Anyone familiar with R will know that in addition to being a superb language for statistical computing, it comprises an ecosystem and community of extraordinary depth and commitment. Because of the tradition of providing multiple levels of documentation within contributed R packages, CRAN and Bioconductor have become great repositories of statistical knowledge. However, as with any human enterprise that is meant to persist over time, there is a need not only for ongoing maintenance but also for continuous improvement. It is in this spirit that the R Consortium’s Infrastructure Steering Committee (ISC) would like to announce the Kaizen project for R package documentation.
Beginning with the present open call for proposals, the ISC will award grants for projects to improve the documentation of “essential” R or Bioconductor packages. By essential, we mean packages that help to form the backbone of R’s capabilities in some area of statistical or computational analysis and are important to an identifiable segment of the R Community. It is likely that a significant proportion of the packages in CRAN Task Views and on Bioconductor will meet these criteria.
Documentation projects might include providing a missing vignette, updating the examples in the package HTML and PDF help, or writing a tutorial (not necessarily in English) to be published in a publicly accessible web page.
To apply, please follow the procedure on the Call For Proposals webpage. In your proposal, please include statements affirming that you have already contacted the package maintainers, that they would support your efforts and will incorporate your contributions where applicable, and that you will publish your work under a license that is agreeable to the package authors.
Note: Kaizen 改善 is a Japanese word that describes the concept of continuous improvement. Look here and here for discussions of kaizen philosophy and history.
The R Consortium is happy to announce that on Nov 18th, 2022, the R Submissions Working Group successfully submitted a test submission package with a Shiny component through the FDA eCTD gateway! The submission package has been received by the FDA CDER staff. All submission materials can be found at: https://github.com/RConsortium/submissions-pilot2-to-fda
The objective of the R Consortium R submission Pilot 2 Project is to test the concept that a Shiny application created with the R-language can be bundled into a submission package and transferred successfully to FDA reviewers. The application was built using the source data sets and analyses contained in the R submission Pilot 1 Project.
To our knowledge, this is the first publicly available submission package that includes a Shiny component. We hope this submission package and our learnings can serve as a good reference for future regulatory submission efforts, when considering Shiny as a tool for a more user-friendly interface to navigate through analysis results. Additional agency feedback will be shared in future communications.
To learn more about the R consortium R submission Working Group and the Pilot 1 submission, more information can be found at:
Every year, The R Consortium Infrastructure Steering Committee (ISC) conducts two cycles of calling for proposals and awarding grants for projects that will enhance the technical infrastructure of the R ecosystem in a way that will benefit a significant portion of the R Community. The second 2022 ISC “Call for Proposals” will open on September 1st.
With this post, the ISC would like to solicit ideas from the greater R Community about areas where it is important to extend R’s capabilities, or perhaps to identify new frontiers for R. Are there applications in the Arts, Business, Climate Science, Engineering, Epidemiology, Finance, Geology, the Humanities, Insurance, Mathematics, Medicine, Music, Numerical Analysis, Sociology, Virology, Zoology or any other field that would enhance R in a way that would be meaningful to a significant portion of the R Community or significantly grow the R Community?
If you are a software developer we certainly want your ideas, and we hope that you will respond to the Call for Proposals when it opens. However, if you are not yourself able to undertake a software development project, but feel strongly that R needs to reach into your area of expertise, we want your ideas too!
The R Consortium and the ISC would like to help the R Community to set out a vision for the long-run growth of R. If together we could reach a consensus on areas where building out R’s capabilities would make a difference, we may be able to match ideas with skills and over time fund a significant amount of meaningful work.
SAN FRANCISCO, May 2, 2022 – The R Consortium, a Linux Foundation project supporting the R Foundation and worldwide R community, today announced that Pfizer has joined as a Silver Member.
“We have been using R for our work at Pfizer for over 10 years, but over the last few years we have seen an increased interest in using R and Shiny for internal decision making and regulatory interactions,” said Mike Smith, Statistical Group Lead and Head of the R Center of Excellence (CoE) at Pfizer. ”With the initiation of the R Center of Excellence, Pfizer is committing to engage with R users internally and externally, working to answer questions and solve problems using R and associated technologies in order to achieve breakthroughs in drug development and get medicines to patients more quickly and more efficiently. Joining the R Consortium as a Silver member formalises our commitment to the consortium’s efforts and working groups, engaging with others to help address some of the issues that are best solved through collaboration and partnership.”
