Within the space of a few years, the idea of RRI has catapulted from an obscure phrase to becoming the central topic of a large number of conferences that attempt to realize it materially. The article analyses the current dynamics and their implications for the future of RRI as a discourse and, also, as a patchwork of practices.
References and resources
In this section, you will find references and information resources on gender, open access, ethics and integrity, public engagement or science education.
General
Indicators for promoting and monitoring responsible research and innovation
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An expert group has written the report Indicators for promoting and monitoring responsible research and innovation.
«Why Science Does Not Work As It Should – And What To Do About It»
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Science in Transition is an initiative from the Netherlands, arguing that science has become a self-referential system where quality is measured mostly in bibliometric parameters and where societal relevance is undervalued.
Europeans, Science and Technology 2005
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This survey is part of the Science and Society Action Plan within the European Research Area. Some of the main objectives of this action plan are the following: promote the science education and culture of European citizens; bring scientific policy closer to citizens and strengthen citizen participation in the debates raised by the scientific advances; involve more women, who are not sufficiently represented in scientific development; strengthen the ethical basis of scientific and technological activities and detect risks inherent in progress in order to put responsible science at the heart of policymaking.
Europeans, Science and Technology 2010
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With the Lisbon Strategy being revised in 2010, this Eurobarometer survey was undertaken at a timely moment. The objective was to assess European citizens’ general attitudes towards science and technology, to see if this perception had changed significantly from 2005 and to see if it mirrors the effects of the Lisbon Strategy. The following points were analysed: European citizens’ interest and level of information; image and knowledge of science and technology; attitudes towards science and technology; responsibilities of scientists and policymakers; scientific studies and the role of women and young people; effectiveness of European scientific research.
Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI), Science and Technology
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This study follows on from the 2010 survey, addressing European citizens’ general attitudes towards science and technology, and in particular the following aspects: European citizens’ interest and level of information in the area; education in and attitudes towards science and technology; sources of information about science and technology; the level of involvement Europeans should have in decisions about science and technology; the role of ethics and ethical behaviour in research; young people and science; gender issues and science; open access to research results.
GREAT
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The project explores the dynamics of participation in research and innovation, and investigates the characteristics of responsible practices. In addition, the GREAT project explores how RRI is being addressed in the almost 200 projects funded by the European Commission.
The Academic Manifesto
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An alternative vision for the academic future consists of a public university, more akin to a socially engaged knowledge commons than to a corporation. This paper suggests some provocative measures to bring about such a university. However, as management seems impervious to the arguments given, no matter how cogent they may be, such changes can only happen if academics take action. As a result, several strategies are explored for a renewed university policy.
«Globalisation and the reputation race»
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Around the world, ranking consciousness has risen sharply and, arguably inevitably, in response to globalisation and the pursuit of new knowledge as the basis of economic growth. Rankings are a manifestation of what has become known as the worldwide "battle for excellence", and are perceived and used to determine the status of individual institutions, assess the quality and performance of the higher education system and gauge global competitiveness.
HEIRRI
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The aim of the HEIRRI (Higher Education Institutions and Responsible Research and Innovation) project is to start the integration of RRI within the formal and informal education of future scientists, engineers and other professionals involved in the RDI process. This project also takes into account the six "key aspects" of RRI identified by the European Commission (societal/public engagement, gender equality, open access, science education, ethics and governance in research and innovation). HEIRRI has created and shared on open access (OA) a stock-taking inventory constituted by a state of the art review and a database.
How to Make More Published Research True
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The practices that have improved credibility and efficiency in specific fields may be transplanted to other fields. These include the adoption of large-scale collaborative research; a study replication culture; study registration; data sharing; reproducibility practices; better statistical methods; standardization of definitions and analyses; more appropriate statistical thresholds; and improvement in study design standards, peer review, reporting and dissemination of research, and training of the scientific workforce.
Europe must focus on the Grand Challenges of our time
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The Lund Declaration 2015 started a new phase in a process on how to respond to the Grand Challenges. It calls upon the Council and the European Parliament to take this process forward in partnership with the Commission, based on an agreement among European institutions and Member States, in which European and national instruments are well aligned and cooperation builds on transparency and trust.
Responsibility Navigator
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Research and innovation activities need to become more responsive to societal challenges and concerns. The Responsibility Navigator, developed in the Res-AGorA project, is designed to facilitate related debate, negotiation and learning in a constructive and productive way. The Responsibility Navigator supports the identification, development and implementation of measures and procedures that can transform research and innovation in such a way that responsibility becomes an institutionalised ambition.
Science and power
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This short volume tries to tell, through the stories of men, the history of culture and the personal experience of its authors, the difficult and sometimes tragic route that science sometimes has had to take in order to free itself from religious dogmas.
«Developing a framework for responsible innovation»
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The governance of science and innovation is a major challenge for contemporary democracies. This paper presents a framework for understanding and supporting efforts aimed at "responsible innovation". The framework was developed in part through work with one of the first major research projects in the area of geoengineering, funded by the UK Research Councils. The paper discusses this case study and how it became a conduit for articulating and exploring four integrated dimensions of responsible innovation: anticipation, reflexivity, inclusion and responsiveness.
Research: increasing value, reducing waste
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In the first report, Iain Chalmers et al. discuss how decisions about which research to fund should be based on issues relevant to users of research. Next, John Ioannidis et al. consider improvements in the appropriateness of research design, methods, and analysis. Rustam Al-Shahi Salman et al. then turn to issues of efficient research regulation and management. Next, An-Wen Chan et al. examine the role of fully accessible research information. Finally, Paul Glasziou et al. discuss the importance of unbiased and usable research reports.
Sustainable Development Goals
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In September 2015, more than 150 heads of state and government met at the historic Sustainable Development Summit, at which the 2030 Agenda was approved. This Agenda contains 17 goals that universally apply to all and which, as from 1 January 2016, govern countries' efforts to achieve a sustainable world by 2030.
