An exciting new initiative has been launched to tackle open source and open science challenges with community-driven solutions. The Open Innovation Sprints are being coordinated by NumFOCUS, the Research Software Alliance (ReSA), and Open Source Collective, with support from OpenAIRE and other organizations. The first sprint focuses on Research Software Impact and will run for six to nine months starting from March 2025. During this period, researchers, engineers, designers, and community managers will collaborate to create open-source solutions, comprehensive documentation, and sustainability plans.

Two Focused Tracks

The sprint features two specialized tracks:

• Track 1: Linking Software Packages to Academic Citations & Mentions

Meetings occur every other Friday at 17:00 CET, starting March 7th.

Register for Track 1

• Track 2: Improving Automated Workflows with Extended Software Metadata Meetings occur every other Thursday at 15:00 CET, starting March 13th.

Register for Track 2

For those interested in learning more, there's a general interest call every two weeks, beginning March 11th at 16:00 CET. Register for the general interest call here.

Who Should Participate?

The sprint welcomes a diverse range of participants interested in research software impact, including:

• Researchers and software maintainers

• Developers specializing in Python, R, Julia, and other open-source technologies

• Research Software Engineers

• Data scientists and metadata experts

• Policy makers, funders, and community managers

Sprint Timeline

• March: kick off with team onboarding and project planning

• March - September: active sprint featuring bi-weekly calls, community demos, user interviews

• September: hackathon preparation

• October/November: hackathon event where teams will showcase their minimum viable products and gather community feedback

After completion, a ReSA task force will ensure the continued development of the tools and frameworks created during the sprint.

Expected Outcomes

Participants will begin by conducting thorough problem definitions and landscape analyses to understand the current state of research software impact measurement. From there, teams will develop open-source minimum viable products (MVPs) accompanied by detailed documentation and user guides. To ensure these solutions continue to evolve and serve the community, each track will also create sustainability and governance plans, along with strategic community engagement initiatives. Finally, detailed roadmaps will outline future development paths, ensuring these tools can grow and adapt to the community's needs.

Ready to Make an Impact?

• Register for the track calls, or join the general interest call to learn more

• Share this opportunity with colleagues passionate about open source, open science, and research software metrics

• Keep an eye out for updates on the hackathon and sprint progress reports

Find all the information here.

We need your expertise, vision, and creativity to build a more open, more recognized research software ecosystem.