CORSES

The digital transformation has made research software an
indispensable tool in science, spanning from data analysis to
simulations and visualizations. Studies in the UK, the US, and France
show that over 90% of researchers rely on software and consider it
essential for their work. Despite this growing importance, a significant
skills gap persists among researchers, as academic curricula often
lack sufficient training in programming and software engineering. This
highlights the need for specialized support from Research Software
Engineers (RSEs), as represented in Germany by the de-RSE
community. International RSE support models vary: the UK relies on
decentralized RSE teams, while the Netherlands uses a centralized
model via the Netherlands eScience Center. In Germany, initial
institutional RSE teams exist at institutions such as TU Braunschweig,
Forschungszentrum Jülich, the University of Jena, the University of
Heidelberg, and the SUB Göttingen. However, these teams are mostly
limited to local support, as a structured, nationwide RSE infrastructure
accessible to all researchers is missing. Researchers without access
must often rely on informal community help. The **CORSES project**
aims to close this gap by building and evaluating a national RSE
support infrastructure from decentralized units. The overall vision is to
provide all researchers in Germany, regardless of their institution, with
structured access to RSE services. In the 36-month Phase 1, the
project will focus on operational feasibility. It will establish a
comprehensive RSE service portfolio, from basic consultation to
collaborative research software development. Simultaneously, a
flexible, cross-institutional RSE pool will be built, pooling the expertise
of the partners to cover a wider range of issues and create synergies.
A central web portal will be developed as the main interface for
service requests, feedback, and documentation. The project will also
conduct a feasibility analysis and develop a business model to
determine the requirements for a sustainable continuation in a
possible second phase. CORSES is intended as initial funding to lay
the foundation for a permanently viable RSE infrastructure. It explicitly
considers legal and technical aspects such as governance, data
protection, and IT security. All project results and software
developments will be made available under open licenses. CORSES
will actively collaborate with existing national initiatives like de-RSE
e.V., the NFDI, and international partners to avoid duplication of work
and leverage synergies.