A step forward for managing responsible research and innovation
Typically, social engagement with innovation occurs at the market stage, when experts persuade the public that a certain innovation is desirable. An alternative approach may help researchers and policymakers engage with the public at an earlier stage. The EU-funded GREAT (Governance of responsible innovation) project worked on modelling the role of governance in RRI. Drawing from case studies, the project investigated current European practices in order to produce a set of principles enabling engagement with research stakeholders, and to show how responsible innovation links to research processes. The results serve to inform policymakers regarding research management. Work involved the establishment of conceptual tools for empirical research regarding responsible innovation. Doing so helped to define the prevailing controversies related to governance and responsible innovation. GREAT also established linkages with the research community via five workshops involving key experts. The project defined common approaches and methods of assessing its outputs in conjunction with users. Using questionnaires, the team studied current thinking about responsible innovation, and how the subject may be integrated in the future. The work focused on Competitiveness and Innovation Programme (CIP) projects, which typically involve multi-actor networks. The study yielded a report focusing on current developments in science and society, with emphasis on RRI. More specifically, project work led to an easy-to-use handbook of guidelines to facilitate the understanding and application of RRI principles for researchers and those involved in all aspects of research and innovation. The guidelines support academic and non-academic researchers to investigate and address the issues of RRI within their field. In conjunction with the EU-funded MORRI project, GREAT developed a common understanding that will lead to a web application for visualising RRI data. The GREAT project has successfully revealed theoretical principles concerning governance of RRI. The work can support policymaking to help achieve improvements in research management.
Keywords
Responsible research and innovation, governance, responsible innovation, research management
