Ethics Governance System for RRI in Higher Education, Funding and Research Centres

Project Information

ETHNA System

Grant agreement ID: 872360

DOI

10.3030/872360

Project closed

EC signature date 14 November 2019

Start date 1 January 2020

End date 30 June 2023

Funded under

• Develop the governance for the advancement of responsible research and innovation by all stakeholders, which is sensitive to society needs and demands and promote an ethics framework for research and innovation

Total cost

€ 1 490 718,75

EU contribution

€ 1 490 718,75

Coordinated by

UNIVERSITAT JAUME I DE CASTELLON
Spain

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - ETHNA System (Ethics Governance System for RRI in Higher Education, Funding and Research Centres)

Reporting period: 2021-04-01 to 2023-06-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The ETHNA System project has developed an ethical governance system to implement responsible research and innovation practices in higher education, research funding and research centres (HEFRCs).
The system is based on in-depth analysis and multi-stakeholder consultation, and has been tested and refined through its implementation in six institutions in three different contexts: higher education, research funding, innovation ecosystems and research centres.
The result is a system of ethical "meta-governance" that the organisation can implement to self-regulate its decisions and practices regarding R&I. In this way, the organisation can ensure that meet ethical standards as well as societal needs and expectations. To this end, ETHNA facilitates a flexible and adaptable system of tools (code of ethics, ethics committee, ethics hotline and process indicators for reporting) so that each institution can build its own ethical governance and choose its level of commitment according to its resources and capacities. The ETHNA system has also produced a number of practical guides for the development of ethical tools. Specifically, the guide with its accompanying toolkit, and three handbooks on stakeholder engagement, a blueprint for institutional change and practical recommendations. Finally, the open access book "Ethics and Responsible Research and Innovation in Practice" (Springer, 2023) brings together a range of practical outputs developed by the ETHNA System consortium throughout the project, with relevant contributions from leading researchers in the field of RRI. All outputs are available on the ETHNA System website.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The ETHNA system started with a report on the review of the state of the art and good practices in RRI governance and the needs of society with regard to research and innovation and the best ways to identify them through stakeholder participation. The results obtained, published in open access on the ETHNA website and on Zenodo, have served as a basis for the conceptualisation of an ethical system of meta-governance for the management of RRI, based on two guiding criteria: ethical (legitimacy is given by consultation with stakeholders) and effective (networking makes it possible to define better objectives and to be more dynamic). This ethical "meta-governance" has taken the form of a procedural and management structure for research and innovation that aims to align the research and innovation spaces with the dimensions (anticipation, inclusion/deliberation, reflexivity and responsiveness) and key areas of RRI (integrity in research, gender equality, public engagement and open access). The implementation of the ETHNA system has been based on the principles of flexibility and adaptability, so that it can be adapted to the characteristics of different institutions. To facilitate its implementation, it has been designed as an integrative, simple, reactive and proactive networking system. To put this into practice, the ETHNA system has proposed a modular structure so that each institution can build its ethical governance of RRI and choose its level of commitment according to its resources and will.
The implementation of the Ethics Governance System has been carried out through the ETHNA System Labs set up in each of the six centres. At the heart of the project, the piloting of the ETHNA system in Living Labs in six different organisations from Spain (UJI and Espaitec), Norway (NTNU), Estonia (Harno), Portugal (Uninova) and Bulgaria (ARC Fund) has provided a wide range of information on which to draw conclusions. Many of these key findings have been summarised in the implementation document "5 Years ETHNA System Sustainability Plan" and the accompanying "Manual of Trainers on the ETHNA System".
The ETHNA System project leaves behind many outputs and practical guidelines that were refined or defined after the pilot phase for the development of an ethical governance system in research performing and funding organisations (RPOs and RFOs), in particular the "Guide with accompanying toolbox". In addition to these final project outputs, "three handbooks on stakeholder engagement" provide guidance on how to map and scope stakeholders, monitor and respond to their needs, and engage them in participatory events. A "Blueprint for Institutional Change" provides practical recommendations on how to bring effective RRI governance to life and foster sustainable institutional change by identifying the right incentives and addressing key barriers through appropriate measures.

Among the project's outputs, the open access book "Ethics and Responsible Research and Innovation in Practice" (Springer, 2024) stands out as the culmination of more than three years of dedicated project work. Finally, Ethna System has left behind 5 press releases, 3 videos and 20 news items, as well as Spanish translations and up to 6 newsletters to disseminate the progress and development of the project, available on the website: https://ethnasystem.eu

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The project "Ethics Governance System for RRI in Higher Education, Funding and Research Centres", or ETHNA System for short, developed and applied an ethics governance system for the use of RRI in Higher Education, Funding and Research Centres (HEFRCs). The system consists of an ETHNA office and four tools and working methods for RRI: an ethics code, an ethics committee, an ethics hotline and process indicators for reporting.

The ETHNA system implemented and validated an ethics governance system by integrating an ETHNA office into the management of six organisations in the consortium from Spain, Norway, Estonia, Bulgaria, Austria and Portugal. The result was a governance structure that is sustainable over time and transferable to other centres, promoting more responsible research and innovation based on engagement with citizens and society.

The project has not only left an ethical governance system at the heart of the six institutions that will be developed in the future. The project has left a path for other institutions interested in following the same path. They can use the 'Guide with accompanying toolbox' and the 'Blueprint for institutional change'. And during the process they could find the support of other tools to help them along the way: "Handbook for trainers on the ETHNA system", "5-year sustainability plan for the ETHNA system", "Mapping stakeholders and scoping involvement - a guide for HEFRCs", "Gauging the potential societal contributions of research and innovation - a guide for HEFRCs" and "Stakeholder involvement in ethical governance of R&I - a guide for HEFRCs".

The governance of responsible research and innovation carried out by institutions will contribute to: institutionalising ethical reflexivity in the processes of R&I and promoting RRI among the actors of R&I processes; supporting professionals to carry out their activities in line with RRI; promoting R&I that takes an active perspective on integrity research, gender equality, public engagement and open access; ensuring correctness or fairness in the activity of research and innovation; and reducing internal and external coordination costs, among other positive impacts.

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