Develop a compendium of case studies and examples, showing how individual contributions to public goods/infrastructure helped to gain academic promotion #22
Potential Activity Scope
Research and prepare case studies demonstrating the successful use of individual contributions to public goods/infrastructure
to gain academic promotion. This task includes producing templates, advocacy toolkits and examples to help others
to make their case (e.g., get more collaborators and papers; increase opportunities to meet/work with new/old collaborators;
will build social connections/network).
Creating a compendium of examples of successful use of individual contributions to public goods/infrastructure, especially research software, to gain academic promotion will involve multiple steps. It involves not only the collection of examples but also the editing, organization, and dissemination of these examples to serve relevant parties within the academic community. The following steps could be useful elements of this activity:
Identification and Collection: The process begins with identifying and collecting diverse examples where individual contributions to public goods, such as open-source software or community-driven research projects, have led to academic promotion. This may involve reaching out to academics, institutions, and professional organizations to gather firsthand accounts, case studies, and documented successes.
Organization: The examples should be organized into a coherent and accessible compendium. This involves categorizing them by relevant themes, such as discipline, type of contribution, or level of promotion, and providing detailed descriptions and insights for each example.
Collaboration: Engaging with various stakeholders ensures that the compendium reflects a broad range of perspectives and experiences. Collaboration with academic institutions, professional organizations, and other relevant entities can enrich the content and enhance its credibility and relevance.
Dissemination: The compendium should be disseminated widely within the academic community to reach its intended audience.
A project with more time and resources could also have the following elements:
Support and Resources: Providing support and resources for those seeking to apply the insights from the compendium in their own contexts is essential. This may include offering workshops, consultations, or online tools to help individuals navigate seeking academic promotion through contributions to public goods.
Ongoing Engagement: The compendium is not a static resource but should be continually updated and expanded to reflect new examples, insights, and developments in the field. Ongoing engagement with the academic community ensures that it remains a valuable and relevant resource.
Potential Objectives
To identify and select diverse examples where individual contributions to public goods/infrastructure have led to academic promotion, representing various disciplines, institutions, and types of contributions.
To conduct in-depth research and analysis of the selected examples, understanding the underlying factors, strategies, and outcomes that contributed to successful academic promotion.
To develop detailed case studies that articulate the process, evidence, impact, and lessons learned from the successful use of individual contributions to gain academic promotion.
To create templates, advocacy toolkits, and examples that provide practical guidance and support for others seeking to make their case for academic promotion based on contributions to public goods/infrastructure.
To engage with various stakeholders, including academics, administrators, policymakers, and professional organizations, to gather insights, feedback, and endorsement for the developed resources.
To provide ongoing support, updates, and engagement to ensure that the resources remain relevant, accessible, and effective.
To analyze these examples to understand the underlying factors, strategies, and contexts that contributed to their success.
To organize the examples into a comprehensive compendium, providing detailed descriptions, insights, and practical guidance.
To collaborate with academic institutions, professional organizations, and other stakeholders to ensure the compendium reflects a broad range of perspectives and experiences.
To disseminate the compendium widely within the academic community.
To provide support and resources for individuals and institutions seeking to apply the insights from the compendium in their own contexts.
Targeted ImpactsGeneral impacts
To enhance the recognition, valuation, and reward of individual contributions to public goods/infrastructure within the academic promotion process, aligning it with broader principles of collaboration, innovation, and social impact.
To empower academics to effectively make their case for promotion based on contributions to public goods/infrastructure, providing them with models, evidence, guidance, tools, and confidence.
To influence policies, practices, and cultures within academic institutions, professional organizations, and funding agencies, fostering a more inclusive, transparent, and holistic approach to academic promotion.
To create a valuable and widely used resource that serves as a reference, inspiration, and catalyst for academics, administrators, policymakers, and others involved in the academic promotion process.
To empower individuals to pursue academic promotion through contributions to public goods, providing clear pathways and practical guidance.
