scholarly journals Experiments in interdisciplinarity: Responsible research and innovation and the public good

PLoS Biology ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. e2003921 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Delgado ◽  
Heidrun Åm
Author(s):  
Michiel van Oudheusden

This chapter sets out the meanings attached to the concept of ‘innovation’ and asks how it has recently come to occupy the political and economic position it now holds. Drawing from science and technology studies, which has long sought to better incorporate the public in technological decision-making, it explores the impetus towards connecting ‘responsibility’ with ‘innovation’ and the context from which this derives. Finally, it examines how this impetus has become incorporated into various frameworks for Responsible (Research and) Innovation, and what is missing from this approach in terms of understanding the place of ‘innovation’ in the present political economy, and the place of politics in innovation.


2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 1145-1155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ron Blonder ◽  
Esty Zemler ◽  
Sherman Rosenfeld

Responsible research and innovation (RRI) stands at the center of several EU projects and represents a contemporary view of the connection between science and society. The goal of RRI is to create a shared understanding of the appropriate behaviors of governments, business and NGOs which are central to building trust and confidence of the public and other stakeholders in research and innovation. In this paper we describe a 4.5 hour lesson, “The Story of Lead,” which was developed for teaching RRI to high school chemistry students, based on the historical story of lead. The lesson is part of a larger module. The lesson connects the chemistry curriculum, related to the scientific aspects of lead, to the 6 RRI dimensions. We describe the progression of the lesson, provide relevant links and teaching materials, and present responses of teachers, after they tried out the lesson. The RRI dimensions are compared to prior work done in the field of Socioscientific Issues (SSI). Based on this evidence, we suggest that the lesson can be a good introduction to the topic of RRI in chemistry classrooms.


Author(s):  
Mónica Figueras-Maz ◽  
Gema Revuelta

La investigación responsable incluye, más allá de la ética en el contenido y el proceso, la implicación de múltiples actores y público, un acceso más fácil a los resultados científicos, la perspectiva de género, y la educación científica. El movimiento RRI (Responsible Research and Innovation) pretende que la investigación e innovación estén orientadas a conseguir resultados sostenibles, éticamente aceptables y socialmente deseables y que todo el proceso y las prácticas que comportan la investigación e innovación estén alineados con los valores, las necesidades y las expectativas de la sociedad. La investigación en comunicación, y específicamente, en audiencias y recepción, no se escapa de esta tendencia. En esta nueva concepción, se da un paso adelante respecto a la ética y se atribuye la responsabilidad no sólo al investigador sino que se avanza hacia el concepto de corresponsabilidad. En definitiva, con el impulso inicial de la Comisión Europea, se aboga por una investigación inclusiva y sostenible. Este artículo pretende, por un lado, plantear un breve repaso a la evolución y actualidad de los estudios de audiencia y recepción desde la perspectiva de las rupturas epistemológicas vividas y de los distintos retos a los que se enfrenta (conceptuales, metodológicos y éticos) y, por otro, entender el origen, evolución y tendencias del concepto de RRI para, finalmente, ver cómo puede aplicarse al estudio de la audiencia y recepción. El artículo tiene la vocación de convertirse en un texto que pueda ayudar a los investigadores del campo de la comunicación, y específicamente de las audiencias, a reflexionar sobre cómo poder incorporar la RRI a su trabajo.Responsible research includes, beyond ethics in the content and process, engagement of multiple actors and the public, access to scientific results, gender perspective, and scientific education. The RRI (Responsible Research and Innovation) movement aims to create a society where research and innovation practices are oriented towards achieving sustainable, ethically acceptable and socially desirable results related to the values, needs and expectations of society. Research in communication, and specifically in audiences and reception, does not escape this trend. In this new conception, a step forward with respect to ethics is taken and the responsibility is attributed not only to the researcher but also to the concept of co-responsibility. In short, with the initial impulse of the European Commission, an inclusive and sustainable research is advocated. This article intends, on the one hand, to present a brief review of the evolution and actuality of audience and reception studies from the perspective of the epistemological ruptures experienced and the different challenges it faces (conceptual, methodological and ethical) and, on the other hand, to understand the origin, evolution and trends of the concept of RRI and, finally, to see how it can be applied to the study of the audience and reception. The article has the vocation to become a text that can help researchers in this field to reflect on how to incorporate the RRI into their work.


2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (03) ◽  
pp. C04 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Braun ◽  
Erich Griessler

For decades the idea that scientists, policy makers and industry know best in research and innovation has been convincingly challenged. The concept of Responsible Research and Innovation [RRI] combines various strands of critique and takes up the idea that research and innovation need to be democratized and must engage with the public in order to serve the public. The proposed future EU research funding framework programme, Horizon Europe, excludes a specific program line on research in RRI. We propose a number of steps the European Parliament should take to institutionalize RRI in Horizon Europe and beyond.


2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nina Klimburg-Witjes ◽  
Frederik C. Huettenrauch

AbstractCurrent European innovation and security policies are increasingly channeled into efforts to address the assumed challenges that threaten European societies. A field in which this has become particularly salient is digitized EU border management. Here, the framework of responsible research and innovation (RRI) has recently been used to point to the alleged sensitivity of political actors towards the contingent dimensions of emerging security technologies. RRI, in general, is concerned with societal needs and the engagement and inclusion of various stakeholder groups in the research and innovation processes, aiming to anticipate undesired consequences of and identifying socially acceptable alternatives for emerging technologies. However, RRI has also been criticized as an industry-driven attempt to gain societal legitimacy for new technologies. In this article, we argue that while RRI evokes a space where different actors enter co-creative dialogues, it lays bare the specific challenges of governing security innovation in socially responsible ways. Empirically, we draw on the case study of BODEGA, the first EU funded research project to apply the RRI framework to the field of border security. We show how stakeholders involved in the project represent their work in relation to RRI and the resulting benefits and challenges they face. The paper argues that applying the framework to the field of (border) security lays bare its limitations, namely that RRI itself embodies a political agenda, conceals alternative experiences by those on whom security is enacted upon and that its key propositions of openness and transparency are hardly met in practice due to confidentiality agreements. Our hope is to contribute to work on RRI and emerging debates about how the concept can (or cannot) be contextualized for the field of security—a field that might be more in need than any other to consider the ethical dimension of its activities.


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