Building capacity through travel bursaries that enable under-represented groups to attend the nf-core hackathon and Nextflow Summit

Christopher Hakkaart

Funding Area: Capacity building / Construcción de capacidad

Problem Statement: The Nextflow Summit and nf-core hackathon are the key community events for the Nextflow and nf-core community. In October 2022, they were successfully held together as a hybrid event, in Barcelona and online. Thanks to funding from our Chan Zuckerberg Initiative “Essential Open Source Software for Science” (CZI EOSS) grants, we were able to support a small number of community members to attend the nf-core hackathon and present their work at the Nextflow summit. The CZI funding has now expired and no new rounds are open for application. We strive to make nf-core and Nextflow events accessible to the whole community. We aim to bypass traditional barriers to attendance such as travel-associated costs and visa requirements by making events hybrid and accessible online. However, attending these events in person and benefitting from the networking that takes place at such gatherings is a much more rewarding experience. We receive numerous requests for financial support to attend in person, but without any dedicated funding, we are unable to support these community members. In-person attendance at these events is predominantly dominated by individuals in Europe and North America. As the community grows, we continue to prioritize diversity and are motivated to promote inclusion. Accordingly, we intend to increase support for members from outside of the main geographical areas that experience greater costs and do not have access to the same financial support.

Proposed Activities: We propose a travel bursary program to support community members attend the 2023/2024 nf-core hackathons and Nextflow Summits, being held in Barcelona and Boston, in person. We would specifically like to continue supporting the participation of women, LGBTQ+, underrepresented minority groups, and those from low and middle-income economies (LMIEs). A pool of $12,500 USD will be available each year for bursaries. Each year, the funds will be split into a maximum of ten bursaries to attend either the Barcelona or Boston nf-core hackathon and Nextflow Summit in person. Community members will apply for the bursaries during an application window. The application will include the applicant’s CV and will outline their motivation to attend the events in person, their estimated costs, other funding opportunities, and an abstract they intend to present. The Seqera Labs developer advocate team will review submissions and allocate bursaries to applicants. Selection of community members that have shown a strong community potential, are from underrepresented groups, and/or are from low and middle-income economies will be favored. Funds will be allocated based on financial need and access to other funding sources. Bursary recipients will automatically be accepted to present their work at the Nextflow Summit. They will also be encouraged to take leadership roles at the nf-core hackathon (e.g., group leader) where they will be supported by other senior members of the community.

Openness: Open science and open development are at the heart of nf-core hackathon and Nextflow Summit. Projects worked on at the nf-core hackathon, be it nf-core components, pipelines, or tooling, are governed by the MIT license and accessible to all. All community members abide by a code of conduct and discussion happens in the open, via GitHub and Slack. Presenting work at the Nextflow Summit provides maximum exposure for participants. All presentations at the Nextflow Summit (both talks and posters) are also shared online during and after the event. Presenters are encouraged to share their presenter profiles and be available to continue discussions about their work with the community after the event. Nextflow and nf-core events are held virtually or as hybrid events to encourage global participation and break down traditional barriers experienced disporportiantaly by some groups. Despite this, the in-person experience enables attendees to engage and network in ways that we are unable to replicate virtually. The proposed work will ensure representation from different parts of the community that don’t have equitable resources to attend these events in person and ensure a diverse range of ideas and perspectives.

Challenges: Attracting applications from diverse communities with low engagement is challenging. However, we have already received inquiries about bursaries from community members from under-represented groups (e.g., LMIEs) that would be strong applicants, for example, mentees from previous rounds of the Nextflow and nf-core mentorship program. Additionally, the proposed funding may not be enough to enable some community members to attend our events. Depending on the number and strength of applications we will distribute the available funds to support a smaller number of deserving applicants that require more financial support in exceptional circumstances.

Neglectedness: Bursaries for the 2022 nf-core hackathon and Nextflow Summit was funded as a part of a Chan Zuckerberg Initiative EOSS Diversity and Inclusion grant (https://chanzuckerberg.com/eoss/proposals/nextflow-and-nf-core/). At present, there are no open rounds of applications to apply for continued support. We are unaware of other sources of funding that would be able to support our community members.

Success: We strive towards a diverse global community. By supporting community members to attend our events and take leadership roles in the community, we will build capacity in regions outside of the main centers. Supporting community members to engage with these events and the community in person will enable them to develop new skills and networks that would not have been otherwise possible. The success of the program will be measured by the continued diversification of the Nextflow and nf-core community. We hope that bursary recipients will be able to leverage their experience at these events to support others in their own community and become Nextflow and nf-core leaders. We will measure diversity by tracking the growth and engagement of new community members, such as the number of questions asked and answered on the community Slack channels and contributions made to the organization's code base.

Total Budget: 25,000

Affiliations: Seqera Labs

LMIE Carveout: The Nextflow and nf-core communities are highly decentralized and operate in online spaces. Both the nf-core hackathon and Nextflow Summit are hybrid events that can be accessed by everyone, everywhere. However, in-person attendance of these events is extremely beneficial and enables opportunities to spend time with other developers and academic and industry leaders that can’t be replicated online. We will prioritize outreach to minority groups, such as those from LMIEs, when selecting bursary recepients. By enabling more diverse communities at the events we will imrpove the broader Nextflow and nf-core community by strengthening connections and gaining new perspectives that might have otherwise been neglected.

Team Skills: Seqera Labs employs a global team of three dedicated developer advocates who are focused on building the open-source Nextflow / nf-core community. They are passionate about Nextflow and nf-core and organize and oversee community initiatives, including the nf-core hackathon. They are engaged with the community and the global outreach projects designed to attract and engage new members. The developer advocate team is well-equipped to advertise and review applications from community members. Their engagement and awareness of the community will ensure financial support is received by those who will most benefit from the in-person experience.

How Did You Hear About This Call: Word of mouth (e.g. conversations and emails from IOI staff, friends, colleagues, etc.) / Boca a boca (por ejemplo, conversaciones y correos electrónicos del personal del IOI, amigos, colegas, etc.)

Submission Number: 82