Digital methods have become essential to innovative research across the arts and humanities (Taylor, R., Walker, J., Hettrick, S., Broadbent, P., & De Roure, D., 2022). From the use of machine learning in textual analysis to high-performance computing in heritage science, the possibilities are many, but so are the challenges (Sufi, S., Bell, E., & Sichani, A.M., 2023). As projects increase in ambition and complexity, they depend more and more on research software engineering (RSE) expertise. Yet across the UK, that expertise remains unevenly distributed and, in many cases, inaccessible to researchers in the Arts and Humanities.

To address this gap, the newly released Towards a National Research Software Engineering Capability in Arts and Humanities Research: a Roadmap led by The Alan Turing Institute, offers a strategic, community-authored plan to build a sustainable national capacity for digital research in the Arts and Humanities (A&H). Co-developed with over 40 contributors from across the A&H and RSE communities, including institutions, independent researchers, and practitioners, the Roadmap outlines a people-centred approach to ensure RSE skills are embedded, accessible, and thriving across the UK. 

The main report is published alongside one companion report and one evidence base: Evidencing the Impact of Research Software Engineers on Arts & Humanities Scholarship and Evidencing the Impact of Research Software Engineers: Survey Database, which together provide a richer picture of the value and current state of RSE engagement in the sector.

What’s in the Roadmap?

The Roadmap identifies several steps to establishing a sustainable A&H RSE Capability:

• A national directory and network of RSEs with relevant A&H experience.
• Skills and training initiatives, building on existing programmes and developing new targeted resources.
• Matchmaking mechanisms to connect researchers and RSEs for collaborative opportunities.
• Community-building and outreach to encourage open, inclusive, and interdisciplinary research practice.
• An innovation incubator, supporting the development of reusable tools and methods tailored to A&H needs.
• Continuous monitoring and evaluation to ensure progress and adaptability.

This approach recognises that building capacity is not just about tools and infrastructure. It is about people, relationships, and shared best practices.

Why now?

Christopher Smith, Executive Chair of the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), stresses the need for the UK to grow its teaching and research ambitions to match the scale of digital transformation. In his blog post, he argues that underinvesting in the Arts and Humanities risks missing opportunities to address global challenges. The UK must invest in skilled researchers and the infrastructure needed to realise the full value of digital collections and support the collaborative, interdisciplinary work that will drive future innovation. Ultimately, investing in people is essential to unlock the full potential of its collections and maintain the UK’s leadership in global research. For example, only 6% of the UK’s national collection of objects in museums and galleries is digitised, missing an opportunity to create a powerful sovereign data asset, as noted in the government’s AI Opportunities Action Plan.

Benefits beyond the Arts and Humanities

The economic value of digitisation and computational research in the Arts and Humanities, including Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums (GLAM) is underscored by the Natural History Museum’s Digital Collections Programme, which offers economic and research benefits far beyond its original scope. A 2021 report commissioned by the Museum explored the economic impacts of digitising natural science collections, modelling the benefits for the UK. Using case studies across key thematic areas, return-on-investment analyses, and efficiency savings calculations, the study demonstrated that open digital collections could deliver benefits exceeding £2 billion over 30 years, representing a seven- to ten-fold return on investment. This report supports the case for digitising all UK natural science collections as a national research infrastructure, a model that could similarly be applied to other collections, where the lack of sustained technical support and infrastructure limits impact and scalability.

This need for a national approach to digital research infrastructure is further reinforced by the 2024 report Unlocking the Potential of Digital Collections: A Call to Action, which outlines policy recommendations from the Towards a National Collection (TaNC) initiative. This £18.9 million investment in the UK’s museums, archives, libraries, and galleries, funded by UK Research and Innovation’s Strategic Priorities Fund and delivered by the AHRC, aims to create a unified UK digital collection. 

TaNC argues that common technical standards, cybersecurity provisions, and long-term preservation strategies are critical to enabling cross-sector collaboration and ensuring that digital collections can be accessed, shared, and reused effectively. The initiative highlights the transformational potential of such an infrastructure—not only in expanding access to cultural heritage but also in enabling collaborative research and development (R&D), interdisciplinary innovation, and economic spillovers into the sciences and emerging fields such as artificial intelligence (AI). 

Unlocking Economic Value Through Arts and Humanities Investment

Furthermore, previous investments like the £56 million Creative Industries Cluster Programme and recently CoSTAR, which is a £75.6 million national R&D network of laboratories developing new technologies to maintain the UK’s world-leading position in gaming, TV, film, performance, and digital entertainment, demonstrate that transformative digital projects are already making a real impact. These projects harness arts and humanities research to deliver both cultural and economic benefits through innovative digital tools and robust infrastructure.

However, these projects will not be able to reach their full potential and return on investment without a dedicated team of skilled Research Software Engineers (RSEs) and research technical professionals, particularly those with domain knowledge who understand the unique challenges and opportunities within the Arts and Humanities. As the AHRC boosts its funding for digital research and infrastructure, it is important that we also match this investment in a national network for developing these specialised skills.

As highlighted in the 2023 The UK’s research and innovation infrastructure: opportunities to grow our capability:

“The development of software and the support of the UK’s e-infrastructure relies heavily on skilled researchers. If the UK is to meet the ambition of remaining at the forefront of computational and data-intensive science, the career development of research software engineers and research data professionals is critical. These professionals also have important roles in teaching and training at both undergraduate and graduate level and may be based in universities, research institutes or businesses.

