Merge pull request #81 from DE-RSE/pms_review_section_5

A few reformulations and comments on section 5

bibliography.bib

@@ -5743,3 +5743,25 @@ @article{wright_ambivalent_internal_consultant_2009
 pages = {309--322},
 doi = {10.1111/j.1467-8551.2008.00585.x},
 }
+
+@Article{goth_foundational_competencies_2024,
+  author       = {Goth, Florian and Alves, Renato and Braun, Matthias and
+                  Castro, Leyla Jael and Chourdakis, Gerasimos and Christ, Simon
+                  and Cohen, Jeremy and Druskat, Stephan and Erxleben, Fredo and
+                  Grad, Jean-Noël and Hagdorn, Magnus and Hodges, Toby and
+                  Juckeland, Guido and Kempf, Dominic and Lamprecht, Anna-Lena
+                  and Linxweiler, Jan and Löffler, Frank and Martone, Michele
+                  and Schwarzmeier, Moritz and Seibold, Heidi and Thiele, Jan
+                  Philipp and von Waldow, Harald and Wittke, Samantha},
+  title        = {Foundational Competencies and Responsibilities of a Research
+                  Software Engineer},
+  journal      = {F1000Research},
+  year         = 2024,
+  volume       = 13,
+  month        = nov,
+  pages        = 1429,
+  issn         = {2046-1402},
+  doi          = {10.12688/f1000research.157778.1},
+  url          = {http://dx.doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.157778.1},
+  publisher    = {F1000 Research Ltd}
+}

paper.tex

@@ -495,9 +495,9 @@ \section{Existing Implementations}
 \section{Realisation Strategy}%
 \label{sec:realization}
 
-We propose a realisation strategy for a central institutional RSE unit.
+We propose building blocks for individual realisation strategies for central institutional RSE units.
 We start by listing different possibilities for funding RSE positions at a research institution.
-Following that, we describe a potential transition pathway, starting from existing structures that have grown in research alliances such as collaborative research centres or also in research departments of an institution.
+Following that, we describe a potential transition pathway, starting from existing structures that have grown in research alliances such as DFG-funded Collaborative Research Centres or also in research departments of an institution.
 This is complemented by discussing the opportunity of outsourcing RSE services and the challenging task of identifying and hiring suitable RSE candidates.
 
 \subsection{Funding Possibilities}%
@@ -516,7 +516,7 @@ \subsection{Funding Possibilities}%
 At research institutions, it is important to resolve the conflict between time-limited research funding and the need for permanent positions in order to be competitive with industry.
 Experience is also an essential component of software engineering, which makes long-term employment indispensable.
 In principle, pooling of positions and funds makes it possible to finance permanent positions from changing and mixed sources.
-Nevertheless, convincing the institution to take the corresponding risk of failing to raise external funds may be a very challenging task.
+An institution’s leadership has to justify taking the corresponding risk of failing to raise external funds.
 \begin{enumerate}
 \item It seems natural to allocate ordinary budget positions for RSEs.
       However, particularly at German universities, it is usually impossible to create completely new budget positions and the only feasible way is to rededicate an existing position after its corresponding holder has left.
@@ -559,15 +559,15 @@ \subsection{Transition Pathway}
 
 \subsubsection{Initial Measures}
 The following measures initialise the two modules presented in \autoref{sec:network} and \autoref{sec:teaching}.
-While dedicated funding certainly is beneficial already for this initialisation, it is not mandatory.
+While dedicated funding certainly is beneficial already for this step, it is not strictly necessary.
 Once the two measures are in place, they can be used to illustrate the need for institutional RSE activities and therefore support funding proposals.
 
 \paragraph{Network of RSEs}
 Forming a network of RSEs localised at an institution can be initiated by any existing RSE individual or group that is preferably already in contact with other RSEs at the institution.
 An institutional dedicated mailing list, chat group and possibly other communication platforms can be created and a request for participation can be circulated via institutional channels such as an employee newsletter.
 First common events such as social gatherings or RSE-related seminar talks can be organised and announced via the communication platform.
 This process can be accompanied, facilitated and strengthened by founding a local de-RSE chapter.
-Such network-building has been successfully initiated and implemented at several German research institutions.
+Such network-building has been successfully initiated and implemented at several German research institutions such as the German Aerospace Center and the Forchungszentrum Jülich.
 