“I am really excited to have Pfizer as a member of the R Consortium,” said Joseph Rickert, RStudio’s R Community Ambassador and R Consortium Board Chair. “Pfizer’s participation will increase the depth of our expertise in the pharmaceutical industry and enhance the R Consortium’s efforts to support industry-wide collaborative projects such as working towards FDA submissions done completely in R, and automating the process of generating the specialized statistical tables required for clinical trial reporting.”
The R Consortium has multiple separate Working Groups focused on pharmaceutical issues: RTRS (Tables), R Submissions (IT), Validation, and more. Participation in R Consortium Working Groups in the pharmaceutical space by Pfizer will help continue to expand their reach. The Working Groups add value to member companies by initiating and cultivating industry-wide collaborative projects. This is critical in the pharmaceutical industry, providing a framework for competitors to come together and cooperate under an open governance framework to build infrastructure at low-cost. To find out how you can join an R Consortium Working Group, see https://www.r-consortium.org/projects/isc-working-groups
About Pfizer: Breakthroughs That Change Patients’ Lives
At Pfizer, we apply science and our global resources to bring therapies to people that extend and significantly improve their lives. We strive to set the standard for quality, safety and value in the discovery, development and manufacture of health care products, including innovative medicines and vaccines. Every day, Pfizer colleagues work across developed and emerging markets to advance wellness, prevention, treatments and cures that challenge the most feared diseases of our time. Consistent with our responsibility as one of the world’s premier innovative biopharmaceutical companies, we collaborate with health care providers, governments and local communities to support and expand access to reliable, affordable health care around the world. For more than 170 years, we have worked to make a difference for all who rely on us. We routinely post information that may be important to investors on our website at www.Pfizer.com. In addition, to learn more, please visit us on www.Pfizer.com and follow us on Twitter at @Pfizer and @Pfizer News, LinkedIn, YouTube and like us on Facebook at Facebook.com/Pfizer.
About The R Consortium
The R Consortium is a 501(c)6 nonprofit organization and Linux Foundation project dedicated to the support and growth of the R user community. The R Consortium provides support to the R Foundation and to the greater R Community for projects that assist R package developers, provide documentation and training, facilitate the growth of the R Community and promote the use of the R language. For more information about R Consortium, please visit: http://www.r-consortium.org.
About Linux Foundation
Founded in 2000, the Linux Foundation is supported by more than 1,000 members and is the world’s leading home for collaboration on open source software, open standards, open data, and open hardware. Linux Foundation projects like Linux, Kubernetes, Node.js and more are considered critical to the development of the world’s most important infrastructure. Its development methodology leverages established best practices and addresses the needs of contributors, users and solution providers to create sustainable models for open collaboration. For more information, please visit us at linuxfoundation.org
The R Consortium is pleased to announce the new 2022 R User Groups (RUGs), Conferences and Training program. This is an updated version of the RUGS program of previous years that aims to put more structure around the process of applying for support for R-themed conferences and training sessions.
The RUGS Program
The RUGS program supports R user groups and will operate in much the same way as the 2020 and 2021 RUGS programs. Because we are still all under the shadow of COVID-19, we expect user groups to hold on-line and/or in-person meetings.
RUGS grants will have two parts: Meetup.com support and cash grants. All user groups applying for the program, except for R-Ladies groups, will be automatically enrolled in our RUGS meetup.com RUGS Pro account. If you receive a grant, we will pay the meetup.com fees for your program for the year. R-Ladies has its own Meetup.com Pro account so you need to apply directly to R-Ladies to participate. Also note that if you are already participating in our RUGS meetup.com program and you are not seeking a cash grant, you do not need to reapply.
If you are seeking a cash grant for your user group, please be explicit about how much money you are seeking and what you intend to do with the funds. Be conservative, we need to make our pool of grant money cover the entire globe. All RUGS including R-Ladies groups are eligible to apply for cash grants.
