Software as a first-class citizen in research

In recent years the importance of software in research has become increasingly recognized by the research community. This journey still has a long way to go. Research data is currently backed by a variety of efforts to implement and make FAIR principles a reality, complemented by Data Management Plans. Both FAIR data principles and management plans offer elements that could be useful for research software but none of them can be directly applied; in both cases there is a need for adaptation and then adoption. In this position paper we discuss current efforts around FAIR for research software that will also support the advancement of Software Management Plans. In turn, use of SMPs encourages researchers to make their datasets FAIR