Periodic Reporting for period 2 - RESBIOS (RESponsible research and innovation grounding practices in BIOSciencies)
Okres sprawozdawczy: 2021-04-01 do 2022-12-31
We are witnessing a decrease in the social prestige of all institutions, which also involves people’s trust in science. At the same time, the significance of science in social and economic life is paradoxically increasing, thanks to cutting-edge research affecting vital issues. All this while scientific research is affected by profound changes impacting its structure and functioning. Biosciences are one of the crossroads in the relations between science and society (health, food security, clean energy transition, climate change), and are increasingly raising legal, ethical, and social questions. These changes, which are leading to critical situations, difficulties, and/or new opportunities, require a governance intervention of a wide set of actors at different levels, and also Research Performing Organizations should play their role, e.g. within the framework of RRI. ResBios aimed to develop 15 RRI-grounding actions (GAs) in four implementing institutions in the bioscience field. This approach was interpreted as a combination of practical, dialogic, and reflexive activities to foster institutional changes within RPOs, related to RRI keys, according to the MoRRI indicators and Sustainable Development Goals. The project set a mutual learning environment including the partners implementing GAs, some “RRI mentors”, partners experienced in Evaluation and Technical assistance, an international scientific Advisory Board, representatives of other EU projects, and representatives of Quadruple Helix actors. All foreseen activities and deliverables have been realized according to the original plan. During the ResBios final conference (December 7, 2023) the results of the project were presented.
The work performed and the main results are summarized as follows.
Objective 1 – To introduce concrete and measurable institutional changes in the 4 implementing RPOs, so as to make them more porous to the needs and dynamics of society and more responsible.
• Status: After the co-reflexive process, the GAs have been fully implemented and a series of institutional changes have been achieved, based on tailored sustainability and support plans, with the support of the experienced "RRI mentors" and the entire support system foreseen by the project.
• Main milestones:
o MS1 - Co-design tools available
o MS2 - GAs detailed plan
o MS3 – GAs and their support system activated
o MS4 - Institutional Changes identified and planned
o MS5 - Final actions toward sustainability carried out in each RPO
Objective 2 – Promote the establishment of new partnerships between the implementing RPOs and other stakeholders, on the basis of the “quadruple helix” model.
• Status: Several local and national actors of the quadruple helix have been involved in the GAs implementation and their sustainable continuation.
• Main milestones:
See Objective 1
Objective 3 – Contribute to enhancing the culture of responsible research and innovation in the bioscience field.
• Status: A “mutual learning environment” about RRI in biosciences has been activated, involving both internal and external stakeholders, through the 2nd and 3rd mutual learning workshops, 5 working groups on RRI keys, a blog, and the evaluation activity. The International Network on Responsible Biosciences (INRB) has been launched.
• Main milestones:
o MS6 - Mutual learning process led to success
23 success stories of institutional change have been collected. Some tools for dialogue with society have been formalized. A Manifesto and an International Network for Responsible Biosciences were launched.
Communication/dissemination included: the ResBios website, an RRI explained podcast; social media channels; a blog; four webinars; local/national ResBios partners' activity.
Objective 1 – To introduce concrete and measurable institutional changes in the 4 implementing RPOs, so as to make them more porous to the needs and dynamics of society and more responsible.
• Status: After the co-reflexive process, the GAs have been fully implemented and a series of institutional changes have been achieved, based on tailored sustainability and support plans, with the support of the experienced "RRI mentors" and the entire support system foreseen by the project.
• Main milestones:
o MS1 - Co-design tools available
o MS2 - GAs detailed plan
o MS3 – GAs and their support system activated
o MS4 - Institutional Changes identified and planned
o MS5 - Final actions toward sustainability carried out in each RPO
Objective 2 – Promote the establishment of new partnerships between the implementing RPOs and other stakeholders, on the basis of the “quadruple helix” model.
• Status: Several local and national actors of the quadruple helix have been involved in the GAs implementation and their sustainable continuation.
• Main milestones:
See Objective 1
Objective 3 – Contribute to enhancing the culture of responsible research and innovation in the bioscience field.
• Status: A “mutual learning environment” about RRI in biosciences has been activated, involving both internal and external stakeholders, through the 2nd and 3rd mutual learning workshops, 5 working groups on RRI keys, a blog, and the evaluation activity. The International Network on Responsible Biosciences (INRB) has been launched.
• Main milestones:
o MS6 - Mutual learning process led to success
23 success stories of institutional change have been collected. Some tools for dialogue with society have been formalized. A Manifesto and an International Network for Responsible Biosciences were launched.
Communication/dissemination included: the ResBios website, an RRI explained podcast; social media channels; a blog; four webinars; local/national ResBios partners' activity.
The expected impacts can be articulated as follows:
1. Contribute to greater involvement of all stakeholders in R&I, and a better and more sustainable engagement with citizens and society as a whole (Impact 1)
2. Consortia are expected to evaluate their activities and provide evidence of societal, democratic, economic, and scientific impacts of institutional changes (Impact 2)
3. It is expected that the topic will support a significant number of impactful and sustainable institutional changes in partner organizations (Impact 3)
These are "overall impacts", related to the project as a whole.
