We are the national leading authority on research software, working at the centre of an international movement to make it more effective and sustainable.
Modern research depends on software. It’s used to collect and analyse data, run simulations, manage references, and more. But research software is often built under pressure, with limited resources, and without the recognition it deserves. When it’s poorly maintained or badly documented, research becomes harder to trust, reproduce, and build on.
We produce evidence that shows why research software matters. We shape the policies that help institutions and funders recognise and support it. We build the community of people who make it and advocate for them. Our work spans every level of the research ecosystem, from research software engineers to policymakers.
We are the only organisation that combines research, community, policy, and practice around research software, connecting the person writing code in a university lab to the committee deciding how research software should be funded nationally.
The evidence we produce shapes the policies we help implement, and the community we build is also the community that benefits from the standards we help set.
We believe research software should be open, well-maintained, and properly recognised. We believe the people who build it (researchers, engineers, and everyone in between) deserve support, community, and career pathways that reflect the value of their work.
From Software Sustainability Institute to Institute for Research Software
Founded in 2010 to help the research community build better software and more sustainable research software, we have received core funding from all seven UK research councils, alongside additional funding secured through collaborative projects, across four phases of growth.
Who we work with
We sit at the centre of the UK research ecosystem, working with universities, funders, government bodies, learned societies, national facilities, and industry. We work with researchers across every discipline and with the software engineers and developers who make the tools that research depends on.