Until recently, the career paths for software engineers and research data professionals within academia had not been well defined. These skill sets are already in high demand across both industry and academia, so it is critical that the UK provides the environment to nurture and retain these highly skilled individuals.

Future needs could be addressed through existing mechanisms or through the creation of a national network of facilities for research software engineering, which could help broker access to these skills across the UK. Investment in business engagement and development of skills would also enable enhanced collaboration with industry.” (p. 126)

This statement underscores a dual imperative. First, it recognises that technical skills ranging from advanced software development to data management are foundational to sustaining digital research infrastructure and advancing research excellence. Second, it calls for a strategic framework to nurture these skills through clearly defined career paths, targeted investment in training, and robust collaborations between academia and industry.

In the context of Arts and Humanities research, where traditional methodologies are being enhanced by digital innovation, the need for Research Software Engineers (RSEs) and related technical professionals is particularly pressing. Their contributions not only improve the reproducibility and integrity of research but also expand the potential for interdisciplinary innovation, bridging the gap between technical expertise and humanistic inquiry. Establishing a national capability in this area would ensure that the UK can leverage these skills to drive both academic excellence and broader economic growth.

What’s next?

This Roadmap is a call to action. It invites institutions, funders, and researchers to join the call for building a national A&H RSE Capability. For those already working in this space, we hope the Roadmap highlights the value of your work and offers a framework for building greater impact. If you’re interested in learning more or getting involved, please get in touch via ahrsecapability@turing.ac.uk or email me directly.

In the ever-evolving landscape of scholarly inquiry, the shift from analogue and mechanical to digital technologies known as the Digital Turn marks a pivotal moment, characterised by a convergence of technological advancements, new methods of information dissemination, and changing research practices. This transformative phase bears striking similarities to the Early Modern period (circa 1450-1700), where new tools such as the telescope and microscope, alongside the advent of the printing press, revolutionised scientific inquiry. Just as early modern scientists began to ask new questions about nature and the world, today's researchers are leveraging digital technologies to explore ideas and phenomena in novel ways. In both instances, the relationship between the tools of scientific inquiry and the scope of research is evident, echoing the SSI mantra: better software, better research.

During the conference Visualizing Science in Media Revolutions at the Bibliotheca Hertziana - Max Planck Institute for Art History in Rome, led by Dr Sietske Fransen, these parallels were explored in depth. Among the highlights of the research group’s activities presented at the conference was a summary of the seminar series "Reflections on the Digital Turn in the Humanities and Sciences", organised by Sietske Fransen and myself. Held between October 2020 and December 2021, amidst the height of the pandemic, these seminars brought together 21 speakers from diverse backgrounds and countries, including scholars, artists, curators, archivists, and library professionals. Topics spanned a wide array, encompassing the shift from analogue to digital formats, advancements in book history, digital correspondence curation, image analysis tools, information management practices, digital model use, and the pandemic's impact on digital transition and remote collaboration.

A final publication detailing the outcomes of the seminars will be published in 2025 as part of the conference proceedings. A recurring theme throughout our discussions was the profound impact of the Digital Turn on scholarly practices. The accelerated shift to digital spaces, propelled by the pandemic, has facilitated broader participation and inclusivity in scholarly discourse. However, this development has also underscored the necessity of digital capital, highlighting the critical infrastructure and skills necessary to navigate the evolving digital landscape. Moreover, the reliance on digital tools and resources has exacerbated societal inequalities and raised concerns about data privacy, copyright, and the ethical representation of historical materials. 

Many speakers emphasised the enduring importance of foundational skills such as archival work and manuscript editing. These aid in mitigating existing biases in library research collections, which are often amplified by current digitisation strategies that focus on the most researched and notable parts of their collections.

Another prevalent theme in the seminars was the shift from analogue to digital formats. Like their early modern counterparts in the age of the printing press, the advent of new technologies has revolutionised the way information is accessed, visualised, and analysed. Presenters explored the challenges and opportunities associated with digitising and consolidating diverse collections, stressing the significance of adopting shared standards to improve the discoverability and reusability of data, thereby enhancing its sustainability. 

Similar to how the emergence of printing shops facilitated the convergence of scholars, printers, artists, and artisans from diverse national and cultural backgrounds, one of the most significant impacts of the Digital Turn on scholarly practices is its demand for a broader skill set and increased collaboration among scholars, data scientists, researchers, artists, and research software engineers. In this vein, the proliferation of new technologies and media has not only revolutionised how scholars and scientists access, visualise, and analyse information, but also catalysed the emergence of new communities of inquiry, fostering interdisciplinary collaborations and the cross-fertilisation of ideas. However, while collaborative efforts between the humanities and sciences foster innovation and raise new questions, the indiscriminate application of disciplinary tools from one field to datasets from another carries inherent risks. 

In conclusion, it is imperative to highlight the necessity of ongoing reflection and adaptation in response to evolving technologies and research methodologies. Scholars must remain vigilant in critically evaluating the implications of digital interventions on knowledge production and dissemination, ensuring the equality, diversity, inclusivity, and accessibility of scholarly practice. By embracing interdisciplinary collaboration and innovative approaches in an equitable manner, we can navigate the complexities of the Digital Age and drive meaningful change in the pursuit of knowledge, advancing our understanding of the past, present, and future.

Programming Historian provides many courses and workshops on topics like Python, data management and visualisation, mapping, web scraping, network analysis, etc. particularly in the humanities and information management. 

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