The French National Chief Data and Software Officer for Higher Education and Research ministry has appointed Daniel Le Berre as the national contact for the forges of Higher Education and Research, on 20 may 2024. Daniel Le Berre is professor at the University of Artois and member of the Software and Source Codes College of the French Committee for Open Science.

The mission statement, signed by Isabelle Blanc, sets out the context and objectives of the role of the coordinator. The assignment follows the publication of a report on the use of software forges conducted by the  Source Codes and Software College and previously coordinated by Daniel Le Berre, and the publication of the synthesis of the report on the production and valorisation of software produced by French public research. These two reports highlighted areas for attention and the need to encourage best practices in software development and the use of forges in higher education. More specifically, the role of the coordinator is to :

• Be the national point of contact for all questions relating to software forges, both within and outside the ESR
• Identifying and reporting on the specific needs of the higher education and research
• Identify and federate key players, develop collaborations. 

The coordinator draws on the resources already mobilized on this subject within the higher education and research ecosystem and works in close collaboration with the Software and Source Codes College of the Committee for Open Science, to which he regularly reports on the progress of the mission.

This appointment  is part of the National roadmap for data, algorithms, source codes. It is also part of the National open science policy, being an example of the many links between these two public policies. 

Contact

• The national coordinator for the higher education and research forges can be contacted at the following address: contact-national-forges@groupes.renater.fr. 

For further information :

• The mission statement signed by the National Chief Data and Software Officer for Higher Education and Research: https://www.ouvrirlascience.fr/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/MESR-LM-DanielLeBerre-forges-en.pdf
• Daniel Le Berre, Jean-Yves Jeannas, Roberto Di Cosmo, François Pellegrini (2023), Higher Education and Research Forges in France – Definition, uses, limitations encountered and needs analysis https://doi.org/10.52949/37
• Production and valorisation of software produced by French public research: https://www.enseignementsup-recherche.gouv.fr/sites/default/files/2023-12/-tat-des-lieux-de-la-production-et-de-la-valorisation-des-logiciels-issus-de-la-recherche-publique-fran-aise-30402.pdf