The document outlines the services provided by the Science Gateways Community Institute (SGCI) to support the development and use of science gateways. The SGCI offers expertise through an Incubator program to guide gateway projects through all stages. It provides dedicated support staff to directly assist with building and enhancing gateways. It also aims to leverage existing gateway technologies by providing reusable software components. The goal is to help gateway creators focus on their science by utilizing SGCI resources and expertise.

1. “The same challenge to appropriately
staff gateway development within a
research project (high commercial
demand for skills) means there is an
opportunity to partner with a range of
institutions and provide a consistent
professional development program.”
— Ian Stokes-Rees, Continuum Analytics
Science Gateways Community Institute
The Incubator enables clients to learn and
benefit from the previous experience of others.
• We show how to implement the technical
details.
• We cover all aspects of the gateway
lifecycle—from planning and design through
end-of-life or sustainability.
• We offer a variety of services to fill in the
specialized skill sets that may be missing
from a development team.
This area is led by Michael Zentner, Purdue
University.
The Extended Developer Support collaborates
with clients to provide hands-on,
individualized, embedded support:
• Creating new gateways
• Expanding the capabilities of existing
gateways
Our goals are to
• Help start new gateways.
• Help existing gateways adapt to new
resources, technologies & users.
• Provide “burst” support for smaller issues.
• Understand community needs that feed
back into and guide other SGCI areas.
This area is led by Marlon E. Pierce with
support from Suresh Marru, both of Indiana
University.
The Scientific Software Collaborative helps
with building gateways through two guiding
principles:
1. Gateways should not be built as a series of
one-off efforts.
2. A single software solution will not fit all
problems.
We offer a collection of reusable components
in order to help gateway builders
• Choose technologies.
• Integrate new features and capabilities.
The SGCI needs to be a vibrant gathering
place—face-to-face and virtual—for learning,
sharing, and connecting.
Our community includes science and
engineering web developers, across multiple
disciplines, federal agencies, and nations.
To support this community, we plan to
• Offer an annual conference, diverse website
resources, and professional development to
encourage conversation across disciplinary
and organizational boundaries.
• Help community members learn how SGCI
services might benefit them.
Project Management
Our team brings together seven universities,
each focusing on a different facet of the
Institute. The SGCI is led by Nancy Wilkins-
Diehr, San Diego Supercomputer Center,
University of California, San Diego.
science gateways community institute
/ˈsī əns ˈgāt-ˌwāz kə-ˈmyü-nə-tē ˈin(t)-stə-ˌtüt/ n.: abbrev. SGCI
1. an online and physical resource for community building and supporting
science gateways; specifically: one sharing expertise, such as experiences,
technologies, and practices
2. an organization enabling gateway creators to leverage efforts across projects
and allowing scientists to focus on science
science gateway /sī′ əns gāt′ wā′/ n.
1. an online community space for science and engineering research and
education
2. a Web-based resource for accessing data, software, computing services, and
equipment specific to the needs of a science or engineering discipline
Incubator: Expertise for the gateway lifecycle
“This is a powerful concept that is quite
different from the way most research
projects think about shared services. It is
a model used effectively by many non-
profits in the research and higher-
education field.”
— Kate Wittenberg, ITHAKA
Technology Planning
• Choosing technologies
• Cybersecurity
• Software engineering
• Interfaces to compute
and data
• Business model development
• Financial planning
• Project management
• Software licensing
• Staff and sustainability
planning
Business Planning
Experts You Could Not Otherwise Afford
Security
• Center for Trustworthy Scientific
Cyberinfrastructure
Sustainability
• Nancy Maron, creator of the ITHAKA S+R
course on Sustaining Digital Resources
Evaluation & Impact Measurement
• Ann Zimmerman Consulting
Internal Resource Development
• Notre Dame’s campus gateway task force
Client Interaction Planning
• Usability studies
• Web/visual/graphic design
• Impact measurement
• Community engagement
• Support for education
Common Experiences
• Training sessions
• Group interactions
Continuing Engagement
• Customized structure, content,
goals
• Mentoring
• Pay It Forward
A Framework for Decision Making
Network / Cohort Formation
An Ongoing Dispassionate Ear
• Coordinating with other areas of SGCI and
partners to offer internships.
• Identifying gateways that are relevant to
domain-based courses.
This area is led by Linda B. Hayden, Elizabeth
City State University.
