The Research Software Alliance (ReSA) CHORUS Forum convened publishers, research funders, infrastructure providers, software researchers, research software engineers, and open science leaders to examine how research software can be more effectively embedded within scholarly publishing. Daniel S. Katz, Chief Scientist, NCSA, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, moderated the forum and emphasized that research software has become a foundational component of modern research, and that improving its discoverability, citation, preservation, and reproducibility requires coordinated action across the research ecosystem.

A central theme was the evolving role of publishers in establishing consistent software-sharing practices. Erika Pastrana, Vice President Nature Research and Reviews Journals, Springer Nature and Matt Cannon,  Associate Director of Open Science Programmes at Taylor & Francis, highlighted the implementation of dedicated code and software sharing policies designed to increase transparency and reproducibility. Erika shared that Springer Nature reported encouraging early results from requiring Code Availability Statements and integrating with software preservation platforms such as Code Ocean, achieving approximately 30% author uptake of code sharing services during initial implementation. Matt Cannon from Taylor & Francis outlined plans for a standalone code and software sharing policy, complementing existing data-sharing requirements while providing researchers with clearer expectations and additional publication pathways for software.

From the funder perspective, Jeroen Sondervan, Programme Leader, Open Scholarly Communication at Open Science NL, part of Dutch Research Council NWO, reinforced the growing importance of research software as a recognized research output. Findings from an assessment of NWO-funded publications showed that software sharing remains limited, with only a small percentage of publications explicitly reporting software availability. These results underscore the need for stronger policies, improved reporting mechanisms, and better integration of software management into research planning and funding requirements.

Speakers emphasized that technology alone will not solve the challenges. Successful adoption depends on three interconnected elements: clear and consistent policies, infrastructure that supports software preservation and sharing, and active editorial and institutional advocacy that encourages researcher participation. Standardized software citation practices were also identified as essential for ensuring researchers receive appropriate credit while improving the reproducibility and long-term value of scientific research.

The discussion concluded with recognition that meaningful progress will require sustained collaboration among publishers, funders, research institutions, infrastructure providers, and the research software community. Aligning policies and workflows across these stakeholder groups will be critical to establishing research software as a first-class scholarly output and strengthening the integrity, transparency, and reproducibility of the research record.

Key Takeaways

• Research software is an increasingly critical scholarly output that requires formal recognition within publishing and funding workflows.
• Publishers are advancing dedicated code and software sharing policies, supported by infrastructure and editorial guidance.
• Early implementation demonstrates promising adoption but also highlights opportunities to improve researcher uptake of code sharing support services.
• Funding organizations are expanding open science policies to incorporate software management and sustainability.
• Greater standardization of software citation, metadata, and reporting practices will improve discoverability, reproducibility, and researcher recognition.
• Cross-sector collaboration remains essential to creating a sustainable ecosystem for research software across the scholarly communications landscape.

Resources

• CHORUS Software Citation Index (https://www.chorusaccess.org/resources/software-citation-policies-index/)
• Amsterdam Declaration on Research Software (https://adore.software/) and Toolkit (https://adore.software/toolkit/)
• French Open Science Monitor (https://frenchopensciencemonitor.esr.gouv.fr/software/general)

In closing, Dan thanked participants and emphasized the importance of collaboration and ongoing discussions in the research software community.

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