Software Sustainability Institute Fellowship Programme 2027: £4,000 Flexible Support for Research Software Advocates, Closing 5 October 2026

Software Sustainability Institute Fellowship Programme 2027: £4,000 Flexible Support for Research Software Advocates, Closing 5 October 2026

The Software Sustainability Institute (SSI) has opened applications for its 2027 Fellowship Programme. The programme is designed for people who help researchers use, build, teach, maintain or advocate for software more effectively. That can include a PhD candidate improving reproducible workflows, a research software engineer supporting a university community, a professor changing computational practice in a discipline, or a research-computing leader building better infrastructure and training.

The award is not a salary and it is not a conventional research grant. Each selected Fellow receives a £4,000 package of flexible financial support for activities related to research software during a 15-month inaugural period. The programme also includes mentoring, cohort learning, monthly community calls, study groups and the annual Collaborations Workshop. The official 2027 announcement says around 20 Fellows will be selected, including up to three international Fellows.

Applications opened on 10 August 2026 and close on 5 October 2026. The fellowship period is scheduled for 1 January 2027 through 31 March 2028. This guide explains what SSI is actually offering, who is likely to fit, what the application asks for, how the selection stage works and how to make a small activity budget credible.

Key details

What the 2027 fellowship offers

The central benefit is a budget that lets a Fellow turn advocacy into activity. SSI describes eligible uses such as travelling to workshops, running Software Carpentry, Data Carpentry or Library Carpentry events, nurturing communities of practice, collaborating with other Fellows and supporting work that improves computational practice or policy. The programme’s eligible-expenses guidance also lists conference, workshop and training registration; event platforms; domain names; small accessories such as a headset, microphone or webcam; speaker or instructor fees; in-person event costs; and article processing charges.

The budget is deliberately flexible, but flexibility does not mean an unrestricted personal allowance. Fellows must request approval before proceeding with an expense, and requests are assessed case by case. Expenses generally need a receipt and proof of purchase and must fit both the Fellow’s objectives and the Institute’s goals. The current eligible-expenses guidance says activities cannot be supported beyond 31 March 2028, the end of the SSI project phase.

There is also a non-financial package that may matter more than the cash. Fellows are matched with a mentor, join cohort-based learning, participate in monthly community calls and study groups, and take part in the annual Collaborations Workshop. SSI says it continues to engage with Fellows after the initial 15-month period. In practical terms, the opportunity suits someone who wants a durable community and an organised way to spread good practice, not someone looking for a one-off pot of money for a private software build.

Who this programme is for

SSI presents the programme as open to applicants at any career stage and from any background. Its 2027 announcement names PhD candidates, junior research software engineers, professors and directors of research computing, and also says that a formal software background is not required when an applicant supports research, training or research infrastructure. The useful question is therefore not “Do I have the job title research software engineer?” It is “Can I show a real connection to research software and a plausible plan to improve computational practice?”

The Institute’s FAQ gives a more concrete picture of a strong fit. A suitable applicant may be able to identify important software in their field, communicate clearly about technical work, contribute to policy or community conversations, and show a respectable output such as papers, workshops, software or other resources. Writing or public-engagement experience is viewed favourably, as is a link with at least one research network. These are useful signals rather than a substitute for reading the current eligibility material linked from the application page.

The programme can work for people whose contribution is technical, educational, organisational or policy-focused. Examples include creating training around reproducible analysis, helping a disciplinary community adopt better testing and documentation, organising a workshop for research software users, developing guidance for crediting software contributions, or connecting researchers with research software engineering expertise. A proposal that simply says “I want to improve my own code” is weaker because the fellowship is built around community benefit and dissemination.

International applicant rules

The 2027 application page says that up to three positions are available for successful international applicants. This is not a blanket promise that every country is eligible on identical terms. SSI is UK-funded, so applicants who are not based in the UK or who do not have a formal affiliation with a UK-based institution or office must explain two things: how their plans improve UK capability, and how they will promote UK-based initiatives or ways of working abroad.

An international plan should therefore name the UK connection rather than treating the fellowship as a general travel award. A credible example might involve adapting a successful research-software training model from another country with a UK team, collaborating with a UK research network, or sharing UK approaches to reproducibility, research software engineering or software credit with a community elsewhere. SSI also asks international applicants to address time zones, language barriers and long-distance travel where those issues could affect delivery.

The Institute warns that financial restrictions may exclude some countries or regions and that international reimbursements can involve extra administration or currency differences. Check those practical details early. If you are outside the UK and cannot show a specific UK benefit, the programme is probably a poor fit even if your technical work is excellent.

How the application works

The application has six parts: information about you, you and your work, you and software, your funding, your fellowship application and an optional “more about you” section. The main application is a six-minute voiceover of a slide presentation screencast. SSI suggests roughly one minute to introduce yourself professionally, one minute to explain what you do and four minutes to explain your fellowship plans.

That format changes what good preparation looks like. You are not writing a long grant narrative and hoping the reviewer extracts the idea. You need a short, coherent explanation that connects your experience to a specific activity plan. The application page also provides an Application Video Guide, a preview of the application form, eligibility material, shortlisting criteria, Online Selection Day criteria, a code of conduct and the current terms and conditions. Read those documents before recording.

The form asks about your current financial support for research or work. It also asks for your plans for the Fellowship, so be ready to describe what you would do with the £4,000 and how those activities advance both your work and SSI’s mission. The budget should be a means to an outcome: a workshop delivered, a community connected, a training resource improved, a policy conversation supported or a reproducibility practice adopted.

