Today big societal challenges are at the forefront of the political agenda. The SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) embody the political commitment to work towards a more just and sustainable world. In terms of R&I policy, the focus on Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) is an invitation to the R&I community to address these societal needs in a participatory, open and ethical way, fostering gender equality, governance and education.
FoTRRIS emphasises the co-creative character of RRI – hence CO-RRI – and develops intermediary mechanisms (“CO-RRI competence cells”) to facilitate the uptake of RRI in academia.
The FoTRRIS project has revealed that although there certainly is a willingness to engage with citizens to address the big societal needs, the current organisation and regulation of the R&I system still creates a many obstacles. If R&I institutions are to fully make the transition towards a CO-RRI-system, this will also have to be supported by structural mechanisms in terms of:
- R&I agenda setting
- research financing
- paradigms and (transdisciplinary) research practices
- methods and criteria for evaluation and valorisation of research.
These are preconditions that are not in the hands of individual researchers or research teams, but require decision-making and governance at political levels (from regional to European).
The Back Casting Exercise, which will be organised in Paris on 19 of September 2017, will bring together a group of more than 40 experts from EU organisations (Social Entreprise Europe, Science and Technology Alliance for Global Sustainability, Science Europe, ZSI – Centre for Social Innovation and others) with the aim of mapping current policy obstacles and exploring leverages that are needed to facilitate the transition towards RRI.
The FoTRRIS consortium will then translate the insights into political recommendations.
Stay posted for results!
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