US-RSE:Sustainability and Community Growth
Abstract
The Executive Director, Sandra Gesing, highlights the mission and strategic direction of the US Research Software Engineer Association (US-RSE), focusing on sustainability, advocacy, and community growth. She emphasizes that US-RSE is a community-driven organization that relies on the dedication of volunteers and close collaboration with its Steering Committee to achieve its goals. The presentation outlines key initiatives to strengthen financial stability through partnerships with RBW Strategy, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Schmidt Sciences, and others, while underscoring the importance of institutional membership for long-term impact. It also showcases US-RSE’s expanding outreach from K-12 education and international partnerships to representation at major conferences and policy discussions with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and U.S. federal agencies. The 2025 strategic plan focuses on sustaining internal growth, operational efficiency, and advocacy to establish research software engineering as a recognized and supported profession across the national research ecosystem.
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https://us-rse.org https://us-rse.org @[email protected] •US-RSE: Sustainability and Community Growth October 8, 2025 Sandra Gesing [email protected]
https://us-rse.org https://us-rse.org @[email protected] A Thriving Community
https://us-rse.org https://us-rse.org @[email protected] 2013
https://us-rse.org https://us-rse.org @[email protected] 2025 RSE Chile
https://us-rse.org https://us-rse.org @[email protected]
https://us-rse.org https://us-rse.org @[email protected] Executive Director – Main Goals •Support US-RSE’s Mission •Financial Sustainability •Advocacy for RSEs •Outreach presenting US-RSE
https://us-rse.org https://us-rse.org @[email protected] Financial Sustainability Work with RBW Strategy •Consultancy on fundraising for non-profit •Analytics of our existing document for fundraising •Working on consistent messaging •Analytics of fundraising landscape •7 leads as result •Wellcome Bourough Fund •AARP application
https://us-rse.org https://us-rse.org @[email protected] Financial Sustainability Work with RBW Strategy •Consultancy on fundraising for non-profit •Analytics of our existing document for fundraising •Working on consistent messaging •Analytics of fundraising landscape •7 leads as result •Wellcome Bourough Fund •AARP application Other funding •Schmidt Sciences with ADSA •Schmidt Sciences for conference •Sloan from December 2025November 2027
https://us-rse.org https://us-rse.org @[email protected] Understanding AI Impact on Research Software Engineering What do we need to do as community to set the stage for our workplace? BoFs at SciPy 25, RSECon25, USRSE’25 Talk at eScience’25 Focus groups at SC25 and HICSS26
https://us-rse.org https://us-rse.org @[email protected] Workshop on Access to Research Software at OECD •Workshop (Sep 8, 2025, Paris/online): Focus on research software in open science •Organised by the OECD Committee for Scientific and Technological Policy (CSTP), building on open data work •Themes: governance, infrastructure, workforce, standards, partnerships •Sandra Gesing on Panel: Human Resources and Motivation •Goal: Input for CSTP and a policy paper on access to research software •About 30 participants in the room, 50 online https://www.oecd.org/en/events/2025/09/access-to-research-software-opportunities-and-challenges.html
https://us-rse.org https://us-rse.org @[email protected] Outreach 2025 •Booths at HPDC25 in July, SC25 in November and AGU25 in December •Meetings with non-traditional community leaders •RSEs 2035: Surviving or Thriving in the Age of AI, eScience, Chicago, September 2025 •BoF RSEs vs. Gen AI, RSECon, Warwick, UK, September 2025 •US-RSE: Beyond the Code - Building Careers and Community, RSECon, Warwick, UK, September 2025 •Panel Human Resources and Motivation, OECD Workshop Access to research software: Opportunities and challenges, Paris, France, September 2025 •US-RSE - Beyond Bug Fixes: Professional Development and Communities in RSE Teams, Discovery Workshop: Scientific software best practices, tools, and culture, NCAR, Boulder, August 2025 •Mind the Gap: Science Gateways, RSEs, and the Not-So-Invisible Infrastructure of AI Research, EPCC at University of Edinburgh Edinburgh, UK, June 2025 •Research Needs More Than Code: RSEs, Sustainability, and the Art of Building Teams That Make It Work, Warwick RSE Meeting, Online, May 2025 •Panel Building the Future of Research Software, 2nd SciCodes Collaboration Workshop, Washington, DC, April 2025 •Panel Optimizing the Pursuit of Data Science: Infrastructure, 2025 Data Science Leadership Summit, Columbus, OH, March 2025 •Panel Regional Collaborations Position Group, CASC Spring Meeting, Reston, VA, March 2025 •From Coding in High School to Building a Movement, Supercomputing and the Future of AI, Reach The World, March 2025 •US-RSE: Building Bridges between Research and Software, SciCodes Consortium, online, January 2025 •Minitrack on Impact of AI on Software Engineering, •Minitrack on Software Sustainability: Research on Usability, Maintainability and Reproducibility, HICSS-58, Waikoloa Village, HI, US, January 2025 •Tutorial on Data and software management and re-use with FAIR in the age of Big Data, HICSS-58, Waikoloa Village, HI, US, January 2025
https://us-rse.org https://us-rse.org @[email protected] Collaboration with Reach The World on K-12 Webinar Series Over 850 students were registered Presentations from •Sandra Gesing •Melissa Floca •Rick Wagner •Ian Cosden •Braulio M. Villegas •Birali Hakizumwami Online recordings and articles available ”forever”
https://us-rse.org https://us-rse.org @[email protected] Collaboration with Organizations in the Research Ecosystem
https://us-rse.org https://us-rse.org @[email protected] Collaboration with Organizations in the Research Ecosystem
https://us-rse.org https://us-rse.org @[email protected] Collaboration with Organizations in the Research Ecosystem
https://us-rse.org https://us-rse.org @[email protected] Strategic Plans for 2025 Expanding Impact and Sustainability •Funding from Alfred P. Sloan Foundation •Seek additional funding through federal grants, foundational support, and new leads via RBW Strategy •Strengthen advocacy efforts with funding bodies •Foster partnerships with organizations like the U.S. Department of Labor •Host a focus group with industry leaders to understand needs and strengthen ties •Expand Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with like-minded projects and initiatives
https://us-rse.org https://us-rse.org @[email protected] Strategic Plans for 2025 Internal Growth and Sustainability •Prioritize outreach and operational sustainability. •Intermediate project manager and two student positions •Align activities with the US-RSE mission. •Sustain key platforms, including: •Job board •Mentorship initiatives •Annual US-RSE conference (flagship event) •Continue empowering RSEs through support and opportunities. •Maintain an engaged, thriving community while increasing visibility and recognition of research software engineering in the broader research ecosystem. •Volunteers are so important!
https://us-rse.org https://us-rse.org @[email protected] Thanks! Reach out to me! [email protected]