Conference Grants
Formerly, the RUGs program was intended only for small conferences where all cash grants were limited to $1000. While $1000 is still the limit for small events, now there is a place on the enrollment form to seek funding for larger conferences. Of course, the more funds you are seeking the more justification you must provide about how your conference will benefit the R Community. Please do not apply for a conference grant until your conference website is up.
Training Sessions
Training sessions are a new category this year. Previously we treated training sessions as conferences. We realize conferences and training sessions are very different and that training sessions should be judged with their own set of criteria.
For details on requirements for each type of grant, visit the R User Groups, Conferences, and Training page on the R Consortium website and select “RUGs Program” under the Projects tab at the top of the R Consortium home page. Be sure to check the correct box on the application form.
The RUGS, Conferences and Training program for 2022 will be accepting requests for funding through the end of September 2022.
The first 2022 call for proposals for R Consortium Infrastructure Steering (ISC) grants is now open and will be accepting proposals through May 1, 2022. This year, the R Consortium has restructured its grant programs to allow the ISC to focus on technical projects. If you are contemplating a technical project that you think will have a significant impact on a relatively large segment of the R Community, please apply for a grant at the link above where you will find guidance on the kinds of projects the ISC is looking for, instructions on how to apply, as well information on the grant process.
Select “Funded Projects” from the “Projects” tab on the R Consortium home page. You will see a pull down box that points you to the previous projects funded by the ISC. Searching through these projects is not only a great way to review the history of ISC funding, but also a place to look for inspiration.
A typical ISC grant ranges between $5,000 and $20,000 and is structured in such a way that intermediate milestones correspond to meaningful work. If you look through the history of what the ISC funded in the past, you will find several examples of important projects that received additional grants over time. The ISC occasionally awards larger grants, but if you are seeking a large grant your best strategy is still to structure your project in a way that delivers value by way of intermediate milestones.
Since our first ISC call for proposals in 2016, the R Consortium has awarded $1.4M in grants. Help us help you make the R ecosystem even more awesome by organizing the good work that you may already be doing in a way that could be accelerated with a grant.
Note, if you are seeking funding for an R User Group, a conference, or for delivering a training session please don’t apply for an ISC grant. Instead, apply for a grant at the R User Groups, Conferences, and Training page.
The deadline for submitting proposals is October 31, 2021.
The September 2021 ISC Call for Proposals is now open. The R Consortium’s Infrastructure Steering Committee (ISC) solicits progressive, pioneering projects that will benefit and serve the R community and ecosystem at large. The ISC’s goal is to foster innovation and help bring your ideas into tangible realities.
Please consider applying!
Although there is no set theme for this round of proposals, grant proposals should be focused in scope. If you are currently working on a larger project, consider breaking it into smaller, more manageable subprojects for a given proposal. The ISC encourages you to “Think Big” but create reasonable milestones. The ISC favors grant proposals with meaningful detailed milestones and justifiable grant requests, so please include measurable objectives attached to project milestones, a team roster, and a detailed projection of how grant money would be allocated. Teams with detailed plans and that can point to previous successful projects are most likely to be selected.
GSK providing COVID era leadership, helping adoption of R Language as standard tool for pharmaceutical industry
SAN FRANCISCO, May 4, 2021 – The R Consortium, a Linux Foundation project supporting the R Foundation and worldwide R community, today announced that GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has joined as a Silver Member. GSK is a multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in London, England. GSK manufactures products for major disease areas such as asthma, cancer, infections, diabetes and mental health.
“R is not just an alternative programming language. Through Rmarkdown and Shiny it has the potential to fundamentally change the way we report and share information within the industry. It will help us make better decisions, faster; to the benefit of patients everywhere. We have been actively contributing to the R Consortium Working Groups for quite some time and joining the R Consortium recognises the important role that the R Consortium has to play in shaping the future of R within the pharmaceutical industry,” said Andy Nicholls, Senior Director, Head of Statistical Data Sciences at GSK. “Joining as a Silver member shows our commitment to build a strong R Language infrastructure.”
“We have worked directly with GSK through the R Consortium Working Groups, and having GSK join the R Consortium as a Silver member is an exciting step forward that will positively impact how the R Language advances in the pharmaceutical sector,” said Joseph Rickert, RStudio’s R Community Ambassador and R Consortium Board Chair. “GSK leadership will help data analysis and visualization in the medical field immensely.”
