The Research Software Alliance (ReSA) and CHORUS convened a forum bringing together publishers, funders, infrastructure providers, software researchers, engineers, and open science leaders to discuss how research software can be more effectively integrated into scholarly publishing. Daniel S. Katz, Chief Scientist at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications, University of Illinois Urbana‑Champaign, moderated the event and emphasized that research software has become a foundational element of modern research. He noted that improving its discoverability, citation, preservation, and reproducibility requires coordinated action across the research ecosystem.
A central theme was the role of publishers in establishing consistent software‑sharing practices. Erika Pastrana, Vice President of Nature Research and Reviews Journals at Springer Nature, reported early progress from requiring Code Availability Statements and integrating with preservation platforms such as Code Ocean, with approximately 30% of authors adopting code‑sharing services during initial implementation. Matt Cannon, Associate Director of Open Science Programs at Taylor & Francis, outlined plans for a standalone code and software‑sharing policy to complement existing data‑sharing requirements and provide clearer pathways for publishing software.
From the funder perspective, Jeroen Sondervan, Program Leader for Open Scholarly Communication at Open Science NL (part of the Dutch Research Council NWO), highlighted findings showing that software sharing remains limited in NWO‑funded publications, with only a small percentage explicitly reporting software availability. He stressed the need for stronger policies, improved reporting mechanisms, and better integration of software management into research planning and funding requirements.
Speakers agreed that technology alone cannot address the challenges. They emphasized the importance of three interconnected elements: clear and consistent policies, infrastructure that supports preservation and sharing, and active editorial and institutional advocacy to encourage researcher participation. Standardized software citation practices were also identified as essential for ensuring appropriate credit and improving reproducibility.
The forum concluded that meaningful progress will require sustained collaboration among publishers, funders, institutions, infrastructure providers, and the research software community. Aligning policies and workflows across these groups was seen as critical to establishing research software as a recognized scholarly output and strengthening transparency and reproducibility in the research record.
Key Takeaways:
• Research software recognition: Increasingly critical as a formal scholarly output within publishing and funding workflows.
• Publisher policies: Dedicated code and software‑sharing policies are advancing transparency and reproducibility.
• Early adoption: Initial implementation shows promising uptake but highlights opportunities for improvement.
• Funder perspective: Funding organizations are expanding open science policies to include software management and sustainability.
• Standardization: Greater consistency in citation, metadata, and reporting will improve discoverability and researcher recognition.
• Cross-sector collaboration: Essential for building a sustainable ecosystem for research software across scholarly communications.
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