What Does Capacity Enhancement Mean in Practice?

· RSE-CEP Team

The term “capacity enhancement” can sound abstract. This post explains what it means concretely for the RSE-CEP project and the institutions we work with.

The problem

Many research institutions recognise that they need better software practices, but face a common set of barriers:

  • Researchers with software skills are not recognised or retained as RSEs
  • There is no clear career pathway for people who want to work as RSEs
  • Training is ad hoc and not sustained
  • Communities of practice do not exist or are fragile

Hiring a single RSE, or running a one-off workshop, does not solve these problems on its own.

Our approach

RSE-CEP focuses on three interconnected areas:

Skills development — designing and delivering training that builds practical RSE skills in researchers and early-career RSEs alike. This includes both technical training (software development practices, tools) and professional skills (communication, collaboration, project management).

Community building — connecting people who are working as RSEs or in RSE-adjacent roles, so they can share knowledge, support each other, and advocate for the field within their institutions.

Institutional change — working with research leaders and administrators to create the conditions in which RSE capacity can grow and be sustained over time.

These three areas reinforce each other. Skills without community are hard to maintain. Community without institutional support is fragile. We try to work across all three at once.

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