RSpace: From Closed to Open-Source Research Infrastructure

Transitioning established software from closed to open source is challenging yet increasingly necessary for sustainable research infrastructure. In June 2024, RSpace – a research data management platform with electronic lab notebooks and sample management at its core – completed this transition and was licensed under AGPL v3, guided by community and customer feedback and years of building integrations with open source projects.
For ResearchSpace, making RSpace open-source extends beyond code publication. It’s a natural extension of how we approach the development of research workflows across the entire research lifecycle together with institutional partners, research data management, and research software communities. Since publishing the code in 2024 we’ve established and evolved contributor pathways in the same spirit for code, UX design, documentation, and more while maintaining organizational sustainability through implementation, onboarding, and support services. Additionally, we’ve onboarded research software engineers from institutions and communities, initiated bi-monthly meetings, and started moving various internal operations into the open.
This contribution illustrates our journey from closed to open source and what’s next.