsection{Installation of the department}
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\subsubsection{Installation of the Department}
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Once the concept has been approved by the institution, the RSE department can be installed accordingly.
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The initial staffing depends crucially on the local institutional conditions.
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One promising possibility is to start with two positions. The first one would be an RSE coordinator.
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as this allows to evaluate the potential necessities for other services such as development, infrastructure provisioning and maintenance.
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An extension of the initial service portfolio for a larger target audience requires the acquisition of further funding and installation of further positions, see below.
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\subsubsection{Growth of the department}
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\subsubsection{Growth of the Department}
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\paragraph{Acquisition of further funding}
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The most promising possibilities to acquire further funding seem to be explicitly requesting person-months in externally funded projects and dedicated RSE calls, as discussed in \autoref{sec:funding}.
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It is of particular importance to agree on requirements and handover criteria, including quality assurance and license specifications.
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On top of these drawbacks, there are soft factors, like whether an external company is accepted by scientists.
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\subsection{Staff acquisition/People}
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\subsection{Staff Acquisition/People}
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This leaves us with the question of, assuming we have centralized RSE departments, where do we get the employees?
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Being an RSE should be a career worth aspiring to as any other profession and hence we have to additionally create education structures that generate a pool of people where central RSE departments can be populated from.
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