One does not contribute to the development of the research or the software itself, but one helps others that don't know how this is done with the Open'ing aspects.
Of course, I know that there are several online resources for learning, but what beats a mentor who dedicates some if his/her time?
@lavergnetho@pyOpenSci@scientific_python@turingway I suppose the best mentors are those in the trenches; unfortunately, they are also heavily oversubscribed. Mentorship is inherent to the contributing process; the team helps newcomers to incorporate their changes into the project, and the skills transferred are often passed forward in a similar manner. Many projects in the ecosystem also participate in more targeted annual programs, such as #GSoC and #outreachy.