Software development is an essential, integral part of research activity. Research software increasingly supports progress in science by aiding acquisition, processing and analysis of data, but also the simulation of complex processes.
Thus, software has a significant influence on the quality of research results. The British Software Sustainability Institute (SSI) has coined the slogan "Better Software - Better Research".

However, the current approaches to research software as well as the recognition of research software engineering do not adequately reflect the importance of this work in and for the research process. The reasons for this are manifold and include for example a lack of recognition of research software development as scientific contribution, insufficient skills in software engineering, missing standards for the development and review of research software, and unclear rules for publication with regard to licenses and intellectual property (IP) at research institutions.

This townhall meeting brings together the people behind research software: research software engineers (RSE). It introduces national RSE chapters and their activities and provides a place to meet fellow researchers, scientists and others developing software in and for research.

We will discuss how the situation of RSEs can be improved with a focus on geoscientific domains, collaboration initiatives and conferences.