Overview

Succession Planning for Research Software

The Succession Planning for Research Software Task Force aims to provide a best practices guide for responsibly wrapping up research code when individuals leave their institutions, addressing a common challenge faced across the international research software community. By gathering community feedback and creating an easy-to-use checklist, the group seeks to support sustainable transitions and long-term preservation of software projects. Outputs will include a GitHub repository or Jupyter Notebook and markdown-based checklists, all shared under a CC-BY 4.0 license.

Join the Task Force

To join the task force or learn more:

• Add your name to the agenda and notes for the next meeting.
• Add any resources to the agenda and notes that might be useful.
• Ask to join the Google Group.
• Join the next meeting calls
• Contact richard.littauer@gmail.com for more information

Timeline and Roadmap

October 2025:

• Kick-off meeting: Monday October 20th

Obligations asked of members

• Show up to at least one call.
• Calls are only once a month for one hour, and only planned for one year.
• Help with async work where possible.
• Talk about the work with colleagues!
• That’s it.

Resources

• Google Group
• Meeting Notes
• Preprint “10 quick tips for making your software outlive your job”
• Paper working directory

Members

• Richard Littauer: CURIOSS, SustainOSS, GNOME Foundation, Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington, Orcid: 0000-0001-5428-7535
• Clare Dillon: CURIOSS, Lero, University of Galway