Extended Developer Support: Dedicated SGCI
staff work directly with clients to build and enhance gateways
Focus
• Front-end development
• Gateways using all types of CI
• Both sides give 2-month to 1-year
commitment
• Well-defined engagements with
work plans
• Technology agnostic
Benefits
• Reinforce Incubator lessons
• Develop deep understanding of community needs
that feed into other Institute areas
• Capture and document support efforts for scalability
• Hands-on opportunities for student participants
Scientific Software Collaborative:
Leveraging existing investments in gateway technologies
End-to-End Solutions
• Serve a diverse set of scientific
domains
• Out-of-the-box gateway solution
that can be customized
• Based on Docker – executable
images that are the skeleton for
a secure and functioning
gateway
• Portable and reproducible
• Community-contributed
• API integration
• Variety of services
• Information
• Security
• Execution
• Data
• Event
• Accounting
• Hosting opportunity
“Use-what-you-
need”
Gateway Discovery
• Open registry
• Promotes use of existing
science gateways
• Community-contributed
• Admin approval
• Automated cleanup
Software Integration &
Community Contribution
• Docking mechanisms for
community-contributed
software, including NSF SI2
• Incorporate community
standards
Engage Other Areas of
Institute
• Support projects leverage
existing components
• Selection of components
evolves as a result of
gateway engagements
• Community outreach
Scientific Software
Collaborative for
Science Gateways
• Focus their efforts on the novel and
challenging features specific to their
projects and user communities.
• Participate at any level of experience,
including
• Researchers looking for an end-to-end
solution.
• Experienced developers looking to
contribute software components.
This area is led by Maytal Dahan, Texas
Advanced Computing Center, University of
Texas, Austin.
Community Engagement and Exchange:
Key to a successful institute
Workforce Development aims to
• Increase the pipeline of young developers.
• Tap the unrealized potential of students
from underrepresented groups.
To do this, we are using several strategies:
1. Fellowships and internships for students
committed to learning gateway
technologies
2. Connections with STEM professors
integrating gateways into their courses
3. Efforts to gain acceptance for job titles and
career tracks in gateway development
Our implementation includes
• Establishing a center for training and
education at Elizabeth City State University.
• Developing publicly accessible, online
training and curricula.
Workforce Development: Keep the best and the brightest in the sciences
Website Activities
• Discussion forums & social
media
• Gateway showcase with case
studies
• Symposium series
• News: media coverage, related
happenings, academic
publications, job openings,
events calendar
• Curated blog with guest authors
• Professional development:
synchronous and asynchronous
training
• Capture client/user feedback on
web and through other areas
• Tutorials and workshops
• Paper presentations
• Invited keynotes and panels
• Interactive elements: Open Space,
poster session
• Travel support for students and
campus IT staff
Builds on 10 years of experience
with GCE and IWSG series
Annual Conference
Campus Gateway Groups
• Task force builds campus-based expertise
• Channel for scaling Institute services
Outreach to Complementary
NSF Initiatives
• NSF SI2 projects
• Large NSF projects
• Science and Technology Centers
• Engineering Research Centers
• Keep our services relevant, useful, and
effective for the community by soliciting
members’ feedback and input.
We also want to find synergies with other
organizations and partners:
• Campus-based, gateway-developer groups
• Independently funded, complementary NSF
initiatives
This area is led by Katherine A. Lawrence,
University of Michigan, with support from
Sandra Gesing, Notre Dame University.
We also have a steering committee of
representatives of key scientific communities
and experts, plus we have several
organizational partners and external
consultants as resources.
Visit sciencegateways.org
or contact us at
info@sciencegateways.org
to learn more
and connect
with us!
Providing Financial Support
• Enabling students learning
gateway skills
Integrating Gateways into Course Content
• Providing broader access to high-end resources
Promoting Gateway-
Related Career Paths
• Campus
opportunities
• Job boards
Partners
National Organization for the
Professional Advancement of
Black Chemists and Chemical
Engineers (NOBCChE)
Association of Computer/
Information Sciences and
Engineering Departments at
Minority Institutions (ADMI)
Google Summer of Code (GSoC)
Establishing Center for Training
and Education at ECSU
• Vigorous schedule of on-site and
virtual training
• Development of training and course
curricula about science gateways
technologies
SGCI Areas
Focal
Areas • Student-related
conference
programs
Internship Experiences