The Software Sustainability Institute: helping people build better, more sustainable software to enable world-class research
The Software Sustainability Institute was the first organisation in the world dedicated to improving software in research.
What we do
The Software Sustainability Institute (SSI) was founded on the premise that helping individuals and institutions understand the vital role that software plays in research would accelerate progress in every field of scientific and academic endeavour.
The SSI set itself the ambitious goal of transforming academic culture by establishing the principle that reliable, reproducible, and reusable software is necessary across all research disciplines. Despite the magnitude of this challenge, the SSI has delivered substantive improvements and achieved several truly global successes.
Better Software Better Research
Over the years, the Institute has advocated for and developed an understanding of the fundamental importance of research software, its developers and users, its requirements, and how software advances research in the UK.
We have learned a lot from working with a wide range of researchers across disciplines, and we are always looking for new ways to engage and collaborate with people and their communities.
Our staff come from diverse backgrounds and experiences. Together with our community, partners, and collaborators, we bring the skills needed to facilitate the advancement of software in research by cultivating better, more sustainable, research software.
Our partnership
We are a partnership of three UK universities: Edinburgh, Manchester, and Southampton. The SSI is currently funded by the seven councils of the UKRI.
We are innovative, highly collaborative, and undeterred by even the most obstinate problems. We are experts in working across disciplines and identifying the people within communities who can effect change.
We have learned to focus on scalable enterprises that allow us to maximise the impact of our work. We are committed to improving equality, diversity, and inclusivity across all of our activities.
Our key successes
Our successes are underpinned by highly effective working methodologies that we have continually refined over the organisation’s lifetime.
Over 210 Fellows
We fund researchers, research software engineers, and industry staff who want to improve software practices in their areas.
Over 10,000 Research Software Engineers (RSEs)
Since 2012, we’ve led a campaign that launched a new career in research, supported the formation of the Society of Research Software Engineering, and actively contributed to the RSE movement around the world.
Over 8,000 researchers trained
We created and now maintain a scalable and sustainable national training environment by developing new courses, organising workshops, and bringing in and training new instructors.
Over 260 successful collaborations
We provide consultancy and guidance to both software experts and beginners in 30+ countries.
RSE Society
From coining the term “RSE” to creating the UK RSE Association and supporting its members towards the Society of Research Software Engineering, the SSI is at the core of this movement.
Contact
SSI staff members are based at one of three universities across the UK: Edinburgh, Manchester, or Southampton. Reach out if you have any questions, would like more information or would like to work with us.
The Software Sustainability Institute, EPCC, University of Edinburgh, The Bayes Centre, 47 Potterrow, Edinburgh, EH8 9BT, UK.