Open Research Software Hub: Empowering Innovation and Collaboration
Funding Area: Critical shared infrastructure / Infraestructura compartida critica
Problem Statement: Lack of Accessible Research Software: Many researchers lack access to essential open-source tools for experiments and data analysis. The hub will provide a centralized platform for easy access and collaboration. Reproducibility and Transparency: Research software code transparency is lacking, hindering result reproducibility. The hub promotes open-source practices, encouraging code sharing and transparency. Limited Awareness of Existing Tools: Researchers may not be aware of diverse open-source software. The hub increases awareness, enabling them to utilize suitable solutions effectively. Sustainability and Maintenance: Long-term project sustainability and maintenance challenges exist. The hub supports continuity through collaborative efforts and shared resources. Lack of Collaboration Opportunities: Researchers struggle to find collaboration opportunities. The hub creates a dynamic community for networking, idea exchange, and collaboration. For Whom: Researchers: Access high-quality software, saving time and advancing research goals. Software Developers: Showcase work, collaborate, and gain recognition, fostering a supportive community. Academic and Research Institutions: Improve research software practices, promoting collaboration and transparency. Scientific Community: Benefit from enhanced reproducibility and reliability through open-source adoption and knowledge sharing.
Proposed Activities: Activity 1: Platform Development (6 months): Design and develop a user-friendly online platform for the Open Research Software Hub, ensuring easy accessibility and collaboration among researchers. Resources: Software developers, web designers, cloud hosting services, development tools and frameworks. Expertise/Skills Required: Proficiency in web development, user experience design, cloud computing, and data security. Activity 2: Content Curation and Review (ongoing): Curate and review open-source research software projects for high-quality and relevant content. Resources: Content curators, reviewers, documentation, version control tools. Expertise/Skills Required: Familiarity with research software, version control systems, and software quality assessment. Activity 3: Awareness Campaign (3 months): Conduct an awareness campaign to promote the Open Research Software Hub among researchers and institutions. Resources: Marketing and communications team, advertising materials. Expertise/Skills Required: Marketing, outreach, and content creation. Activity 4: Community Building (2 months): Foster a collaborative community among researchers and developers on the platform. Resources: Community managers, discussion forums, collaboration tools. Expertise/Skills Required: Community management, online facilitation, and networking. Activity 5: Training and Support (4 months): Provide training and support to researchers and developers. Resources: Support staff, technical experts, training materials. Expertise/Skills Required: Strong technical knowledge, communication, and troubleshooting. Activity 6: Monitoring and Evaluation (Ongoing): Continuously monitor and evaluate platform performance and user feedback for improvement. Resources: Data analysts, survey tools. Expertise/Skills Required: Data analysis, feedback interpretation. Activity 7: Sustainability Planning (3 months): Develop a sustainability plan for the long-term viability of the Open Research Software Hub. Resources: Project managers, financial planning, fundraising resources. Expertise/Skills Required: Project management, strategic planning, grant writing.
Openness: Open Infrastructure: An open platform based on open-source technologies, accessible to all researchers and software developers for unrestricted contribution and collaboration. Open Collaboration: Encouraging collective software enhancement and code sharing, fostering an inclusive, supportive community thriving on mutual learning. Open Engagement: An awareness campaign inviting researchers and institutions to adopt open-source practices, promoting transparency and reproducibility. Open Content Curation: Ensuring high-quality, relevant open-source research software, fostering trust and reliability in curated resources. Open Training and Support: Providing openly accessible training materials and support for diverse participants, optimizing platform utilization. Open Monitoring and Evaluation: Transparently assessing platform performance, openly welcoming user feedback for continuous improvement. Engaging Broader Community: An inclusive campaign reaches beyond initial institutions, leveraging diverse channels and networks for participants from various disciplines. Plans for Open Project Output: Sharing openly with academia, including training materials, research findings, and code repositories, promoting transparency and collaborative knowledge sharing. The hub embodies openness, promoting open-source practices, collaboration, and accessibility, benefitting the wider scientific community.
Challenges: Technical Complexity: Developing and maintaining a robust, user-friendly platform might present technical challenges, requiring skilled developers and ongoing updates to ensure seamless operation. User Adoption: Encouraging researchers to actively participate and contribute to the platform may face initial resistance, necessitating effective awareness campaigns to demonstrate its value. Community Building: Building and sustaining an engaged, supportive community requires effort to overcome barriers like time constraints and diverse research interests. Funding and Sustainability: Securing funding for long-term sustainability and growth could be challenging, requiring effective fundraising strategies and partnerships. Platform Security: Maintaining data security and protecting user information will be critical to gaining user trust and preventing potential breaches. Training and Support: Providing adequate training and support to users might require tailored approaches for diverse technical backgrounds. Measuring Impact: Effectively measuring the platform's impact and evaluating success metrics might be complex, requiring careful monitoring and evaluation methodologies. Competing Platforms: Facing competition from existing platforms might pose challenges in establishing the Open Research Software Hub as a preferred choice.
Neglectedness: There are various organizations and funding agencies that support open science initiatives and research infrastructure development. I have previously been funded to attend training and seminars on research and development by my institution and other research foundations. I have also been funded for training on project development workshop by collaboration for entrepreneurial Universities (CEPU)
Success: Platform Adoption and Usage: Tracking the number of active users, registered researchers, and software developers engaging with the platform over time. Content Contributions: Measuring the growth of open-source research software projects hosted on the platform, reflecting increased collaboration and code sharing. User Engagement: Monitoring user interactions, such as comments, discussions, and collaborations, to assess community engagement and knowledge exchange. Platform Performance: Monitoring platform performance metrics, such as uptime, response times, and data availability, to ensure efficient and reliable access. Community Growth: Tracking the number of researchers, institutions, and software developers joining the platform's community, indicating increased awareness and adoption. Research Impact: Assessing the impact of research projects utilizing the platform, measuring their contributions to academic publications and research outputs. Global Reach: Analyzing the geographical distribution of participants to ensure the platform's accessibility beyond its initial target regions. Collaborations Established: Counting the number of successful research collaborations initiated through the platform, indicating increased collaboration opportunities. Openness Indicators: Monitoring the number of open-source software contributions, open-access publications, and openly shared research data facilitated by the platform.
Total Budget: 25,000 USD
Budget File: pdf
Affiliations: Yes.1. Kenya National library Service. 2. Kenya Education Network(KENET). 3.Internet society of Kenya.4 Mount Kenya University
LMIE Carveout: Yes, the Open Research Software Hub project fits within this category as it targets researchers and developers in Kenya, which is a Low- and Middle-Income Economy (LMIE). The project's working locations for the team and organization(s) are in Kenya, specifically in Kiambu County and Nairobi County. The community of users, contributors, and maintainers for the platform will also primarily come from universities and communities across Kenya, which is an LMIE. By focusing on LMIEs like Kenya, the project aligns with the criteria for funding reserved for such regions and aims to promote openness, collaboration, and accessibility in research software development within LMIE communities.
Team Skills: Technical Expertise: Our team consists of skilled software developers, web designers, and data analysts with extensive experience in developing online platforms, open-source technologies, and cloud computing. Research and Academic Background: We have a strong understanding of the research and academic domains, which allows us to curate relevant and high-quality open-source research software projects on the platform. Open-Source Advocacy: We are passionate advocates of open-source practices, promoting transparency and collaboration in the research community. Community Building: Our team has experience in community management and engagement, fostering a supportive and inclusive environment for researchers and developers on the platform. Sustainability Planning: We possess strategic planning and project management expertise, ensuring the project's long-term viability and continuous support.
Submission Number: 173
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