Announcing our Tier 3 Research Software Short-List
Oct 13, 2026
We believe that all research software should be more visible and today we’re putting a spotlight on tier 3 research software that has become a shared, foundational resource across institutions, disciplines and research ecosystems.
What do we mean by “tier 3”?
In our working definition, tier 3 software — also called essential or foundational software — is software that is no longer tied to a single project or institution. It has become a shared resource with broad adoption, a central role in the research software ecosystem, and often high social dependency.
This distinguishes it from tier 2 software, which is reused across multiple research initiatives but may not yet have the same ecosystem-wide reach. It also distinguishes tier 3 software from research software infrastructure, which we understand as the broader set of technical and socio-organisational services that support the life cycle management of research software — for example code repositories, computing platforms, virtual research environments, CI systems, licensing frameworks, and governance models.
We need your feedback
The list should be understood as a preliminary, prototypical selection, not a complete or definitive classification. We therefore want to use this short-list as a starting point for several things:
- refining the distinction between tier 2 software, tier 3 software, and research software infrastructure;
- increasing the visibility of foundational research software and the often under-recognised work behind it;
- making the ecosystem more visible, including stakeholders, RSEs, Research Software Specialists, and maintainer groups;
- identifying needs around sustainable maintenance, and long-term support.
We would especially welcome input on:
- projects that are missing from the list;
- projects that should be reclassified;
- unclear or disputed tier 3 cases;
- underrepresented disciplines or domains;
- the definitions and distinctions we are using.
Please review the short-list and share your feedback with us. Your input will help shape the next version of the list and the broader FutuRSI work around tier 3 research software.