 \paragraph{Pooling of existing teaching materials and training offers}
 Depending on local RSE efforts, teaching materials and associated training formats are likely to already exist,
@@ -577,21 +577,21 @@ \subsubsection{Initial Measures}
 or CodeRefinery\footnote{Examples \url{https://coderefinery.org/lessons/}}.
 
 \subsubsection{Conceptualisation}
-Decision makers at an institution usually require a concept upon which they will decide about the installation of an RSE unit.
-Such a concept should specify the idea of the RSE unit, its responsibilities and offerings as a subset of the nine modules presented in \autoref{sec:vision}, and the resulting benefits for the institution and its researchers.
+Decision processes at institutions usually require a concept on which to base the decision on whether to install an RSE unit.
+Such a concept should specify the idea of the RSE unit, its responsibilities and offerings as a subset of the nine modules presented in \autoref{sec:vision}, the funding, and the resulting benefits for the institution and its researchers.
 
 A rather difficult and crucial question can be the localisation of the RSE unit within the organisational structure of the institution.
 A canonical place would be a new subunit of an institutional body close to software,
 training services and computing such as the institution's IT department, the computing centre or the library.
 Since most institutions already have an RDM unit, it seems natural to add the RSE unit as a parallel structure.
 Another choice for the superordinate body, particularly at universities, is the faculty for computer science.
-Determining the best place may involve discussing with several stakeholders at the institution and can already be beneficial for creating a
+Determining the best place may involve discussions with several stakeholders at the institution and can already be beneficial for creating a
 network of institutional partners, the module described in \autoref{sec:partners}.
 
 The concept should also address funding for the RSE unit's initial staff.
 We consider it necessary that there is a certain amount of base funding provided by the institution that covers a basic RSE unit because much RSE work is not project based.
-While possibilities can be drawn from the discussion above, specific ideas should be discussed beforehand with the decision makers.
-For facilitating the expansion of the RSE unit in the longer term, the installment of an institutional policy for requesting person-months in externally funded projects dedicated to RSE should be proposed.
+While options can be drawn from the discussion above, specific ideas should be discussed beforehand with the decision makers.
+For facilitating the expansion of the RSE unit in the long term, the installment of an institutional policy for requesting person-months in externally funded projects dedicated to RSE should be proposed.
 
 Another part of the concept should be the governance structure of the RSE unit.
 One of the decisions to be made is if the unit head is supposed to be part of the unit itself or if the unit will be headed by a person outside of it.
@@ -607,7 +607,7 @@ \subsubsection{Installation of the Department}
 These central positions will be complemented by the existing RSEs organised in the network to form a pool of institutional RSEs associated with the central unit.
 
 Drawing from the concept and considering the actual initial staff situation, a first task of the centrally funded structure is to define a basic service portfolio according to the modules described in \autoref{sec:vision}.
-In addition to the already mentioned networking and teaching cf.~\autoref{sec:network} and \autoref{sec:teaching}, it seems natural to start with consultation cf.~\autoref{sec:consultation},
+In addition to the already mentioned networking and teaching, cf.~\autoref{sec:network} and \autoref{sec:teaching}, it seems natural to start with consultation, cf.~\autoref{sec:consultation},
 as this allows to evaluate the potential necessities for other services such as development, infrastructure provisioning and maintenance.
 An extension of the initial service portfolio for a larger target audience requires the acquisition of further funding and installation of further positions, see below.
 
@@ -619,7 +619,7 @@ \subsubsection{Growth of the Department}
 Over time, more and more researchers and proposals are expected to follow the institutional policy such that a consistent stream of income can be generated.
 
 \paragraph{Offering of additional services}
-With the additional acquired funds, the service portfolio of the RSE unit can be enhanced regarding the modules described in \autoref{sec:vision}.
+With the additionally acquired funds, the service portfolio of the RSE unit can be enhanced regarding the modules described in \autoref{sec:vision}.
 Obviously, the selection of modules and their share in the overall portfolio depend on the services that have been applied for in the corresponding proposals.
 As this is strongly connected to hiring persons with the required expertise, this has to be carefully planned, see also below.
 