To nudge policy and practice within academic institutions, encouraging them to adopt more inclusive and holistic criteria for evaluation and promotion.
To create a valuable resource that can be used by scholars, administrators, policymakers, and others to help navigate the complex landscape of academic promotion, fostering greater transparency, equity, and effectiveness in these processes.
Impacts for academic institutions
The findings from gathering data on contributions to public software projects and their impact on citation counts or academic promotion can be implemented in academic institutions through several strategic approaches:
Incorporate into Evaluation Criteria: Academic institutions can revise faculty evaluation and promotion criteria to recognize contributions to public software projects as valuable scholarly activities. This includes incorporating specific metrics related to public contributions into tenure and promotion guidelines.
Provide Training and Resources: Institutions can offer workshops, seminars, or online resources to educate faculty and staff about the value of contributing to public software projects and how to leverage these contributions for academic success, including promotion.
Foster Collaboration with Public Projects: Universities can actively encourage and support collaboration with public software projects by providing funding, resources, or recognition for faculty who engage in these activities.
Showcase Success Stories: By highlighting examples of individuals who have successfully leveraged contributions to public software for academic promotion, institutions can inspire others to pursue similar paths.
Develop Clear Guidelines: Creating clear and transparent guidelines on how contributions to public software projects are evaluated and rewarded can help faculty understand what is expected and how to align their efforts with institutional goals.
This potential activity was curated as part of "Charting the Course: Policy and Planning for Sustainable Research Software," a Sloan Foundation-funded project within URSSI dedicated to supporting the future of research software through evidence-informed policy work (Project contacts are: @danielskatz and @dr-eric-jensen). If you are interested in working on this, please add a comment.
Potential Activity Scope Research and prepare case studies demonstrating the successful use of individual contributions to public goods/infrastructure to gain academic promotion. This task includes producing templates, advocacy toolkits and examples to help others to make their case (e.g., get more collaborators and papers; increase opportunities to meet/work with new/old collaborators; will build social connections/network).
Creating a compendium of examples of successful use of individual contributions to public goods/infrastructure, especially research software, to gain academic promotion will involve multiple steps. It involves not only the collection of examples but also the editing, organization, and dissemination of these examples to serve relevant parties within the academic community. The following steps could be useful elements of this activity:
Identification and Collection: The process begins with identifying and collecting diverse examples where individual contributions to public goods, such as open-source software or community-driven research projects, have led to academic promotion. This may involve reaching out to academics, institutions, and professional organizations to gather firsthand accounts, case studies, and documented successes.
Organization: The examples should be organized into a coherent and accessible compendium. This involves categorizing them by relevant themes, such as discipline, type of contribution, or level of promotion, and providing detailed descriptions and insights for each example.
Collaboration: Engaging with various stakeholders ensures that the compendium reflects a broad range of perspectives and experiences. Collaboration with academic institutions, professional organizations, and other relevant entities can enrich the content and enhance its credibility and relevance.
Dissemination: The compendium should be disseminated widely within the academic community to reach its intended audience.
A project with more time and resources could also have the following elements:
Support and Resources: Providing support and resources for those seeking to apply the insights from the compendium in their own contexts is essential. This may include offering workshops, consultations, or online tools to help individuals navigate seeking academic promotion through contributions to public goods.
Ongoing Engagement: The compendium is not a static resource but should be continually updated and expanded to reflect new examples, insights, and developments in the field. Ongoing engagement with the academic community ensures that it remains a valuable and relevant resource.
Potential Objectives
Targeted Impacts General impacts
Impacts for academic institutions
This potential activity was curated as part of "Charting the Course: Policy and Planning for Sustainable Research Software," a Sloan Foundation-funded project within URSSI dedicated to supporting the future of research software through evidence-informed policy work (Project contacts are: @danielskatz and @dr-eric-jensen). If you are interested in working on this, please add a comment.