The Research Software Alliance (ReSA), the Research Data Alliance (RDA) and the Latin American Open Science Network (LA Referencia) are pleased to announce a collaboration to increase the visibility of research software and data in the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) region. LA Referencia will lead outreach and community engagement activities, including a series of workshops dedicated to the region in 2025.

Open science is fundamental to the advancement of scientific research and global collaboration. Despite significant progress, the LAC region still faces challenges in implementing these practices due to limited resources and different levels of knowledge and infrastructure. This project seeks to close these gaps by taking advantage of the experience of ReSA and RDA, and establishing a communication channel between regional actors and collaborating organizations.

Workshops and engagement activities will facilitate knowledge sharing, capacity building and promotion of good practices for the management and sharing of research software and data. These events will be open to the public and completely free.

This project will also strengthen the ReSA, RDA and LA Referencia communities, promoting international collaboration and addressing region-specific challenges. Building on a track record of successful collaboration, ReSA and RDA have previously worked together on various initiatives. Both organizations have co-led working groups such as the Policies in Research Organizations for Research Software Working Group (PRO4RS) and the FAIR for Research Software (FAIR4RS) Working Group, in collaboration with FORCE11.

In March 2023, ReSA and RDA co-hosted a joint hybrid meeting of the Research Software Funders Forum and the RDA Funders Forum in Sweden, driving member participation in both spaces. In 2024, LA Referencia was key in organizing a tour of nine countries in Latin America for the Secretary General of RDA, Hilary Hanahoe, with the aim of publicizing the mission of the GDR and promoting the 23rd Plenary Meeting of the GDR in Costa Rica.

Through this new collaboration, RDA, ReSA and LA Referencia will not only deepen their existing partnerships, but will also explore new opportunities to strengthen and expand the open science ecosystem in the region.

The planned activities represent an important step towards improving the open science landscape in Latin America and the Caribbean. Together, RDA, ReSA and LA Referencia will support global open science goals, promoting a more transparent, inclusive and accessible research ecosystem.

  • ReSA carries out this work with support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation through grant 2024-22426, Research Software Alliance: Catalyzing community-led collaborations.
  • RDA is supported by 5th SCOSS funding cycle (The Global Sustainability Coalition for Open Science Services).