IRSC26 Call for Proposals

Event overview

The International Research Software Conference (IRSC) 2026 is a global gathering of leaders and decision makers working to advance global shifts toward strategic coordination, long-term sustainability, and high-level collaboration across the research software community.

Dates: Monday 7 September to Tuesday 8 September 2026
Location: University of Sheffield, UK, with remote participation. For more information, please visit the IRSC Venue & Travel page.
Co-located with RSECon26 (9-11 September 2026)
Convenor: Research Software Alliance (ReSA)
(draft) agenda: https://tinyurl.com/IRSC-agenda

Call for proposals: BoFs, Talks & Lightning Talks

We invite the international research software community to propose:

This includes proposals from ReSA task forces, forums (funders, infrastructure, policy, publishing, metascience, skills and training, community leadership, and the International Council of RSE Associations) and forum working groups.

We welcome proposals from all career stages and backgrounds, and encourage submissions that reflect diverse perspectives, geographies, disciplines, and stakeholder roles.

Session formats

Birds of a Feather (BoF) sessions (60-90 minutes)

BoFs are interactive sessions designed to convene people around a shared topic and identify practical next steps. Submissions are welcome from existing groups, communities and/or initiatives that would benefit from a discussion to determine next steps that engages the broader community. Relevant objectives include:

  • Consideration of how to address key research software community challenges, both technical and social, to achieve the significant cultural change needed across the research sector globally.
  • Expansion of networks to increase a sense of community and identification of collaboration opportunities.

BoFs should:

  • Aim to have at least two co-chairs from different organisations
  • Be participatory (not panels or presentations only) and include active audience engagement
  • Plan for feasible next steps (e.g., shared work plan, community output, proposed collaboration, ReSA task force or forum working group)

Talks (15 minutes)

During the conference, there will be multiple concurrent sessions, including parallel strands of talks and lightning talks.

General talks are an opportunity to share best practices, initiatives, shared challenges, and practical experiences related to research software. Submissions do not need to present formal research results – talks may be reflective, technical, community-focused, or operational.

Lightning talks (3 minutes)

During the conference, there will be multiple concurrent sessions, including parallel strands of talks and lightning talks.

Lightning talks are similar to general talks but in a short format designed to share one key idea quickly, such as a challenge, solution, work in progress, resource, community initiative, or a call to action. There is unlikely to be time for discussion after each talk.

Topics of interest

The international research software community is moving towards aligning global policies and funding, sustaining essential infrastructure, recognizing and equipping its diverse workforce, responsibly integrating AI, improving how software impact is measured, and ensuring interoperability through open, standards-based infrastructure. IRSC aims to support the evolution of this shift. The conference will foster:

  • Global cohesion: Highlight cross-border, cross-sector, and cross-discipline collaboration to build new bridges across the global research software landscape
  • Community connection: Showcase stakeholder stories, collaboration highlights, and best practices to connect with peers and unite efforts
  • Strategic impact: Influence funding, policy, and research priorities; and showcase leadership within the research software community and broader movements, including open science, FAIR, research assessment reform, and open source

We welcome submissions that support this aim by addressing international issues affecting the community, especially those that would benefit from multi-stakeholder engagement. The topics below are offered as illustrative examples rather than a prescriptive list.

People

  • Strengthening community support structures, including national/regional RSE associations and thematic communities (e.g., training networks)
  • Recognition and reward for research software work within institutions and national research assessment processes
  • Increasing belonging and representation in the research software community
  • Identifying recognition frameworks and career paths for research software professionals
  • International collaboration on training and capacity-building for research software professionals
  • Impact of AI for research software skills and workforce

Policy

  • Supporting implementation of open software within broader open science policies
  • Policy alignment across stakeholders, including: publishers (e.g., software citation), funders (e.g., FAIR), employers (e.g., sustainable career paths)
  • Improving funding models for research software and the people who develop and maintain it, including multi-stakeholder and multi-level approaches
  • Aligning best practices in policy development and implementation to support sustainable research software
  • Metascience: understanding how research software shapes the research ecosystem (and how it should be evaluated)
  • Enabling representation of research software engineers in international fora, such as in European Commission or US National Science Fund directorates
  • Integration of AI into policy for funders, publishers, etc.

Infrastructure

  • Developing and improving tools and metrics to: measure research software outputs, communities, and impact; support rewards and recognition; assess compliance with standards and guidelines; remain accessible and useful to diverse stakeholders
  • Identifying and strengthening needed infrastructure (e.g., repositories, registries) to provide sustainability
  • Developing and implementing community-agreed standards (technical and social)
  • Collaborations between infrastructure providers to address shared technical challenges, long-term sustainability, and social/community challenges
  • AI and the future of research software

How to submit

If you’re interested in submitting a proposal, please complete the relevant Google Form:

All presenters must be registered to attend IRSC, and BoFs must include at least one person who is attending in-person, to facilitate in-room participation.

Presenters are encouraged to follow accessibility guidelines such as RSECon26’s Guidelines for Presenters.

The deadline for proposals is 1 May 2026.

Proposals will be reviewed by ReSA and some of the IRSC Program Committee. We will notify applicants of the outcome by early June.

If you have any questions, please get in touch via email: info[at]researchsoft.org