@@ -629,34 +629,37 @@ \subsection{Outsourcing}
 Another possibility for the realisation of local RSE Service providers is by forming a spin-off and pooling the RSE Skills into an external company, which has benefits but also drawbacks. [\#SuccessStory Outsourcing]
 Among the most obvious benefits is that this enables the creation of contracts outside of the WissZeitVG.\@
 This also widens the customer base of the RSE unit since the newly founded company may obtain contracts from industry.
-If this company is university backed/branded this enables another possibility for a university to interact with the local society.
+If this company is backed/branded by the institution, this enables another possibility for an institution to interact with the local society.
 But there are drawbacks.
-Since the company is now a university external entity the Vergabe-Richtlinien have to be fulfilled, which could \eg{} mean to publicly invite tenders in order to have a competitive procedure.
+Since the company is now an entity external to the institution, the Vergabe-Richtlinien have to be fulfilled, which could \eg{} mean to publicly invite tenders in order to have a competitive procedure.
 This also points to the fact that an external company has to be a mostly profitable entity (partly this can be softened by founding a non-for-profit entity).
 Moreover, during the outsourcing contract, there has to be a coordinator at both sides and the flow of information from the academic institution to the contracted company has to be established.
 These are some examples of additional administrative overhead due to the interaction with external partners.
 Certain domains will have issues with ensuring data privacy when working with this external company.
-If forming a public company, it is hoped that parts of these issues can be legally alleviated by forming respective framework agreements between a university and the company.
+Some of these issues might be legally alleviated by forming framework agreements between an institution and the company.
 It is of particular importance to agree on requirements and handover criteria, including quality assurance and license specifications.
 On top of these drawbacks, there are soft factors, like whether an external company is accepted by scientists.
 
 \subsection{Staff Acquisition/People}
 
-This leaves us with the question of, assuming we have centralised RSE units, where do we get the employees?
-Being an RSE should be a career worth aspiring to as any other profession and hence we have to additionally create education structures that generate a pool of people where central RSE units can be populated from.
-This is a topic that will be considered in a separate paper.
+RSE units need to be staffed, but where do potential employees come from?
+So far, researchers accidentally find themselves in the role of an RSE because they pursued software development as part of their research.
+A more deliberate approach with specific RSE education may be necessary to train people in sufficient numbers for central RSE units.
+Being an RSE should be a career worth aspiring to, just as any other profession, with a long term perspective.
+This is a topic covered by a separate paper \autocite{goth_foundational_competencies_2024}, but we provide a brief summary here:
+
 These RSEs will bring a diverse set of skills centred around the topics of research,
 digital tools, and team-based work and hence can easily offer the consulting services mentioned in the previous section and guide people to their implementation in their workgroups.
 To fill gaps, the RSE unit can also maintain a roster of freelance workers.
 In order to retain RSEs it should be possible for them to become experts in a field and hence this should make this job more attractive to young RSEs,
 in order to mitigate the problem that some will only see this job as a one-year stint after their PhD and then move on to something else.
 To facilitate the retention of skilled people, industry has long identified education as an effective tool.
-For RSEs this should be helped by to be formed academic facilities that enable them to keep on learning skills after their first professional qualification, supported by the respective certification programs.
+For RSEs, this should be helped by to be formed academic facilities that enable them to keep on learning skills after their first professional qualification, supported by the respective certification programs.
 In the longer run, Research Software Engineering should be integrated into the existing study programmes.
-One option here would be the creation of an RSE master as a specialisation for a computer science bachelor.
-This should be complemented by adding a minor in application-domain study programs such as biology, physics, engineering etc.\ to facilitate the communication between the corresponding two groups of RSEs.
+One option here is the creation of an RSE master as a specialisation for computer science and also application-domain bachelor programmes.
+This should be complemented by adding a minor in these application-domain study programs such as biology, music, engineering etc.\ to facilitate the communication between the corresponding two groups of RSEs.
 There are already some master's programs available, (\eg{} in Berlin, Munich and Stuttgart) that develop this specialisation on top of a domain bachelor.
-And of course there are data science curricula in the process of being created.
+Moreover, there are data science curricula in the process of being created.
 A curated and continuously updated list of these programs is available at~\cite{learnandteachlearn}.
 
 % on the topic of acquiring and retaining staff, there's \autocite{VanTuyl2023} from US-RSE discussing career pathways, and \autocite{wright_ambivalent_internal_consultant_2009} about internal consultants and their struggle coming to terms with their work identity (in the management field)