As for 1., ResBios can be considered as a way to open new institutional spaces of dialogue and engagement with society, experimented in the "pro-active strand" (WP3, 4, 5), and consolidated in the institutional strand (WP6).
The involvement of societal actors has been activated since the co-designing phase (see WP2), even if this activity, and the subsequent implementation of GAs in the second reporting period (WP3, 4, and 5), was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in several ways and by other events, including Russia's war against Ukraine. Despite the difficulties, the implementation of the GAs, and the activities aimed at the sustainability of the institutional changes produced (WP6), have shown a strong ability to effectively and stably involve the various types of stakeholders.
As for 2., ResBios is focused on Bioscience, which is one of the scientific fields with high societal, environmental, economic, etc. relevance and impacts. The project aimed at increasing such impact by making the outcome of research more accepted by other societal actors, and by reinforcing the position of the scientific actors in society. To achieve that, the GAs (WPs 3,4,5), as “place-based” and “contextualized” actions, have developed a set of institutional actions and instruments to create synergies between scientific and other actors. In carrying out these actions, they have been supported by technical assistance and networking (WP6), mentoring and mutual learning (WP7), and communication/dissemination activities, which have contributed to producing or starting important impacts in bringing the world of biosciences closer to RRI, as well as similar approaches (Open Science, citizen science, etc.). Suffice it to consider, among other things, the mutual learning workshops, the Manifesto on responsible biosciences, the development of tools for dialogue with society, the final conference, and the establishment and launch of the International Network for Responsible Biosciences.
As for 3., the project has developed at 15 GAs within the involved “implementing” organizations. Each GA has allowed the achievement of several institutional changes (see the related “success stories”) and the co-drafting of sustainability and support plans (WP6). A further “sui generis” GA among the involved partner has been also developed to establish the mentioned International Network for Responsible Bioscience to provide international backing to the institutional change promoted during ResBios beyond the end of the project, thus supporting the sustainability of the changes achieved.
There is also a fourth impact:
4. Consortia are expected to contribute to one or more of the MoRRI indicators, and to the Sustainable Development Goals (for instance goals 4, 5, 9, 12, 16 or 17) (Impact 4)
This impact is analytical in nature, and mainly pursued through the GAs implementation (WPs3, 4 and 5) and the activity carried out to support the achievement of the institutional change (WP6).
1. Contribute to greater involvement of all stakeholders in R&I, and a better and more sustainable engagement with citizens and society as a whole (Impact 1)
2. Consortia are expected to evaluate their activities and provide evidence of societal, democratic, economic, and scientific impacts of institutional changes (Impact 2)
3. It is expected that the topic will support a significant number of impactful and sustainable institutional changes in partner organizations (Impact 3)
These are "overall impacts", related to the project as a whole.
As for 1., ResBios can be considered as a way to open new institutional spaces of dialogue and engagement with society, experimented in the "pro-active strand" (WP3, 4, 5), and consolidated in the institutional strand (WP6).
The involvement of societal actors has been activated since the co-designing phase (see WP2), even if this activity, and the subsequent implementation of GAs in the second reporting period (WP3, 4, and 5), was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in several ways and by other events, including Russia's war against Ukraine. Despite the difficulties, the implementation of the GAs, and the activities aimed at the sustainability of the institutional changes produced (WP6), have shown a strong ability to effectively and stably involve the various types of stakeholders.
As for 2., ResBios is focused on Bioscience, which is one of the scientific fields with high societal, environmental, economic, etc. relevance and impacts. The project aimed at increasing such impact by making the outcome of research more accepted by other societal actors, and by reinforcing the position of the scientific actors in society. To achieve that, the GAs (WPs 3,4,5), as “place-based” and “contextualized” actions, have developed a set of institutional actions and instruments to create synergies between scientific and other actors. In carrying out these actions, they have been supported by technical assistance and networking (WP6), mentoring and mutual learning (WP7), and communication/dissemination activities, which have contributed to producing or starting important impacts in bringing the world of biosciences closer to RRI, as well as similar approaches (Open Science, citizen science, etc.). Suffice it to consider, among other things, the mutual learning workshops, the Manifesto on responsible biosciences, the development of tools for dialogue with society, the final conference, and the establishment and launch of the International Network for Responsible Biosciences.
As for 3., the project has developed at 15 GAs within the involved “implementing” organizations. Each GA has allowed the achievement of several institutional changes (see the related “success stories”) and the co-drafting of sustainability and support plans (WP6). A further “sui generis” GA among the involved partner has been also developed to establish the mentioned International Network for Responsible Bioscience to provide international backing to the institutional change promoted during ResBios beyond the end of the project, thus supporting the sustainability of the changes achieved.
There is also a fourth impact:
4. Consortia are expected to contribute to one or more of the MoRRI indicators, and to the Sustainable Development Goals (for instance goals 4, 5, 9, 12, 16 or 17) (Impact 4)
This impact is analytical in nature, and mainly pursued through the GAs implementation (WPs3, 4 and 5) and the activity carried out to support the achievement of the institutional change (WP6).