Software Management Plans

Towards national guidelines

Research software plays a crucial role in academic research and has become a key output of many research projects. A software management plan helps to implement best practices during software development and ensures that software is accessible and reusable in the short and longer term. It also contributes to the reproducibility of results and stimulates collaborative work on open-source software for research. 

The Netherlands eScience Center and NWO, the Dutch Research Council, have taken the initiative to form a working group to develop (national) guidelines for software management plans. This working group – composed of five experts in research software, representing different research organizations in the Netherlands, and roles within those organizations – started their work in December 2021.  

The working group also has a sounding board, representing national and international stakeholders in research software. The sounding board provides input to the working group throughout the process of creating the guidelines. 

How are we doing this? 

The working group will produce an early draft of the guidelines by early March 2022 and have a first version by mid-April 2022. The working group will also invite input from the community via an open consultation round and a workshop in June 2022. The finalized guidelines are expected to be published in September 2022. 

Contact us

If you would like to know more about this work, email Maaike de Jong at .

Working Group members

Working Group coordinators