Software Sustainability within Research Infrastructures

SURF Offices, Utrecht (NL), March 12–13, 2019

See the report in the DHd-Blog.

The EURISE Network has been formed by the three Social Sciences and Humanities ERICs CESSDA, CLARIN & DARIAH to create an umbrella where research infrastructures meet research software engineers. EURISE stands for European Research Infrastructure Software Engineers Network. EURISE promotes knowledge exchange between experts from different areas of infrastructure development and operation.

As part of this effort the ERICs CESSDA, CLARIN and DARIAH organised a follow-up workshop on March 12/13 2019 in Utrecht. The workshop focussed on various aspects of software sustainability and quality within research infrastructures from different research realms. The workshop on March 12/13 2019 was following up a first workshop on October 9/10 2017 in Berlin which lead to the formation of the EURISE network.

The event provided a platform for sharing experiences and knowledge gathered from working in three infrastructures delivering services to the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. Presentations given by all of the infrastructures showcased the various individual approaches and challenges. Although the different consortia architectures have led to distinct developments, an unsurprising number of similarities remain. The most common one, in a practical sense, was the ongoing and often neglected need to focus on training and knowledge building.

The two days of discussions at the workshop made clear that technical and procedural frameworks are needed as a solid foundation for the operation of research infrastructures. In this regard, the solutions and approaches presented already fulfil most immediate needs. Once they are accepted and in place, the focus must shift to the human aspect of sustainability.

12 March

  • 15:00-15:30 Arrival: Tea & Coffee
  • 15:30-16:00 Welcome: Introduction – Carsten Thiel (CESSDA)
  • 16:00-16:30 CESSDA’s Software Maturity Model – John Shepherdson (CESSDA)
  • 16:30-17:00 CLARIN’s first steps on the long path to software sustainability – Dieter van Uytvanck (CLARIN)
  • 17:00-17:30 Business Models for Digital Research Infrastructures using the Example of DARIAH – Frank Fischer (DARIAH)
  • 18:00-21:00 Dinner: De Utrechter Stadsbrasserie

13 March

  • 09:00-09:15 Coffee break
  • 09:15-09:45 EURISE Technical Reference – Michelle Weidling (SUB Göttingen)
  • 09:45-10:15 Implementing a Service Management System in a Federated Multi-Supply Environment – Yannick Legré (EGI)
  • 10:15-10:45 Infrastructure Security – David Kelsey (UKRI STFC)
  • 10:45-11:00 Coffee break
  • 11:00-11:30 A FAIR Software Route – the Dutch Way – Mustapha Mokrane (DANS) / Carlos Martinez Ortiz (NLeSC)
  • 11:30-12:00 Sustainability beyond guidelines – How our perception of research infrastructures shapes our perception of the sustainability issue? – Andrea Scharnhorst / Francesca Morselli (DANS)
  • 12:00-13:00 Breakout Session: Discussion
  • 13:00-14:00 Lunch
  • 14:00-15:00 Final Discussion and Closing of the Workshop