As software engineering conferences grow in size, rising costs and outdated formats are creating barriers to participation for many researchers. These barriers threaten the inclusivity and global diversity that have contributed to the success of the SE community. Based on survey data, we identify concrete actions the ACM Special Interest Group on Software Engineering (SIGSOFT) can take to address these challenges, including improving transparency around conference funding, experimenting with hybrid poster presentations, and expanding outreach to underrepresented regions. By implementing these changes, SIGSOFT can help ensure the software engineering community remains accessible and welcoming.

@inproceedings{abs-2601-19731,
  title = {Future of Software Engineering Research: The SIGSOFT Perspective},
  author = {Massimiliano Di Penta and Kelly Blincoe and Marsha Chechik and Claire Le Goues and David Lo and Emerson Murphy-Hill and Thomas Zimmermann},
  booktitle = {ICSE},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1145/3793657.3793881}
}