The R Consortium has multiple separate Working Groups focused on pharmaceutical issues: RTRS (Tables), R Submissions (IT), Validation, and more. Participation in R Consortium Working Groups in the pharmaceutical space by GSK will help continue to expand their reach. The Working Groups add value to member companies by initiating and cultivating industry-wide collaborative projects. This is critical in the pharmaceutical industry, providing a framework for competitors to come together and cooperate under an open governance framework to build infrastructure at low-cost. To find out how you can join an R Consortium Working Group, see https://www.r-consortium.org/projects/isc-working-groups
About GSK
GSK is a science-led global healthcare company with a special purpose: to help people do more, feel better, live longer. For further information please visit www.gsk.com/about-us.
About The R Consortium
The R Consortium is a 501(c)6 nonprofit organization and Linux Foundation project dedicated to the support and growth of the R user community. The R Consortium provides support to the R Foundation and to the greater R Community for projects that assist R package developers, provide documentation and training, facilitate the growth of the R Community and promote the use of the R language. For more information about R Consortium, please visit: http://www.r-consortium.org.
About Linux Foundation
Founded in 2000, the Linux Foundation is supported by more than 1,000 members and is the world’s leading home for collaboration on open source software, open standards, open data, and open hardware. Linux Foundation projects like Linux, Kubernetes, Node.js and more are considered critical to the development of the world’s most important infrastructure. Its development methodology leverages established best practices and addresses the needs of contributors, users and solution providers to create sustainable models for open collaboration. For more information, please visit us at linuxfoundation.org
The deadline for submitting proposals is April 19, 2021.
The March 2021 ISC Call for Proposals is now open. The R Consortium’s Infrastructure Steering Committee (ISC) solicits progressive, pioneering projects that will benefit and serve the R community and ecosystem at large. The ISC’s goal is to foster innovation and help bring your ideas into tangible realities.
Please consider applying!
Although there is no set theme for this round of proposals, grant proposals should be focused in scope. If you are currently working on a larger project, consider breaking it into smaller, more manageable subprojects for a given proposal. The ISC encourages you to “Think Big” but create reasonable milestones. The ISC favors grant proposals with meaningful detailed milestones and justifiable grant requests, so please include measurable objectives attached to project milestones, a team roster, and a detailed projection of how grant money would be allocated. Teams with detailed plans and that can point to previous successful projects are most likely to be selected.
To submit a proposal for ISC funding, read the Call for Proposals page and submit a self-contained pdf using the online form.
source: R User Groups on meetup.com – 35 countries • 85 groups • 65,200+ members
The R Consortium is excited to announce the 2021 R User Group and Small Conference Support Program (RUGS). We give grants to help R groups around the world organize, share information and support each other. We are now accepting applications!
Because of the limitations of the COVID-19 pandemic on face-to-face meetings, the RUGS program has accordingly shifted its application criteria. The changes are intended to continue to support the energy and creativity of R groups around the globe but focus on virtual and remote solutions.
Changes to the 2021 RUGS program are as follows:
Free access to R Consortium Meetup Pro account
Manage and build events/meetings
Analytics on events and networks
Organize communications with your team
Tiers of grants no longer specified. Draft a proposal including your requested grant amount and purpose
The RUGS 2021 User Group Grants program will award grants in two parts. First, R user groups not affiliated with the RUGS meetup.com Pro will be enrolled with dues covered by the R Consortium for twelve months. Groups will be eligible for a cash award of up to $500.
The RUGS Small Conference Support program will award grants of up to $1,000 to conferences arranged by non-profit or volunteer organizations.
In order to participate in the R Consortium RUGS program (generally smaller organizations), user groups must meet the following criteria:
Use RUGS meetup.com Pro program to announce and track meetings
One blog post per year
Completed W9 Form (US applicants) or Wire Transfer form (non-US)
To participate in the small conference support program (generally slightly larger organizations),conference organizers must agree to the following criteria:
There’s still time! The 2021 RUGS program began accepting applications on January 28, 2021, and will continue to take applications through September 30, 2021.
