Definition RS Infrastructure

On the other hand, in our opinion, "research software infrastructure" should be understood differently than tier 3 software. We define research software infrastructure as the shared technical and socio-organisational services and resources that enable the sustainable development, deployment, use, sharing, and maintenance of research software. These resources may include infrastructure software, such as code repositories, computing platforms, continuous integration systems, as well as licensing frameworks, and governance models. Though, rather than being a single digital artefact or service, research software infrastructure is a structural element for which research institutions and individuals share responsibility and ownership for development and long-term operation. A piece of tier 1/2/3 software lives within research software infrastructure, within the repositories, CI systems, and governance structures that host and sustain it. To stay within the analogy: Research software infrastructure is the habitat, and the software tiers are the different species.