Building an Institutional RSE Community
USRSE'26 · San Jose, CA · Monday, October 19, 2026
US-RSE Institutional RSE Networking Affinity Group
Today's plan
Communities of practice (Wenger, 1998)
Domain (shared interest) · Community (relationships) · Practice (shared repertoire)
What do ideal local RSE communities look like?
Self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985)
Autonomy (acting with choice) · Competence (effective and skilled) · Relatedness (connected and valued)
What helps you thrive?
- Introduction (10 min)
- Mentimeter poll: identify needs and choose breakout groups (20 min)
- Breakout groups: facilitated, 3+ topics (50 min)
- Recap and synthesis (10 min)
- Share and report
Who are we?
Five institutions, one affinity group. Each of us sits somewhere different on the spectrum of RSE groups.
Why this session? Isolation is common
International RSE Survey, 2022
“Peer support for new ideas” is one of the top three factors for productivity.
Murphy-Hill et al. (2021)
What we're here to explore
- The practical and social aspects of building or finding local RSE communities
- Why it matters: professional development, mental well-being, mentors, sharing best practices, advocating for institutional support
- Connection to US-RSE's goal: software engineering in research is recognized, valued, and sustained
What is the Institutional RSE Networking Affinity Group?
The Institutional RSE Networking Affinity Group connects Research Software Engineers (RSEs) who support or aspire to develop RSE communities within their organizations.
Slack
Ongoing conversation #ag-institutional-rse-networking
Meetups
On the last Monday of the month at 8am PT/11am ET
Blog
Check out our website at us-rse.org/ag-institutional-rse-networking/ for previous notes and our takeaways from today
https://us-rse.org/ag-institutional-rse-networking/
What have we read/listened to together?
- Sana Fatima "10 Best Practices For Building a Strong Remote Developer Community" (2024)
- Open Source Stories "Changing communities have changing needs with Andy Piper" (2024)
These readings shaped the questions we'll bring to the breakouts.
Self-determination theory
People are motivated and thrive when three basic psychological needs are met (Deci & Ryan, 1985)
Autonomy
Having a say in how we work and what we build. Local communities can organize for structural change.
Competence
Feeling effective and growing. Peers offer shared best practices, mentors, and new ideas.
Relatedness
Feeling connected and that we belong. Peers to share successes, frustrations, and interests.
Our framing: why do RSEs seek out local communities?
Join the poll
Go to
menti.com
and enter the code
8927 0282
Or scan the QR code with your phone camera.