Timeline and selection stage

The current published timeline is specific. Applications close on 5 October 2026. SSI plans to confirm the shortlist on 3 November, hold the Online Selection Day on 12 November and announce the Fellows publicly on 9 December. The fellowship period begins on 1 January 2027 and ends on 31 March 2028.

Shortlisted candidates take part in a full-day Online Selection Day. SSI says candidates are assessed on how they contribute to a session, including collaboration and communication skills, and on what they contribute, such as discussion or event-planning ideas. Final selection combines performance during that day with the fellowship plans proposed in the screencast application.

This means the selection process is not only a test of technical ability. A candidate who has built impressive software but cannot explain a useful community activity may be less competitive than someone with a smaller technical profile and a sharper plan for improving practice. Prepare to demonstrate listening, generosity, practical judgment and the ability to work with people outside your immediate discipline.

Building a convincing fellowship plan

Start with a problem that people in your research community actually experience. “Researchers struggle to make computational work reproducible” is a broad theme. A stronger starting point identifies the barrier: training is unavailable for a particular discipline, software contributors are not credited, researchers do not know how to choose sustainable dependencies, or a community lacks a forum where users and maintainers can work together.

Then choose an activity that matches your access and capacity. A small, well-attended training series may be more credible than a promise to transform a whole discipline. A workshop can have a defined audience, venue or online format, collaborators, learning goals and follow-up material. A policy or community plan can identify who needs to be involved, what decision or practice it is meant to influence and how you will share the result.

Your six-minute screencast should make three connections easy to hear:

1. Why you: the experience, output or network that gives you a credible route into the work.
2. Why this activity: the specific gap it addresses and why SSI’s community, mentoring and budget are useful now.
3. What changes: the concrete result, audience and follow-up that will remain after the event or activity ends.

Use the money realistically. List the main cost categories and explain which are essential. Do not build a budget around a laptop or general salary support; SSI explicitly excludes computers, laptops, tablets, monitors and printers, and the FAQ says the funds cannot pay for your time. If you need specialist software, explain the connection to the fellowship goals because such licenses require a strong justification and case-by-case approval.

Common mistakes to avoid

The most serious mistake is treating the £4,000 as unrestricted personal funding. It is flexible support for approved activities, with a receipt and a connection to SSI’s objectives. A second mistake is describing a private development project without a dissemination or community pathway. The programme is interested in people who improve computational practice beyond their own desk.

Do not assume that a prestigious title replaces evidence. If you have run a workshop, maintained a package, written guidance, supported a user group, taught reproducible methods or contributed to policy discussions, show what happened and who benefited. If your work is early-stage, explain the access you already have and the modest first step you can deliver.

Avoid cramming the screencast with jargon. SSI supports work across research disciplines, so make the problem understandable to someone who may not use your tools. Also avoid spending most of the six minutes on your biography. The suggested structure gives the plan four minutes because the selection question is what you will do as a Fellow, not simply what you have done before.

For international applicants, a generic statement that the work is “globally relevant” will not answer SSI’s UK-focused questions. Identify a UK collaborator, audience, method, resource or capability and explain how the exchange works in both directions. Finally, do not leave the video and supporting documents until the deadline week. The application page says only submissions through the specified form will be considered, and the screencast is a production task as well as a writing task.

Practical preparation checklist

Before applying, confirm that your current work genuinely involves research software, computational practice, training, infrastructure or advocacy. Review SSI’s programme page, FAQ, eligible-expenses guidance and 2027 application page. Read the current eligibility and selection documents linked there rather than relying on an older Fellow’s description of the programme.

Prepare a one-page plan with the audience, problem, activity, collaborators, rough costs, timing and evidence of success. Turn that plan into a six-minute script, then shorten it until the main idea survives without specialist vocabulary. Record a test screencast and check that the slides are readable, the audio is clear and the plan fits the suggested one-minute, one-minute and four-minute structure.

Ask a colleague outside your field to explain back what you are proposing. If they cannot identify the audience, activity or expected result, the application is not ready. If you are international, ask a UK-based colleague to challenge the claimed UK benefit. Contact SSI at [email protected] if a question is not answered by the published guidance.

FAQ

Is the £4,000 a salary or stipend?

No. SSI describes it as flexible financial support for activities related to research software. The FAQ says it cannot be used as salary or to pay for your time.

Can I use the money to buy a laptop?

No. SSI’s eligible-expenses guidance excludes computers, laptops, tablets, monitors and printers. Some small accessories and certain subscriptions may be eligible when they support an approved fellowship activity.

Is the programme only for research software engineers?

No. SSI says applicants can come from any career stage and background, including researchers, research software engineers, professors, research-computing leaders and people without a formal software background who support research, training or infrastructure.

Can someone outside the UK apply?

Yes, up to three international positions are advertised for the 2027 programme. Applicants without a UK base or formal UK affiliation must show how the plan benefits UK research and promotes UK-based approaches abroad, while also addressing practical delivery and funding constraints.

What happens after the written application?

Shortlisted applicants are invited to the Online Selection Day on 12 November 2026. SSI assesses both the proposed fellowship plan and how candidates contribute to group activities. Public announcement of the selected Fellows is scheduled for 9 December 2026.

Where can I ask a question?

Email [email protected]. The official application page also links the eligibility, shortlisting, selection-day and terms documents that should be reviewed before submission.

Official links

• Apply to the SSI Fellowship Programme 2027
• SSI Fellowship Programme overview
• SSI Fellowship Programme 2027 announcement
• Frequently asked questions about eligibility and funds
• Eligible expenses for SSI Fellowship funds