Purpose

The purpose of this notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) is to support the ability of exceptional Research Software Engineers (RSEs) to contribute their skills in the development and dissemination of NIH-funded biomedical, clinical, behavioural or health-related research software, tools, and algorithms as well as to the training of prospective users of these tools.  The Research Software Engineer (RSE) Award is designed to provide salary support for RSEs involved in research and positioned to make outstanding contributions to NIH-funded biomedical, clinical, behavioural or health-related research software, tools, and algorithms but who are not in a traditional independent investigator career path. This NOFO will use the NIH Research Specialist Award (R50) mechanism to provide up to 3 years of funding to encourage the development of stable research career opportunities for exceptional RSEs who want to contribute to scientific research. It is intended to provide incentives to participate in a research career path, with some autonomy so that the individuals are not solely dependent on grants held by others for their career continuity. Supporting RSEs in this manner is integral to NIH’s strategic goal of creating a sustainable ecosystem of high-quality research software tools that can enhance research across projects and domains.

Background

The rapid growth in technology has been met with an increasing recognition of the need for research software and tools, and the important role of the people who create, maintain, and contribute to the research software ecosystem to effectively solve research problems. While researchers can, and do contribute valuable software to scientific research, the discipline of software engineering enhances the scalability, reusability, and reproducibility of research software through careful design, identification of and adherence to prevailing standards and practices, good documentation and code structure, employment of proper testing and build procedures, and other practices that ensure efficient and sustainable software. The notion of the role of Research Software Engineer (RSE) has evolved to capture the importance of these factors to scientific research. RSEs are not only a key part of a research team, but also are part of a parallel discipline that has its own specialized practices and standards. RSEs enhance the research within a particular project through the creation of new tools. In addition, RSEs contribute tools and services to the larger research software ecosystem in a form that makes these tools broadly usable and sustainable, encouraging use in a new research context. This ability to ‘bridge’ between a project and the broader research software ecosystem is unique to the RSE role. The research ecosystem is enhanced when a project-specific tool can be transformed into a widely shared capability, catalyzing new discoveries and collaborations.

Objectives and Scope

Software engineers working in research are an increasingly vital part of the research enterprise. This NOFO is expected to give the exceptional RSE protected time to make a transformative impact in developing well-engineered, sustainable software in the context of an existing NIH-funded biomedical, clinical, behavioral, or health-related research project and to help retain these skilled individuals in academic settings by enhancing their professional standing and recognition. The award is intended for RSEs with significant, relevant experience, who have shown clear evidence of productivity and research excellence in the implementation of NIH-funded research and development within their institution. The proposed award is intended to provide salaries and sufficient autonomy so that individuals are not solely dependent on NIH-funded grants held by others or other sources of support for health-related research career continuity.

All applications must identify and describe the research projects engaging the RSE, including their specific role in the project(s). Applicants must demonstrate clear evidence of skills, expertise, experience, productivity, and research ability to advance an existing NIH-supported research project by supporting best practices in software development and the RSE must document their accomplishments that support their career level. The RSE must have a full-time, non-tenure track position in an academic institution. Two types of letters will be required, (1) a letter of support from an NIH-funded project PI with whom the RSE will collaborate, and (2) two letters of recommendation from key personnel of other projects who can attest to the RSE’s expertise and experience as outstanding software professionals and record of contribution as relevant to the project. Once awarded, a change of PD/PI will not be allowed.

Budgets may request salary support for the RSE commensurate with the level of funded effort (at least 6 person-months per year) on NIH-funded research grants. Travel expenses will be allowed up to $2,500/year. No other research expenses will be covered under this award.