Research Software Maintenance Fund

Funding to support and maintain existing research software or sustain a team responsible for multiple software tools, ensuring they remain reliable and accessible.

The Software Sustainability Institute (SSI) is dedicated to building better software and more sustainable research software to enable world-class research. It is based at the Universities of Edinburgh, Manchester, Oxford and Southampton, and draws on a team of experts with a breadth of experience in software development, project and programme management, research facilitation, publicity and community engagement.

SSI runs the Research Software Maintenance Fund with support from the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Digital Research Infrastructure programme, to support and sustain key research software, ensuring it remains reliable and accessible. The initiative will fund vital pieces of the research ecosystem while improving understanding about how SSI can provide the support research software needs to reduce technical debt and grow engagement.

Funding can be used to support and maintain existing research software or sustain a team responsible for multiple software tools. It is aimed at funding work – particularly around reducing technical debt, improving user experience, and building community – that will improve the sustainability of research software that is hard to find funding for elsewhere. Applications supporting multiple research software projects are encouraged, as are applications that seek to merge or bridge between similar software.

The scheme will run over three rounds and includes two types of awards: larger grants over two years and smaller grants lasting for one year. The larger two-year grants will only be available in the first round in 2025.