# Making the case for RCM roles

Paper sections 4.1 to 7.

## Section 4.1: The need for professionalisation

Explains why community management has remained informal and "hidden", and what professionalisation involves: recognition, training, qualifications, autonomy, and fair compensation.

## Section 5: Recommended steps towards professionalisation

| Section | Step | Practical use |
|---|---|---|
| 5.1 | Articulate skills and competencies | Adopt a shared framework for role design |
| 5.2 | Align recognition and reward systems | Include community work in assessment, promotion, and authorship (see also CRediT and DORA) |
| 5.3 | Build long-term career pathways | Show how RCMs can progress to senior and leadership roles |
| 5.4 | Offer prolonged mentorship and support | Plan mentoring and an institutional support network |

## Section 6: Responding to institutional barriers

Lists systemic barriers to community building, and describes:

- 6.1: The advantages of RCM teams over isolated roles.
- 6.2: Routes to formalise RCM skills in organisations that cannot yet hire dedicated roles, for example by using the framework in existing job descriptions.
- 6.3: Approaches to adopt from the research software engineering (RSE) movement.

## Section 7: Conclusion

Summarises the recommendation that institutions invest in RCM teams that are empowered to prioritise collaboration, transparency, and community-based approaches.

[Back to the paper guide overview](../paper-guide.md)