We are pleased to launch this Research Topic, originating from the
EU-SPRI(European Forum for Studies of Policies for Research and Innovation) 2022 conference,
Responsible Research and Innovation as a toolkit: indicators, application, and context.
The Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) framework has been widely promoted – notably in the context of EU policies – to align research and innovation processes with societal needs, values, and ethical guideposts according to von Schomberg. While this central idea of RRI – to take the normative dimension of research and innovation processes more seriously in the face of wicked problems and global challenges – is relatively unchallenged in the innovation and policy research community, questions regarding the actual operationalization and application of the concept in a policy, research, and business context remain opaque.
Recently, different research projects have delved more deeply into the question of how RRI can be operationalized to help policymakers, scientists, and businesses. Thus, guidelines and indicator systems are being developed and applied as an orientation for the development and diffusion of more (societally and environmentally) responsible technologies. However, the literature is still driven by ongoing debates addressing various unresolved issues around RRI. To mention just a few, traditionally, RRI has been applied to potential breakthrough technologies such as biotechnology, genetic engineering, and quantum computing. RRI, thus, arguably neglects innovation as a systemic phenomenon emerging in complex adaptive innovation systems. In a similar vein, one could argue that the scope of RRI must be even further extended in order to adequately address social-economic transformation processes, for example, to tackle Grand Societal Challenges such as the transition of the energy system towards carbon neutrality. Another fundamental challenge for governing innovation – especially in more complex innovation systems and networks – is that innovation processes are characterized by a high degree of uncertainty regarding their outcome. In combination with questions of agency (and retrospective vs. prospective responsibility), legitimacy, and directionality, the ability to plan, control, and potentially intervene in the innovation process is limited. Against this backdrop, it is important to emphasize the distinguishing features of RRI as a concept, especially when compared to related concepts such as technology assessment, consumer co-creation and so forth. Finally, justified concerns have been raised that responsibility, ethics, and anticipation runs the risk of being reduced to the ticking of boxes when implementing RRI through funding policies.
This Research Topic aims to attract contributions that consider the abovementioned and other ongoing debates on RRI both from conceptual, empirical, and practical angles. Themes to be addressed include but are not limited to:
• How can RRI be applied to tackle Grand Societal Challenges (e.g., in policies, business models, or evaluation schemes)?
• What are the most important criteria for appropriate RRI measurement and evaluation tools?
• Can RRI serve as a governance platform for normatively-oriented (e.g., transformative & mission-oriented) innovation policies?
• In which contexts can RRI be most suitably applied and measured?
• How should appropriate indicators to measure RRI be selected – and by whom?
• Who can apply RRI toolkits?
• How can RRI be combined with the concept of innovation systems?
We invite submissions of extended papers presented at the EU-SPRI 2022 workshop [ Responsible Research and Innovation as a toolkit: indicators, application, and context] as well as additional papers.