Open-source booster

Open-source boosters (OSB) are free, short (<4 days) collaborations to maximise the impact of open-source software developed at Imperial.  
 
We offer a collection of set activities that we can carry during the allocated time and that tackle one or another aspect of research software, from deployment to citability. When applying for the OSB (see below), you will need to select only one of these options, but nothing prevents you from applying to different options in subsequent editions of the programme. 
 
To access this programme, the software must be open source already or be made open source as part of the activities carried out during its execution. We also require for the RSE Team to be acknowledged in the software repository and in any immediate publication about the software. 
 
Projects applying to this programme, regardless of them being successful or not, will be included in the Imperial Research Software Directory to increase their findability and impact.

Next application reviews will take place in early February, April and June.

How to apply

To apply to an OSB call, you will need to complete a short application form to justify the need for the collaboration and why it cannot be sorted out via other means (eg. Code surgeries, standard software projects, third-party schemes).  
 
There is a rolling call open with application reviews every 2 months. The team will strive to review the applications, announce the winners and provide feedback within 2 weeks of the review date. After that, the team will work with you to arrange an appropriate timing to work on the project that, once allocated, will be completed within 1 month. 
 
The following diagram offers a better idea of the timeline for the OSB programme:

Image description: an image depicting the timeline for the OSB programme. Application phase, 2 weeks - OSB call opens. Review phase, two weeks - RSE team review applications - winners announced and feedback provided. Allocation phase, days -project starts. Execution, <4 days over 1 month - project ends. 

We aim to review the applications every 2 months, but this might suffer from minor changes due to summer or Christmas holidays, for example. Typically, there will be 1 accepted project per review cycle. More information for each call will be provided via the Imperial RS Slack Workspace, and the Imperial RS Community Newsletter. 

Options for the OSB programme

The following list shows the range of activities that the Research Software Engineering (RSE) Team can do for your software within this programme.

You will need to select just one of them during the application process.

You can discuss with RSE beforehand which option is most appropriate for your software and goals via a Code Surgery or via Slack (best effort basis).  
 
In all cases, appropriate training and knowledge transfer to the researchers is included, so they can take over the maintenance and further development of the project themselves once the collaboration is completed.  
 
Some of the options scale with the complexity of the software and therefore the OSB programme might not be enough to complete the tasks in the time available. This is one of the selection criteria considered when selecting the projects (see below).

Selection criteria

The following aspects of the software will be evaluated by the members of the RSE Team to select the awarded projects on each round. Aggregated feedback will be provided for each selection criteria as well as recommendations for future steps.

• The RSE Team has the appropriate expertise to tackle the project
• The task is doable in the time available
• The OSB programme is the best route to improve this software
• The value and impact of the software is well justified
• The software has not benefited yet from the OSB programme